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mkor4 wrote:What sort of symptoms do you have? What are other tick-borne infections? Do they have neurological symptoms etc? Is the Lyme(antibodies i think?)test specific to only Lyme bacteria or could an equivocal result indicate the presence of other another different bacteria or would that require a different test? You're very welcome; I'm happy to help!!  Other tick borne infections are bacteria other than the Lyme bacteria (borreliosis) that ticks can carry. Here is a site where you will find the name of each bacteria & the symptoms each bacteria can cause. These are the "Tick borne Infections" here in the states; I'm not familiar with what, if any, of those are reported in Australia. That's something you could find out from a Veterinarian; they see what diseases animals get & are a great judge as to what diseases are found in your area. Babesiosis, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis (HGE and HME), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Relapsing Fever, Tularemia, Powassan encephalitis, Tick Paralysis, Mycoplasma http://www.canlyme.com/coinf.html Co-infections complicate the Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease Here is another co-infection (tick borne bacteria) site: http://www.lymeinfo.net/coinfectionarticle.html COINFECTIONS: A SYNOPSIS I don't know what test you had, but yes I'd say if you had the Western Blot, ELISA, or similar test, those only look for the Lyme bacteria. There is further testing that will check for specific other tick borne diseases. I've had many symptoms over the years; I was bitten by a tick in May 2002 & am still being treated (successfully this time I hope). Currently the symptoms I have are blurred vision in my left eye that's worse sometimes, shaking of my right hand when I try to do anything intricate like writing & my head shakes sometimes; it makes me feel like a bobble head doll. I have from the beginning & still have lesions (white spots) on my brain. The bacteria are breaking down the Mylan Sheath that surrounds the brain. That enables the bacteria to access the nerves surrounding the brain & is the cause of neurological symptoms. The very first symptom I had that brought all this to my attention was blurred vision in my left eye. I was diagnosed by my eye doc with Optic Neuritis (swollen optic nerve). The swelling in the nerve is gone now, he's said so, but the blurred vision still persists. Also, something that came on slowly & stuck around for a while then has subsided was unexplained weight loss. I hadn't changed how I was eating, getting exercise (very poorly) or anything else, but in about 8 mths I had lost 75 lbs. Lyme disease can also cause unexplained weight gain. The weight loss has been the ONLY good thing about this whole ordeal. I had gained quite a bit of weight from taking antidepressants for depression not caused by Lyme, this was all previous to Lyme, & I was trying to get the weight off, but wasn't having a lot of success. Then I found out I had an 8lb tumor on my uterus so I had to have a hysterectomy (pre Lyme). That was in 2000, by December 2001 I was finally feeling pretty darn good after the hysterectomy & in May 2002 I was bitten by a tick. In the past, the symptoms that have come, stayed for about a month, some less & some longer, are: walking in to walls, disorientation, staggering, dizziness, inability to think of simple everyday words when trying to hold a conversation, lack of concentration, ears ringing (still with me), joint & muscle pain (finally gone w/treatment), neck cracking when I turned my head, jaw pain, insomnia (have to take sleeping pill if I want to sleep), unexplained chills & sweats (has nothing to do with hysterectomy), tired all the time no matter how much sleep I get (still with me), anxiety attacks, numbness in hands & lower legs (still with me), irritable bowel syndrome, itching/burning feeling in legs (would scratch till I had awful bruises). I'm sure there are some I've missed, but these are some I can remember with the help of a symptoms list. There could also be other symptoms, but because I have 2 herniated discs I don't know if a pain is Lyme or if it has to do with the discs. Also, my gallbladder was removed years ago, so I don't know if some stomach problems have to do with having no gallbladder or having Lyme. This is a strange disease; it looks like many other diseases. However; you won't have tests that show bacteria for those other diseases, Lyme is the reason you have bacteria showing up in your blood tests. I hope I've helped answer your questions; I apologize for this being so long, but I tend to get wordy when talking about the disease. Ruth |
"In the 3 months I have been with MDJunction I have developed a sense of calmness. I now friends who do not judge me because I have been a mental mess at times. It is such a good feeling to have friends I can tell my deepest thoughts and always get back to me with their support. I have never seen a therapist for long periods of time. Right or wrong, this is the best therapy possible for me. Thanks Roy for getting this up and running and making such a difference in my life. Sara" (saralaurie)
I know full well there are folks who don't have anything show up on their MRI's; like I said, I just wasn't thinking. 
I finally have noticed in the last week it's not happening any longer. I'd lay down to sleep & my chin would start & I couldn't sleep until it stopped. What I had to do, figured out, that if I used my upper front teeth to hold my lower lip then my chin wouldn't quiver. Man am I glad that's gone. This is the oddest disease!
, so I hope all goes well for you!! Take care, Ruth
