Do you recognise these symptoms as Lyme?

I was camping at the Havasu Falls in the Grand Canyon in June and have been unwell ever since. I was bitten my many Mosquitos and I did brush off what looked like a tick off my lower leg. I did not have symptoms immediately, but to cut a long story short, I have extreme tiredness, making work ( I am a dance teacher) almost impossible. NB. I do not remember seeing the classic bulls eye rash, though I do have other rashes. Nearly every day I have strange pains in my thighs as if something is squeezing through my blood vessels. The right thigh is strongly affected, and a physio has described the muscles as being globally tight around the pelvis. The leg muscles are very painful if i have a massage. although the legs are very painful at times, but it does come and go though I haven't had a day completely pain free in the last 3 months. Standard painkillers and naproxen give limited relief as long as I don't stop taking the. I have a rash on my left thigh, that was itchy and purple, that I have had since August, and a rash that looks like livedo that comes and goes. My skin looks most normal at the start of the day and the livedo increases as the day goes on. I do have tingling sensations and flickers / twitches that can be in any part of my body.
The dr has taken many blood samples, and tested for Lyme that came back negative. The only slightly abnormal results were with my calcium and Vit d levels, but I generally have low levels of these, so this is not in itself significant. My results made me look as if I am as fit as a 35 year old and I am not far off 60! All of which doesn't help when I can do less as each day passes. My body is so so very tired, all the time, even when I wake up. I am even thinking of retiring early as I can't see myself being fit enough to do my job but as a self employed person, this is not sensible financially. It is a constant worry.
As the condition develops I now have an ache in my groin rather like period pains, but which seems to link the pain in the right and left things.
The dr did wonder about putting me on some antibiotics but wasn't sure what would be best for me, so he decided to correct my Vit D first. I see him again in two days time, and would be grateful for any advice / help anyone can give me. Particularly, has anyone else had this sensation / pain of something squeezing through a bottleneck.
I know that I am in this for the long haul, whatever it is, but I would like help knowing what to ask of my dr. I am so tired of talking about it, I forget things and run out of energy when talking to him. It is just too much like hard work.
I am glad this forum is here. It is nice to know I am not alone, whatever this mysterious illness is.

It sounds like you have some symptoms of Lyme! Let me just tell you though, just because your test came back negative does NOT mean you do not have Lyme. My uncle went to many doctors, and his tests always came back negative...but the entire time he had Lyme and the regular doctors made him TEN times worse. Regular doctors are not as informed about Lyme. You should find a local Lyme Literate doctor. I would suggest getting a WESTERN BLOT test, that is how myself and my uncle discovered we had Lyme. If you let Lyme go for too long, you can get seriously worse.
I hope this helps, and youre in my thoughts and prayers!

Ballroom,

Regarding your comments on your thigh...I have lyme and I have something that may be a little similiar.  Here is how I describe what my thigh issues felt like (I say felt because I had it a LOT before treatment but now do not get this feeling much anymore).

Anyhow it is always in my left leg and I felt like my thigh was contracting...it would hold (and be painful) and then release.  This would go on and on for at least an hour.  Then, I also get a sensation of pulsating through my left leg.  It's like it pulses with my heartbeat or something.  This has not gone away and in-fact, it's happening today (I'm still on treatment).

Anyhow, I would say that YES, your symptoms certainly do sound like lyme.  I also tested negative through standard lab lyme tests but then tested positive for lyme AND a co-infection through Igenex labs.

Good luck to you and it sounds like you are on the right path in finding out what your mystery illness is!

"Strange pains in my thighs as if something is squeezing through my blood vessels" - excellent description! I usually notice this sort of sensation when I'm feeling worse than usual, I always call it "sticky blood" because that's what it feels like for me, like my blood is like sludge trying to circulate. I know it's a little thing, but be sure that you're staying hydrated enough. With all the crazy things I do for my health, somehow I sometimes forget the simpler things! I'm not sure if what you're describing is the same sort of symptom, but I've had some good results using an herb called red root, which is good for promoting blood/lymphatic circulation, for this - maybe it's something you could bring up to your doctor?

As for the pain you mentioned that feels like period pain affecting your thighs, have you looked into gynecological problems? I only ask because I recently had shooting pains down my legs and back from ovarian cysts - just something to look into - might be completely out of left field!

The tinglers and the twitches that move around the body I know all too well.The complete unpredictability of it nearly drove me nuts because the tingles became excruciating.But I have gotten through that for over a few years now.Also I did not have the bulls  eye rash either.Apparently alot of people do not get it .I started drinking alot of water and especially at night that helped with the pain.I also started doing astragalus ,Ginseng, Japanese knotweed and this really made the final difference.

I hope this helps 

paulette