Lyme Symptoms

Because Lyme is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete, or spiral shaped bacteria, it is able to essentially drill through tissue, allowing it to spread virtually anywhere in the body. Because of this, Lyme can cause all kinds of different symptoms involving all the body systems. This can add to the confusion and delay in diagnosis, because most physicians aren't able to connect the dots of all these seemingly unrelated symptoms.

Most of these symptoms start out mild, and usually "wax and wane" meaning they come and go, sometimes completely resolving for a time, only to return with increased intensity sometimes months or years later. My symptoms followed this same pattern, usually in a 3-4 month cycle. Each time they came back, they got a little worse, with new ones added each time. Adding to the mystery, some would come and go frequently, but others would crop up for a month or two, then completely go away, and never return. For almost three months in early 2008, I got sick anytime I ate anything. There was no obvious reason for this, and after about 90 days, this peculiar symptom went away and I've never had it since. 

It really does make you second guess yourself and what you're feeling, and it's easier to understand why some doctors react skeptically when you're explaining all these bizarre symptoms.

Over the last five years some of my symptoms have included:

extreme, debilitating fatigue

muscle aches & weakness

headaches, sometimes lasting 4-6 weeks

unexplained low-grade fevers

night sweats

joint pain and swelling

stiff neck

dizzy spells

swollen glands

neck & right shoulder “locked up”

frequent sore throats

severe stabbing abdominal pain (I've had appendicitis, it's similar)

difficulty focusing

inability to complete sentences

heart palpitations

nausea

loss of appetite

stomach problems

short term memory loss

numbness and tingling in limbs (particularly my right arm & leg)

vertigo (this lasted for almost two months)

anxiety (especially in social situations, never before a problem for me) 

frequent infections & low immune function

general feeling of being unwell