Lyme Disease?

[skarey]

Hello Dr.,
   I have been having some very bothersome symptoms starting 2 years ago after the birth of my daughter.  It started with an excrutiating head ache that lasted for about a week.  Then  I started having neuro symptoms such as:

numbness in toes
shooting pains in arms
painful hands
full body twitching
pain in feet
pins and needles in hands and hands fell asleep all the time at night
ocassional weakness
fatigue
neck pain
eye twitching

These symptoms lasted for a bout 5-6 months then gradually went away.  I was worked up for everything.  All tests normal including MRI's.  The only abnormalty was elevated liver enzymes.

Fast forward to March of 2009.  Symptoms suddenly reappeared and worse this time.  The first week of "flare" i was so sick.  Extreme body weakness/fatigue, twitching, brain fog, and dizziness (rocking in boat), pain in hands and arms and pain in legs and feet.  Again sent to neuro and had tests done including more MRI's which were again normal.   I had a lyme test done through Quest that showed reactive bands at 30 and 41 IGG.  My dr said can't be lyme.

Symptoms still there includes:
Weakness
Brain Fog
Pain in arms (shooting) hand/finger pain, neck shoulder pain, shins hurt, ankles get stabbing pain, bottoms of feet hurt.
Eyes ache
Ears problems : aching, ringing, hearing loss, plugged feeling, sensitive to noise, popping
Swollen painful tongue "burnt"
Burning pain in shins and tops of feet
twitching
re occuring rash on belly that is itchy
anxiety
skin sensitivity like my skin hurts
chills and sweats at night
Tingly head

THESE SYMPTOMS COME AND GO... Somedays I feel good.  Somedays feel like dying.  

I have been exposed to ticks my whole life and have found several attached ones and was always finding many crawling on me.  Does this sound like lyme disease ?  What else could this be?

Please any help would be greatly appreciated!!!  I'm in desperate need of some answers!!

Thanks!!!

[darlene78]

A related discussion, chills and sweats without fever was started.

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

Often patients with Lupus-like symptoms never receive an actual diagnosis of Lupus.  Similar for MS.  What these patients  with atypical diseases seem to have in common is chronic intracellular bacterial infections. ProfGN

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

When 2 or more of Lyme Western Blot bands (18K, 23K, 30K, 31K, 34K, 37K, 39K, 83K and 93K) show up in WB testing, we consider it positive.  (Note that the CDC has a more restrictive view of the type and number of bands for a positive Lyme result.)  Alternatively, you may have a Mycoplasma species infection, which would be more consistent with the WB positive bands and the signs/symptoms and their cycling.  Such infections often invade peripheral and central nerves and cause the signs/symptoms listed above.  Testing can be difficult, because these infections cycle, are intracellular and not routinely released into the blood, and when released are present in very minute amounts in white blood cells.  Thus an appropriate PCR test when you are max symptomatic might be in order.  Or your physician could just consider you a candidate for such an infection and treat you without expensive testing.  On our website (www.immed.org) are testing information and treatment information (especially publication no. 2 under Treatment Considerations with the title that starts "Considerations when undergoing Treatment...."  ProfGN

[skarey]

I forgot to mention I've been checked for all auto immune such as lupus and everything is normal also no vitamin deficiencies...
Thanks.