Lyme Disease Support Group

Hi guys i'm on doxy 2 times a day, 1 rifampin at night and on weekend doxy and 250mg of zithro without the rifiampin(we started out at lower dosages because the yeast and gi issues get really bad for me). My LLMD in DC thinks I have bart with the lyme as my numbness has been getting worse. My question is: The left side of my face is always a shooting numbness mostly when i lay down- i thought the stiff neck and inflamtion may be pushing on the nerves, but it is getting worse as time goes on even on the antibiotics. My left is numb and has a buring feeling inside all the time- both palms of my hands hurt and feel sore (like burned?) and my other arm and legs/feet also feel numb sometimes- but not as much as the left arm. I went to a hopkins doctor who assured me all the symtpoms I'm experiencing are anxiety. My lyme lests have come back negative since the orginal first positive one. i do meditating, yoga, message, talk to a couselor, and started an anxiety med. But the numbness is worse so I'm to believe it might be the lyme. I am worried the shooting numbness in my face is going to freeze in a true bells palsy. I had a neck mri and the nerves look good- but the bones of the neck have lost their natural curve and straightened out due to trauma (like the lyme stiff neck!). Anyway has anyone gone thru this numb stuff and come out cured? Does it sound more lyme or bart?

This is pretty common with Neuro...

Has the doc given you anything like Neurontin, Cymbalta, Lyrica??? These could help with some of this...

I took Lyrcia for three months, really helped a lot (I took low dose) I then had to get off it due to side-effects, but the stuff really did help me. I then switched to Neurontin and that helped also...

If you try them, you will feel "Out of it" for a few days, but then you won't even know you are on it....My sister loves Lyrcia she still takes it for her shingles and its been one year...

thanks!

I know this is a VERY Late reply but I just saw this post. I hope that you are feeling better and that your concerns on the facial numbness has been resolved. I had Bells' Palsey July 2005. My palsey started with SEVERE Pain in and behind my right ear, right jaw and teeth (I actually had my dentist pull a couple of my molars because I thought it was because of infected bad teeth) - of course he pulled them because he is like the king of dental implants in the area (hahah). Anyway, when I awoke the morning of the beginning of my facial paralysis it progressed fairly rapidly (slight drooping of eyelid and corner of mouth at 6am to full blown right facial paralysis by 10:00 am) but I also was feeling numb in my right arm, leg and foot. Anyway... sorry for writing so much and I hope I was at least coherent. I too have neuro Lyme, Bart and babesia so I really have difficulty keeping a train of thought going. I hope this finds you doing well VintageBug!!

Bethy

I am going for an MRI for this exact thing today, left side of my face is partially paralyzed and when the doc did the pinprick test on me - it felt more like a finger on the left side than a pin.

He told me that "there is something wrong with my brain" and the only way to detect it is an MRI. Which I am going to hate because I am claustophobic.

Question - can Lyme & family show up on an MRI?

Marika

Lyme may or may not show up on an MRI. My first MRI's showed an area of increased signal on my spinal cord, but nothing in my brain. Now the MRI of my spinal cord is normal, but the symptoms continue to increase.

Close your eyes as they push you into the MRI machine, and keep them closed until you come out. Helps with the closed-in feeling.

Sorry 2tell u this, but no, it doesnt show on an mri. I had all the weird symptomsȘ different numb parts on my face back, lack of coordination on my right side, confusion, forgetting etc and it hought i had a brin tumor. I had an mri an itshowed NOTHING. The doc there told me to se a psychiatrist as well.

Finally, 3 months later i got the lyme diagnosis. Altho if uve had it 4 long, it can cause lesions in the brain, which are typical to lyme. But u can still have all the terrible symptoms and nuthing showing on mri. R u being treated 4 lyme already marika?If not i hop u get treatment soon. Good luck!

Lesions can show on an mri, not lyme unfortunatly- I had that happen few years ago, but they dissappeared 6 months later- MS, no MS.

I had the right side of my face go numb on me 2 weeks ago. Tons of pressure behind my eye. I went to my local doc and was dismissed with a Hmmmm, even though I was drooling on her floor. I called my Lyme doc and he was concerned with the eye thing and made me go to the ER- rule out hemorage or tumor-stroke. The Mri was originally going to be done with contrast but when the took blood to check my kidneys, they gave me a sodium chloride drip and it set my heart off.Had an emergancy EKG being I could not breath without crushing chest pain. Anyway, the MRI was clean and they concluded it was Bells's and sent me home. Still have no idea what hapened with my heart, my doc was pissed about that. I have thrombosis, but they never asked what meds I am on and I had them all written down- nobody was interested....

I called my doc the following monday and he disagreed with the bells , but so did I being my symptoms had subsided 2 days later, I could feel myface, but still had some pressure, not near as bad, and now a horrible earache in the right ear . He had me do a major detox of tons of drinking fluids, not just water, but green tea, smartwater or G2 gaterade (i hate that stuff) so i went with the smart water -the electrolytes for good hydration, hot baths in epson salts, and NO GLUTEN. 3 days later I felt so much better- I had a major herx in my head- felt like half of my head exploded, yet aside from the pressure, no pain. Herxes come in many shapes, sizes, and colors- they are awful.

Post edited by: blujai, at: 07/14/2009 02:52 PM