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Is it Possible I have had Lyme disease for 32 years?

Back in the late 1970s I had two tick bites that made me ill. I was in my 20s then and very healthy, but both of these tick bites kicked me into the bed for 48 hours or more just like a severe virus or flu. One of those you just can';t get up from. But I went back to work as quick as I could, because my career was very important and I don';t remember having a rash. But starting in about a year I was diagnosed with high blood pressure that was unusually high, and has been ever since. Now my blood pressure is very difficult to control and I have been taking meds for about 32 years. My blood pressure has always been worse than anyone else in my entire family, immediate or more distant family and it started when I was very youn (28) and never was any better.

Then I had nerve damage in the opthalmic nerve down the left side of my face about 7 years later and that was very strange, like a m,ini stroke, but they said I had no storke and I went to my opthamologists and got many opinions of all kinds of causes for my pupils dilating to oddly different diameters in the same light. This was part of the nerve damage in my face. Now many years later that part is just a memory, because it did repair almost 100%...but then it has been many years. I have no arthritic tendencies, but in the mroe recent years I have developed coronary artery disease and have stents, and I also have become diabetic.

The diabetes is in my genes i believe...

but could the rest of this be a long term life long case of LYME that I am taking blood pressure drugs for and just fighting symptopms, having never received the proper diagnosis?

I never had a rash at least that I can remember or any other symptoms.

Thanks for reading all of this and especially for any thoughts!
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Avatar universal
Here is my informational website. You will know if you have Lyme disease when you look at symptoms and compare with other diseases. http://www.lyme-symptoms.com
You will heal your body!
Investigate this MMS. I have been using it for awhile and it just seems to lighten the load when I take it or bath in it. I am aming for full eradication of the spirochetes. http://mmsadvancedstudies.com/
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428506 tn?1296557399
I had the rare opportunity to meet another Lyme patient in person recently, completely by chance.  He and his doctor believe he went undiagnosed for about 40 years, putting my ordeal into perspective.

I've read a lot of patient testimonials of several decades of mis- or un-diagnosis.  Especially since knowledge of Lyme is still developing as noting above, it is possible to go undiagnosed for a long time.

I also don't know if the BP or diabetes could be Lyme-related or separate health issues, and also agree that if you want a long-term case like your evaluated, you should seek out an LLMD.

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Avatar universal
Lyme can do all sorts of unexpected things, which is why it's been called the new 'Great Imitator' -- meaning it has so many different symptoms that look like other diseases, it's hard to finally get the right diagnosis -- often by running through all the others and ruling them out.  (The original 'Great Imitator' was syphilis ... and it is caused by a spiral-shaped bacterium ... just like Lyme is.  Different disease, but the bacteria apparently have some characteristics in common that allow them to infiltrate the nervous system and cause all kinds of odd symptoms.)

Many of us never saw a tick or had a round rash, so that's not a deciding factor.

The nerve damage you describe is something I have read as possibly associated with Lyme ... OR with a coinfection, meaning another disease that the Lyme tick carried with it.  I've gotten Lyme twice, and each time with a different coinfection that has brought entirely different symptoms.

I don't know about the blood pressure or diabetes, but with Lyme, I never say never.

Lyme was little known 30 years ago, and has certainly spread since then, but that doesn't mean it didn't exist.  Science and medicine are still figuring this out, and there is a raging debate in the medical community about whether Lyme is easy to get or not; common or not; easy to diagnose or not; and easy to cure or not.  

My suggestion to you (and I'm not medically trained) would be to find a Lyme specialist and be tested.  The tests are not terribly accurate, and must be viewed in conjunction with your symptoms as a result.  Therefore you need an MD who can fully assess your situation and work through to a probable diagnosis with you.  You may know from reading here that Lyme specialists are called LLMDs for short:  it just means 'Lyme-Literate MD', or an MD who takes a broad and open-minded approach to diagnosis and treatment.  There is no official accreditation, but with a little hunting you can usually find someone to work with.

Let us know if you need some help, and we can send you to some referral websites.

Best wishes!
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