22 yr old male Lymes?

[hv2laf]

Hello all,
Im going to make this a very short version and include links to other posts ive made if you wish to further your reading.

I am a 22 yr old caucasian male in the military. I have had quite alot of testing done lately for worsening symptoms and arrival of new symptoms. None of the symptoms seem to be consistent with anything I eat, drink, use on my skin, breath, how stressed, or how much sleep i get.
Here is a short symptoms list:
Hypersensitivity of skin
neck ache/pains
neck pops/cracks
upper back pain (feels like inflammation all the time sometimes worsens more than others)
lower back pain left side (low as in sacral area)
pain in left hip joint
"plantar fascitis" in right foot
temporary loss of sensation to pain (outsides of arms and legs)
permanent decrease in sensation in left foot in small area
Inflammation in white area of eyes (pic in profile)
eye redness all the time / watery eyes
constipation and diarreha (stool past few weeks: dark, tarry, thick but soft consistency, very foul smell)
randomized muscle spasms
Orthostatic Intolerance (hypertension throughout the day sitting and standing, hypotension when laying down and when sleeping)
"Erectile Dysfunction" or so they call it

Im going to stop there

testing my doc has done has mostly ranged around the basics.. mostly has tried seeing if i have an STD and HIV, checking glucose levels,  checking for heart attacks lately because of "episodes" ive been having. Stress tests, 24 heart monitors, EKGs, injections in the back to numb pain nothing has worked. I asked him about testing for Lymes he did the ELISA test when alot of these problems started happening but it came up NEGATIVE.
the episodes started happening more and more frequently each week.

So I went ahead and made an appointment with a Lymes specialist.
Before testing after explaining all this. He says
"I believe I know whats happening here. You may have Lymes but with that have 2 possible co-infections causing a few of the other pains. 1 is called Bartonella the other is called Babesia. First I want to get 2 labs done first. (labs in album)
IGeneX Western Blot IgM, I hit 3 of 5 of the DOUBLE STARRED bands with IND (23-25, 39, 41) . So it still came out NEGATIVE.
                         the IgG, I hit very POSITIVE on 31, IND on 34, and POSTIVE on 41. So came out POSITIVE for IGeneX criteria but NEGATIVE for CDC criteria.
With this test he ordered  a bartonella microscopy test. Which came back showing "Few coccobacilli adherent to erythrocytes" which says "suggestive of hemobartonella or hemoplasma".

My primary care doctor is arguing these labs, saying he still doesnt think its it, started talking about the labs references and how they dont mean anything.

I just had a cd57 test done today so Ill be waiting on those results as well.

anyone have any input or better test suggestions to have this ruled out?

The Lymes specialist also ordered Babesia test and  put me on antibiotics and wants to run an IgeneX Western Blot IgM test again.

links to other posts for more reading

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Brain-Pituitary-Tumors/small-2mm-hyperintense/show/921546?personal_page_id=513007&post_id=post_4728586

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Gastroenterology/Stool-problems/show/1016766?personal_page_id=513007&post_id=post_4737616

im open for suggestions! thank you

[skarey]

Sorry to hear you are feeling so rotton.  I am a mililtary spouse and know how frustrating the military medical can be.  Hang in there.  Luckily after two on base dr's, I now have my GP diagnose me with Lyme.  I'm also seeing a LLMD who is working with my GP on treatment.  We are currently stationed in the UK.  I've been sick since May of 07 with about a 18 month remission in symptoms.  

Did you have any + on the IGM?  Or were they only on IGG?  I think your IgeneX results are kinda similar to mine.  Mine was IGM 30+, 31+++, 34IND, 41IND, and 83-93IND  
IGG was 30+, 31++++, and 41+.

I hope you find the help you need.  Let me know if you need any help.

[skarey]

I forgot to ask if you've had MS ruled out and viruses?

[hv2laf]

I had no positives on my IGM just IND on 3 of the double starred bands. The bands specific to Borrelia.  IGG was 31+++ 34IND and 41+
so the only one showing the positive was IgG but month or two of antibiotics we are going to redo the IgM again to see if it comes out more positive this time in those since the dead bacteria should be in the blood stream and body should of had plenty of time to produce the antibodies.

For MS I had a brain MRI done. 1 thing was noted. "tiny, punctate, 2mm focus of increased T2 signal at right frontal deep white matter. This is uncertain of clinical significance or etiology. There is no definite findings of multiple sclerosis.

for viruses im not sure what they check. what kind of viruses are you referring to?

they have done plenty of urine tests for h.pylori and stuff

[skarey]

Well band 31 can cross react with other viruses.  I'm not sure what types... but you may want to ask your doctor.

[JackieCalifornia]

Do your blood tests show any mineral deficiencies?  Lyme uses up magnesium (Mg) in its reproductive cycle, and that can make you feel tired and miserable, besides constipated.

Problem is, most Mg in the body is inside the cells, so if your bloodstream is carry Mg to the Lyme bugs to do their thing, the Mg levels inside the cells are getting lower and lower, but blood tests will often show normal levels of Mg IN YOUR BLOOD.  There is no commonly accepted test for Mg levels inside your cells, tho a fellow in the Pacific NW has invented one that I haven't been able to get an MD to order for me.

I just had a bunch of blood work done by an MD who doesn't believe in Lyme as anything serious, and the only thing I was low in was:  magnesium.  Which means the Lyme has probl. been using up what's inside the cells and the cells are running out.

So I now take Mg malate daily.  I've read that if you get diarrhea, back off on the dosage, but otherwise no serious side effects from Mg supplementation.  I take about 20% more than the RDA of Mg, and so far, no problems.  Helps with mood and well-being too.  Just a thought.  I'm not medically trained, this is just my personal experience.

Hang in there.  The trickiest part of the dance you are doing is going back and forth between the two drs and trying to herd them along to getting you well -- sounds like you are doing a very good job being proactive.  

[Hope75]

I'm a military spouse as well.  You will have difficulty in getting any doc, military or civilian, to believe in Lyme.  Period.  However, I'm told that the military is quite aware of Lyme disease and its prevalence, more than the civilian sector.  There is apparently a published military study from the Southeast US re: cases of Lyme in soldiers.  I haven't tried to look it up, but my Lyme support group spoke about it briefly in one meeting.  I do know of some PAs that believe in Lyme on my base, but others staunchly believe chronic Lyme does not exist.  See if you can find any "believers" at your base, they have to be there somewhere....