Aa
numbness
I have been diagnosed with limes about 4 month's ago.. after lots and lots of blood work and different doctors.. I've had 2 bad spells.. just getting over 2nd now.. my fingers hv been numb for a week now.. is this common and how long will it last..? Anyone else experience this?
Welcome to MedHelp Lyme --
Sorry to hear about your situation -- we've all been there, one way or another.
Were you tested for or diagnosed with any infections that often come from the same Lyme tick -- babesia, bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, etc?
Sometimes these 'co-infections' bring along their own symptoms that Lyme doesn't produce.
What kind of treatment does your doc have you on? Sometimes when the medication is killing the Lyme bacteria, there is a temporary worsening of symptoms, called a 'Herxheimer reaction', when the dying Lyme bacteria release their toxins into the body and make you feel worse for a day or so.
And have you called your doc about how you are feeling? Glad to help with our own experiences if we can.
Sorry to hear about your situation -- we've all been there, one way or another.
Were you tested for or diagnosed with any infections that often come from the same Lyme tick -- babesia, bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, etc?
Sometimes these 'co-infections' bring along their own symptoms that Lyme doesn't produce.
What kind of treatment does your doc have you on? Sometimes when the medication is killing the Lyme bacteria, there is a temporary worsening of symptoms, called a 'Herxheimer reaction', when the dying Lyme bacteria release their toxins into the body and make you feel worse for a day or so.
And have you called your doc about how you are feeling? Glad to help with our own experiences if we can.
Yes I get numbness in both my hands and feet. It comes and goes but is much less the longer I'm in treatment. It usually lasts a week or two. Hang in there it will get better!
I also get numbness that comes and goes in my hands and feet. It does get better with treatment.
Numbness in the hands and feet is one of the top two symptoms reported by people with Bartonella Henselae in a 2012 CDC funded study in Maryland. This neurological symptom can also feel like pins & needles, tingling, buzzing, or a feeling of cold water on the skin.
I've had all of them with my b. henselae except the cold water feeling. Currently, my feet are buzzing. Mostly the left one. I've also had blurry vision, vagal nerve problems that affected my whole GI system, tingling, twitching, ice-pick like headaches, brain fog, fatigue, and liver problems. I have a scratchy voice and I'm fairly sure Bart is causing that, too, as it gets much worse with certain anti-Bart meds and herbals.
Many of the symptoms of Bartonella overlap with the symptoms of Lyme. One Bartonella expert has seen patients who thought they had chronic Lyme but didn't show any Lyme antibodies who turned out to have chronic Bartonella insead. Bartonella testing is unreliable with many patients testing false negative. In one recent study, half the people infected with Bartonella had a species from which there is no commercial test, meaning that they'd be negative on standard tests.
There is a culture test at Galaxy Labs that takes 3 draws of blood in one week. (Bartonella moves in and out of the blood in a 5-7 day cycle. They've never had a patient be positive on all 3 draws.) They'll find any Bartonella species. It's supposedly the best test around.
Or, an experienced doctor can give a clinical diagnosis. But I've had to spell "Bartonella" for my GP and even some nurses because they've never heard of it. Very few doctors aside from LLMDs know how to recognize Bartonella. I got lucky and tested "not negative" for it at IGeneX. All Bart symptoms at the time were also Lyme symptoms, so without the antibodies, we wouldn't have known I had it.
Doxy or penicillins will not resolve an established Bartonella infection. More effective meds are Rifampin or Levaquin. Lyme treatment can be incomplete as long as Bartonella remains.
Bartonella could explain your ongoing illness and some of your symptoms.
I've had all of them with my b. henselae except the cold water feeling. Currently, my feet are buzzing. Mostly the left one. I've also had blurry vision, vagal nerve problems that affected my whole GI system, tingling, twitching, ice-pick like headaches, brain fog, fatigue, and liver problems. I have a scratchy voice and I'm fairly sure Bart is causing that, too, as it gets much worse with certain anti-Bart meds and herbals.
Many of the symptoms of Bartonella overlap with the symptoms of Lyme. One Bartonella expert has seen patients who thought they had chronic Lyme but didn't show any Lyme antibodies who turned out to have chronic Bartonella insead. Bartonella testing is unreliable with many patients testing false negative. In one recent study, half the people infected with Bartonella had a species from which there is no commercial test, meaning that they'd be negative on standard tests.
There is a culture test at Galaxy Labs that takes 3 draws of blood in one week. (Bartonella moves in and out of the blood in a 5-7 day cycle. They've never had a patient be positive on all 3 draws.) They'll find any Bartonella species. It's supposedly the best test around.
Or, an experienced doctor can give a clinical diagnosis. But I've had to spell "Bartonella" for my GP and even some nurses because they've never heard of it. Very few doctors aside from LLMDs know how to recognize Bartonella. I got lucky and tested "not negative" for it at IGeneX. All Bart symptoms at the time were also Lyme symptoms, so without the antibodies, we wouldn't have known I had it.
Doxy or penicillins will not resolve an established Bartonella infection. More effective meds are Rifampin or Levaquin. Lyme treatment can be incomplete as long as Bartonella remains.
Bartonella could explain your ongoing illness and some of your symptoms.
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