help please

[jkv44]

Hi,
just wondering how many of you that have lyme had stiffness in some areas like wrists etc? I undertstand from reading that this is common.

If you have it, does the stiffness go away after being on meds?

Gosh, something new everyday. JKV

[JackieCalifornia]

I'm still not officially well, and actually don't know what my 'disease' status is, but before treatment and for several months into treatment, I hurt all over all the time, esp in the mornings.

Now that I've been through treatment of over a year on abx, it's just the odd ache or pain, which may be because I sit hunched over my computer every day.  It's nothing like that deep ache that won't go away.

Keep the faith!!

[patsy10]

I have stiffness all over.  Including joints, muscles, tendons.  It has never gone away and in fact, has gotten worse over time.  I'm like wonko after car rides, sitting etc..Morning is really bad.  It takes me about 4 hours to move well.  I also have roaming joint pain and episodes of tendonitis.

[gorbybelle]

hi, I have stiffness that moves around - worse stiffness is in the morning - I find once I have a shower it eases for a while then returns but not as bad as before a hotish shower.

my neck was very bad for over ayear at the start of lyme - also shoulders - now I am getting stiffness more in my right hip/leg/ankle - for a while my whole back felt like it was ceasing-up - thankfully that has eased a lot [touch wood] - so it has moved around a bit!!

I seem to have more 'wandering' pains since starting abx. - without many good days - before abx. I would sometimes get a whole week of feeling pretty good.

as I understand it - inflammation is part of the bodies response to fighting infection - so it is the immune system doing it's job ??  or have I got all the info. I have been reading mixed up,

I am hoping the fact that I am having more bad than good days is a good sign

[JackieCalifornia]

I've had little stiffness/pain since I started antibiotics, but I think I may be unusual in that regard.  

I have wondered if the stiffness and pain is due both to inflammation (from the body fighting the bugs) and also to the garbage left behind on the battleground after the antiobiotics have killed a bunch of bugs.  The body may perhaps (I am speculating here) also react to the garbage left behind with inflammation as it tries to clean house.

I had something similar happen when I was on meds to kill a fungal infection, and it took a while to figure out that the mysterious, moving pains and aches were the sludge my body was trying to clean up.

I have read in other places of certain meds that can be prescribed to help move stuff along and out of the system, but I have not seen them discussed here.  Does anyone know about them, and has anyone taken them?  One of the drugs is cholestyramine (brand name Questran), which binds with bile acids, but also has the incidental effect of binding with other stuff and seems to reduce inflammation in Lymies.

I wonder if that is the source of some of the joint and muscle pain so many experience?  At risk of repeating myself yet again, I found that my muscle pain was taken care of by supplementing with magnesium...but I'm an odd duck in this whole thing, not really sure where my Lyme/babesia status is right now.  fwiw

[wonko]

I have bilateral (even on both sides) stiffness in my hands, feet, ankles, knees, and sometimes my back.  It started in my hands.  On very rare occasion, I've had effusions on my right knee, and at time had some markers for inflammation in my blood work, but often I just feel it though my joints/blood work looks normal.

I always thought that Lyme affected one big joint at a time, and thought my pattern was abnormal.  However, while the "classic" picture of Lyme is to have more isolated joint issues, my situation seems common among the testimonies of Lyme patients.  I have the co-infection Bartonella, and perhaps that contributes to the presentation of my musculoskeletal symptoms.

In me, this was actually that LAST major symptom to appear, and what tipped me off to Lyme (before that my symptoms were largely neurological).  For reasons I don't understand, many of my neuro symptoms are much improved, while my joint pain has actually gotten worse since I began treatment 8 months ago.  It is particularly bad first thing in the morning (morning stiffness is a hallmark of inflammation), or anytime when I need to stay still too long (think long flight, car ride, or meeting).

I hope that ALL of my symptoms eventually go away.  For me, burning stiffness is one that lingers and lingers.  I do find that exercise helps to loosen me up, and though it can be tough to get going due to the discomfort, it's worth it in the end.  I often follow up my workouts with an Epsom salt bath.