Heres another from the Undiagnosed Community

[ewford]

"unexplained symptoms
by wingapo, 4 hours ago
i've been experiencing many symptoms that have interfered with my life for about two and a half years. im 21 and im in constant pain i experience:

fatigue
eyes sensitive to light
spots in front of vision (like sparkling dots)
headaches/migraines
muscle pain
neck stiffness, cracking
back pain
tremors
jitteriness
anxiety
foggy thinking
frequent infections- throat/ear
psoriasis
feeling cold
difficulty reading or concentrating
ringing in ears/ ear pain

i've had an MRI done but nothing showed up on it, could you help me find out what could be wrong. "


  Sound familiar huh?    There are people posting the same symptoms on all different pages wherever our symptoms are.  But notice, none stop here first.   I suggest we all take a little time to go to other pages and if we see the same set of symptoms, we ask them to come to our community.  Anyone want to help?  I sure could use some....

[JackieCalifornia]

Welcome to MedHelp --

It's an interesting question you ask about collagen -- Lyme often affects joints and gives aches and pains, but I had not really thought of that meaning collagen *destruction* til I read your question and did a little searching online for:

               lyme disease collagen

There are many interesting links on that point, and you may find them worth reading.

I'm not medically trained, but it's good to hear that your doc is testing through IGeneX since the LabCorp test was not definitive.  LabCorp is a first stop for many, and based on symptoms and history, a wise doc will often then test through IGeneX, because it is a different sort of test from the standard LabCorp-type tests.

Let us know if we can help with any of our experiences or sources of information -- and let us know what your doc says when the IGeneX tests are back.

Best wishes --

[yast]

I am waiting on tests from Igenex after having Lab Corp. Western blot show abnormal in bands P41, P45, P58. Is there anyone who has had Lymes cause a loss of collagen in their skin?

[mojogal]

My concern now is that everything we hear we think of Lyme because we are Lyme forcused. Lyme has been called the great pretender because it can pretend to be or sound like lupus, CFS and many other illnesses. A friend of mine got some off the wall diagnosis for her problems and she is in the Northeast, near where I use to live when I am sure I got Lyme and when I heard her symptoms, I think I freaked her out by telling her to go to an LLMD.
Something to think about.

[lynma]

This certainly sounds like Lyme, have you been tested for it? if you not you should asap, the longer you wait the worse it gets.  Please see a LLMD, they can tell you more than your MD.

[mojogal]

I think it might be worth it to find an LLMD, Lyme Literate doctor. Your symptoms sound like lyme but I know with my doctor. she could direct you someplace else if not Lyme and wouldn't leave you wondering and guessing.
Might be worth it.  Good Luck.

[JackieCalifornia]

Best wishes you your daughter and to you!  Let us know how it goes --

[DaughterWithLyme]

My daughter has been to numerous doctors and hospitals for the last year  fighting a stomach disorder.  She also has joint pain, headaches, and a whole list of other symptoms.  FINALLY, found someone to listen and take it all into consideration.  She was tested using Igenix and has tested positive for 8 tick antibodies.  She is not in the 'infectious" stage so the Lyme likely was a false negative.  She will begin treatment in 2 weeks.

She went to Cool Springs Family Medical in Franklin, TN.  The doctor there specializes in Lyme.  Bless him.

[illinwithoutacause]

hi there,

it's crazy--the description of symptoms is very similar to my own, with the exception of psoriasis.

i posted on the undiagnosed symptoms board when i first found my way to medhelp.org 2.5 years ago as well.  i eventually found my way to the limboland and lyme boards and would certainly have appreciated a guiding light to this discussion.

i'm so caught up in my own head trip right now or i'd be happy to help.  as it stands, i have been shirking my responsibilities as moderator on the limboland forum these days and feel so guilty about that.

WHEN i find myself on the other side of all of this, i'll definitely lend a hand.

all of the undiagnosed folks will thank you.  i know it.

blessings,
binx

[ewford]

LOL, Jackie, I thought you cut and pasted or had files of text already made up.!  I might look at some of the Super Posts here and combine the info into one.  That way we are not constantly typing the same thing over and over.

[JackieCalifornia]

Like Ree, I say thanks for the traffic to this site, but whew.

Maybe if you construct a short explanation about Lyme pitched to people so that they might consider looking into it and list some links to good informative websites, that would be a public service.

I don't know that we can manage much more over here.  I know I'm at capacity.

[ree427]

Yeah, I use to go on other pages years ago to help people, but stopped. When I have some time, I will try to help again. I am glad you are helping people. People have no idea what is wrong with them or are misdiagnosed which is why they don't stop here first.

All of those symptoms mentioned above are indicative of Lyme and/or other tick-borne illness.

Keep up the good work.