Thought this was interesting.

[Devonviolet]

@Devonviolet did you have to leave Texas to contract Lyme or is it there also?

I actually think. I contracted Lyme in the Pocono Mountains, in Pennyslvania, in 1986. We went camping, at Lake Wallenpaupak, for 2 weeks. I got multiple mosquitos, which can also transmit Lyme. I also got Babesia, which is a co-infection with Lyme.

I was young & healthy back then, so that is probably why I didn't get sick. In 2000, I got Epstein Barr Virus, which is known for compromising immune systems.

I started not feeling well - having more pain, fatigue & neurological systems, with increasing brain fog. It wasn't until 2005, When one of my patients had Lyme, that I began suspect that I had Lyme, after she started describing her symptoms. I told her that sounded just like I was feeling. I went to her doctor & he confirmed the diagnosis.

 

[Nyboy]

I live a short distance from Lyme Ct, where it was first discovered. About 25 years ago I found a tick on me, I thought at first it was a scab. It was attached to me for least 2 days. I went to my Dr he said he would draw blood for test, but there was a 8 week incubation period. The test come back negative. 7 weeks later I got very sick, felt like I had been run over and dragged by a truck. We did a new test that came back positive. It took almost 10 days of antibiotics before I started feeling better. Lyme has the ability to hide in the body and doesn't always show positive on test.

 

[ninnymary]

Nyboy, do you still have the symptoms? Are there meds for this? I'm afraid I don't know that much about it.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

No I was lucky, you develop problems when it goes untreated. many people don't even know they have it.

 

[Devonviolet]

There is no definitive test for Lyme. On some more accurate tests, it shows up as different bands on a chart. The test I had, it showed up as long term, chronic Lyme.

One way to know for sure is if you have one of the known 5 coinfections. Since I also had Babesia, which mimics Malaria symptoms, the doctor was 100% sure I had Lyme.

For the Babesia I took Mepron, for 2 weeks, off 2 weeks while I was taking a not her Malaria med, then 2 weeks of Mepron. Since then I have tested negative for Basesia.

Lyme is a prehistoric microbe, which is in the form of a "spirochete" or cork screw. Over the millenia it has developed the ability to go into hiding - in the form of an indestructible, hard cyst form - When it senses danger from antibiotics. Once it senses it is safe the cyst opens up & FIVE spirochete come out. Unlike most microbes, it has the ability to go across the blood brain barrier, where it can cause brain fog, confusion & fatigue. It can also get into muscles, joints and/or cartilage, causing inflammation & pain.

Nyboy is right, that many people don't know they have it. I didn't. I had to go to The doctor & tell him I had it, after learning The symptoms of Lyme. The probelm with Lyme is the symptoms mimic so many other diseases.

I took rotating antibiotics for six months, because it was thought (and probably still is thought) that by changing antibiotics every two weeks, they can fool the spirochete & kill most of them off.

I now know that the best way to put Lyme into remission (which is the only way to treat it - it is impossible to irradicate it), is to build up the immune system. By doing that the body is able to fight the spirochete on a higher level.

I wish I hadn't taken 6 months of heavy duty antibiotics for 2 reasons:
1. It destroyed my immune system, making it harder for my body to fight the Lyme.
2. Antibiotics can cause tinnitus. I now have constant high pitched buzzing in both ears. It is louder at some times (usually when I am alone). But, it is constant - never goes away. I hate it! It seems to get worse every time I take a course of antibiotics. I don't ever want to take them again!

@Nyboy, you are lucky that you caught it early. The earlier it is treated, the less severe the symptoms. Although the joint pain, & some of the other symptoms can return as a person ages & their immune system isn't as robust as in their youth.

My son was bit by a deer tick, with the classic bulls eye rash, when he was 15 & went on a white water rafting trip in Wisconsin. We caught it early. He had 3 weeks of antibiotics & felt better.

He is now 39 & starting to have symptoms - especially joint pain.

If you want more information about Lyme, you can check out this site:
http://www.ilads.org

 

[so lucky]

Kind of off topic, but, @Devonviolet, do you know what else causes tinnitis? I have heard that listening to loud music or working in a high noise environment can cause it, but in absence of that....??

 

[Devonviolet]

Kind of off topic, but, @Devonviolet, do you know what else causes tinnitis? I have heard that listening to loud music or working in a high noise environment can cause it, but in absence of that....??

There are a number of different known causes, of tinnitus. However, at this time - regardless of the cause - there is no known cure. Until a cure is found, the focus is on treating the symptoms, depending on the cause.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I will refer you to the American Tinnitus Association, for excellent info on a frustrating condition:

https://www.ata.org/understanding-facts/causes

 

[digitS']

Here's something.

For probably 10 years, I was only aware of tinnitus when I was not wearing hearing aids. With them on, even in what I considered a quiet environment, I could not hear the noise.

That changed slowly, just as hearing loss has occurred slowly. Tinnitus replaced real sound in a way.

This is probably reversed with what some call "white sound." Recordings of sounds are played so a person with tinnitus can fall asleep.

I doubt if it's for me. I seriously dislike noise and noisy environments!

Steve

 

[Devonviolet]

I'm with you, Steve. Loud noises set me on edge. My hearing is amazingly perfect. So, no wearing hearing aids, for me, to dull the constant buzzing.

I hated living in Dallas because of all the traffic & strange noises. Even our apartment never had quiet. I suppose the fact that the George Bush Tollway was on the other side of the 10' wall, about 6' from our patio might have had something to do with that!

The other 2 loud noises the drive me to distraction is "hold" music when you call a business, & background "rock" music on commercials. Why do they have to crank up the volume on commercials? We hit the mute button ALL The time, so We don't have to listen to that!

I love living out here, in the country! The sounds we hear now are the wind chimes, the dogs, warning off predators (coyote, wild pigs, bobcat, vultures, hawks, owls, armadillos & skunks) As well as the gentle coo, of the chickens, as they follow us around the yard & our turkey hen, trilling & popping. Those noises are all music to my ears.

The tinnitus, for me is constant. When I am alone it seems to get louder. I guess in a way, it has become intermittent white noise.

 

[Nyboy]

Sat night the spring Peepers where signing away, sounded like hundreds of them.