Thank you, diemyn, for the data. May I ask if you were tested for coinfections that the Lyme ticks can also carry?
I have odd little spells that are less and less over time that I attribute to a new co-infection I got with a second tick bite almost a year and a half ago -- the spells aren't anywhere near as debilitating as what you and kbutterfly describe, but it's an aspect that I think needs to be covered by MDs but perhaps is overlooked by some.
Yesterday I downloaded a chapter from a recent medical book, 'Handbook of Clinical Neurology -- Bacterial Infections' published by Elsevier; Roos and Tunkel editors. This chapter is not very long (maybe a dozen pages), but it succinctly states information about one of the coinfections I currently have, which is one of the Ehrlichias. The chapter also mentions the cross over of various infections: "These ticks [which carry Ehrlichiosis] also serve as vectors for Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease) and various Babesia species ... ; co-infections have been reported. ... [The disease] is transmitted through the saliva of the tick vector."
So it's no secret in the medical community, but I wonder just how many frontline docs are aware of these aspects. Just a thought.
I have periods very similar to this, only I will go blind and paralyzed, unable to speak. It will last 5-40 minutes usually. I have been diagnosed with lyme in July this year. 4 years of not knowing. I would suggest you get tested for lyme.
I am not medically trained, nor is anyone else here that I know of -- that said, I don't believe MRI is particularly diagnostic of Lyme. A SPECT scan is more commonly used, because it can detect areas of low blood flow in the brain, which is a sign of Lyme.
To rule out Lyme, you would likely need to see a Lyme specialist, or 'LLMD' [Lyme-literate MD] as they are called in a shorthand way. NonLLMDs are not known to be particularly good at diagnosing Lyme and its coinfections.
Your symptoms don't sound like my Lyme symptoms, but that doesn't mean anything, because Lyme manifests in everyone in a slightly different way.
Best wishes -- perhaps someone else here will have some ideas for you.