How did your symptoms begin?

Hey guys, as you probably know by now I'm new to this forum. I'm just curious to how everybody's symptoms started, how they progressed, and how you eventually came across lyme disease and got diagnosed? I think by making this thread, it could also help a lot of new people by them seeing stories similar to themselves, please share if you can. It can be brief if you want

Mine started by getting the flu and I never felt the same after. I would go to the gym and my muscles would cramp and I would get out of breath and I knew something wasn't right. I started having a lot of pain in my neck mostly and the brain fog started. I ran to the chiropractor 3x week for months. I didn't have insurance at the time so not sure at what point I even went to the doctor. I dealt with this for several years and then went for Ayervedic medicine and it made me 90% better. I took this for 5-7 yrs. I also had insurance finally and went to a GP who referred me to a Neurologist who ran all kinds of blood work. Had the EMG and nerve conduction done and was told I had peripheral Neuroathy and fibromyalgia. I had digestion issues, tingling/crawling under my skin on the back of neck. I really don't remember everything but I remembered saying I wanted to die cause it was so bad until I started the herbals. Finally I got diagnosed in November after dealing with this for 15 yrs. I also started getting dizzy/vertigo in the past 3 yrs and the pain just moves around and gets bad in my neck and lower back/butt.

I am sure I am all over the place with this but hope it helps somebody.

It seems to me like the lyme disease varies greatly between each person. Some people get a rash, some don't. Some don't seem to get either a rash or flue like symptoms. My symptoms have been all over the place. I always feel like I have pressure in my head and eyes to where I cant keep my head relaxed. I also keep getting tired with tingling in my forehead, and a feeling of numbness in my cheeks. I also have a feeling of something is stuck in my throat all the time. I have the classic spaced out feeling too.

- for me it started with constant night sweats and testicular pain, but eventually went away after 5 months.

Had no rash, etc. Had odd vibration/buzzing feelings in my legs and hands and neck. Could go for weeks without them or they could be every day for a few seconds, repeatedly. My dr at the time was not concerned. Fatigue set it and I was always exhausted. I got shingles and migraines for the first time. I had inner ear/balance issues that came and went. Years went by and got terrible muscle aches -esp hamstrings and chest muscles. Lots of digestive issues. More years went by. Dr after dr, specialist after specialist - nothing. Was told I had to be "making it up" and that I should consider anti-psychotic medication! Thankfully, had (and still have) a great therapist who believed me and gave me great emotional support. Diagnosed with fibro and pseudo-sjogrens (sp?) disease. Mouth sores, fever blisters, high tithers for EBV, Parvo virus, etc. Fatigue continued. Saw LLND for first time in last 3 months. Am hopeful and also weary. So grateful for this forum.

I got up on July 30th of 2013 and could barely walk due to pain in knees. My whole body hurt. Began having sharp shooting pains in large muscles like thighs and upper arms. Hurt, popped, and creaked all over. The word "fatigue" became clear to me - I was a slug. For about two weeks, I literally got up every morning, went to sofa, sat down and cried. Brain was totally dysfunctional. Breathing problems - severe. Diagnosed with asthma, however, the inhalers I was given weren't working. Felt like everything from chest to top of head was swollen - heart, lungs, throat, brain. Tingling chin. Heart palpitations and tachycardia. Sleep problems due to breathing issues. Was very scary. I was dysfunctional for the most part the months of August and September, and began slowly improving in October. Saw LLMD in November. I am now building up immune system and on probiotics to prepare my body for antibiotic treatment.

Anyone have a floater problem? Whenever I look at a white wall or the sky, I get crazy floaters, like 50 white lines squirming around everywhere that look like worms. I also get these white circles moving all over the place. It's crazy.

John red I have the same floater problem. I'm afraid to look at the snow because of the amount of floaters I notice. I need to findout how to get rid of them immediately.

Humbold.. So were these symptoms progressing for ten years?

Yes I've been having inner ear pain for the last 4 or 5 months. It's mostly in my left ear and I suspect it radiates from my head and sinuses.

Being tired all the time, then I developped Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stayed tired all the time, then I started developping arthritis and everything continued going downhill for over a period of 20 years in total. More and more symptoms piled up.

Dont laugh, my very first symptoms (before I ever even was diagnosed with Lyme +B&B) were nightmares.

Nightmares, nightmares, nightmares.

My first symptom was 4 years ago with a shooting pain in my foot. It was so bad sometimes that I would collapse. I had x-rays and everything and no one could tell me what the pain was from. I was just 'crazy'. I started to get knee pain anxiety, fatigue, stomach aches, and rib pain. Sometimes my ribs hurt so bad I can't even be hugged. Then came the depression, the tingly feelings in my arms and legs and more frequent and intense anxiety attacks. The worst was last winter when my knee pain became unbearable. I was only 21 so I figured I had torn or chipped something in my knees. I saw an orthopedic doctor who did an MRI and casually told me I had arthritis and that I should get a knee brace to help me with my lifetime of pain to come, he didn't even think of Lyme. Soon after that I got a Lyme doctor who ordered me the test. I am not sure if anyone else felt like this but I was relieved when I got my positive Lyme test back. Although Lyme is horrible and it has affected my life and my loved ones lives in so many ways, at least I knew I wasn't crazy like so many people had thought and I finally had an answer

Ahhhh university girl I get such severe rib pain that I can't lay on my sides, and I can't be hugged! At first I thought it was from having a large baby and my ribs temporarily expanding but it wasn't! It will sometimes last months and then resolve and the past few weeks it's been back. I have really really really bad neck pain and debilitating headaches that sometimes cause vomiting. It feels as though someone bashed me in the base of the skull with a bat. I feel like my head would look like a character from pet cemetery with my brains hanging out the back of my head. I have hand and wrist pain, so bad it's hard to wipe my babies rear ends. , my scalp hurts, I have had insane panic since I was a kid. Can't even describe it to do it justice.... Lately the exhaustion, not that I haven't had it before, but it's literally terrifying me the past week, it just won't let up at all. I really feel like I need a wheel chair, it's hard to type. I have ulnar neuritis, it feels like I smashed my funny vines in both arms, but it lasts all day. It's worst in the morning. I feel like I have little electrodes on my brain zapping me and my teeth and I get numbness in my face and tongue. I have a lot of cardiac issues, rage, you name it. I just feel freaking weird and horrible all the time. I'm so weak lately I lay here and it seems hard to even breathe and I think to myself, " is this what dying feels like?". My stomach muscles felt like I started a vigorous workout, feeling strained down to my pelvic area just from sitting upright. I always have to lean on things and hold onto things and my balance is crap. I'm going to stop now, I have so many symptoms that I feel are "the worst", I just want to feel 50% ok you know? I'm so depressed and hopeless currently.