Question: What was the state of your body when you were infected?

Just curious, what was going on with you when you first got sick? Were you highly stressed?

My answer: I was under a lot of stress, but I was handling it okay. I was going to school full-time and working full-time. I was also extremely physically active. I was symptomatic, but I think I was able to keep the disease at bay for a couple of years. The straw that broke the camel's back was when two of my family members were hospitalized. That's when things started to fall apart.

I was also stressed out... Besides being a workaholic, I had bought my first house, got married, trying to be "superwoman" by doing everything all at once and when a bug bit me, I was a perfect candidate for getting sick as my immune system was compromised by all the stress.

I learned much from getting lyme though, learned how to slow down, enjoy life instead of killing myself working, learned what my stress "trigger" points are so I can take a good look at myself, etc.  Also learned how to eat healthier, learned about detoxing, learned more than I wanted to and I'm still learning!! 

Denise

I believe I was infected as a child. I was sickly..my mom took me to doctors because my legs hurt me, I was lethargic and always catching illness. I had ADD too. I owned and rode horses. In fact, my mom got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and was very ill. Nobody could diagnose me. I'm now 32. I was officially "diagnosed" with Lyme disease about 6 years ago. My husband and I went through some serious stress and I started having severe vertigo, cysts in my eyes, crazy fatigue, throat aches, rashes, pneumonia, muscle aches, neck pain, digestive issues and so on. Now I hate doctors because they've never helped me worth a darn, but I was so sick I went to a family doctor in town. We did bloodwork which came back positive for Lyme! I was told I was "barely positive" and that I only had it for 3 months and that 28 days of doxy would cure me. When it didn't....I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and told I'd be sick forever and to deal.
Fast foward 4 years..my husband was speaking with a business client of his who happens to have Lyme along with her entire family. When he spoke of me she suggested I get my booty to a Lyme specialist and quick. Went to one but he wasn't a good fit for me. He didn't speak hardly at all. He spent 2 minutes with me after I drove 2.5 hours each way to see him and I became allergic to the antibiodics he out me on. He refused to discuss alternatives or anything for that matter!
I worked with a naturopath practitioner but that sadly did not get me better either so I stopped seeing her.

I eat a paleo diet with NO sugars nor any other sweetener than stevia.

I'm at a point where I don't know what to do anymore. I can't afford these LLMDs who charge all out of pocket and I'm fed up and sicker every day. I was diagnosed with Lyme, Bartonella, EBV, candida, a heart murmur and Babesia. I refuse to get pregnant after watching under our skin (documentary ALL Lyme patients need to watch) and all I want is to be healthy. To have a family. To be normal. Nope. Not me. I'll probably die someday of this horrific disease..because I can't afford a good LLMD.

My life turned upside down in 1 day. June 24 2012 I was at the gym benching 300lbs, went for a 3 mile run, went to the beach with some friends then that night i went to the movies and all of the sudden had no idea where i was and got lost in the theatre trying to find my way to the bathroom. my head felt like it was going to explode and everything went downhill from there until i became my own advocate.

Great thread -

I have no idea whatsoever when I got infected. I had a very stressful childhood, hated food so I was malnourished and what I did eat was peanut butter (moldy and high bacteria), mac-n-cheese and cereal. Once I contracted chicken pox (a very mild case) I was never really the same. Had mono 3x in high school and developed severe TMJ. I had HSV-1 and am also pretty sure I also had shingles. But I was also extremely busy and active, too - very nervously driven in some ways.

I was in a very tough program in college and pushed my body beyond its limits multiple times. But I almost always had swollen lymph nodes, cold sores, and mono episodes when I crashed, which was every 6 months or so. I don't think the mono ever went away.

After school I entered a grueling profession and worked 80-90 hr wks for 15 yrs. I moved to NY, spent some time backpacking in Europe and Cape Cod, camping and hiking on a couple of occasions. I became very ill - bed-ridden for 3 wks and sick for about 3 months with a flu/sinus/upper respiratory infection/bronchitis every Jan. Over about a decade, the illness still returned every winter but slowly lessened and I wouldn't get nearly as sick but my lungs/chest always felt tight when taking deep breaths and every time - even to this day - when I feel run down I get nausea, post-nasal drip, and a tight chest. I also developed a chemical sensitivity, irregular heart beat and night sweats, hairloss throughout entire body, migraines, my feet always hurt, and noticed that I never, ever got mild colds or flu. I was an unhealthy stressed-out mess.

THen for about 12 months I had a really healthy period where I was running 5 miles a day, working out, fit, happy. But stress set in again, I had two major surgeries, a big move across country, and also-- or subsequently-- I started having severe digestive issues that I still can't solve 4 years later. I became hypothyroid, at adrenal exhaustion, gained 60 lbs in a matter of months, couldn't exert myself at all, nearly all my neurotransmitters were off the charts too high or low, became an insomniac and started getting sore knees and feet. Then the next year I had a chronic sinus infection that lasted over a year, and bronchitis 3 times - was on abx after abx after abx. Ended up with severe candiadis and fungal issues and exacerbated digestive issues. I believe all the short-term abx triggered the bacteria and now the exhaustion is back with a vengeance and with heightened old symptoms and some new ones: digestion problems no matter what I eat, eyes, very sore muscles; joints; fog and memory problems and other neurological probs and a complete personality change. Finally had to quit my job and here I am. . . so, when did I get infected?

^^^ what.... You are saying you contracted lyme from someone's tear?

Anyway, I was a small small child when my severe symptoms started. I, not sure when I was infected though. I was very sickly as a kid, however I was an avid rider(horses), I downhill skied, water skied, played competitive sports, and took gymnastics and dance classes. I remember having to skip my activities due to illness often though, and I remember just feeling horrible while doing things. I just did them anyway.