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Arthritis as only symptom?

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Posted 3/30/2018 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
I was reading Healing Lyme and Buhner stated that very few people have arthritis as their only presenting symptom.

Does anyone here have arthritis as their only symptom?
Posted 3/30/2018 4:15 PM (GMT 0)
You can have "arthritis" (long term damage) as your only remaining symptom after others have vanished.

It would be unusual and difficult to receive a new Lyme diagnosis based only on arthritis, well......unless you had obvious positive results on Lyme lab testing.
Posted 3/30/2018 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, astroman. I kinda don't think the arthritis is Lyme, as it is the only symptom. I think it is from an infection but I don't know where to start to determine what kind of infection or what to treat it with.
Posted 3/30/2018 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi cakegirl.

I have Lyme & babesia duncani and my only symptom is arthritis.
Posted 3/30/2018 4:44 PM (GMT 0)

cakegirl said...
Thanks, astroman. I kinda don't think the arthritis is Lyme, as it is the only symptom. I think it is from an infection but I don't know where to start to determine what kind of infection or what to treat it with.

Did you ever test positive for Lyme? Were you treated for anything?

Bartonella also causes joint symptoms, possibly more so than Lyme, but it usually occurs with a constellation of symptoms. Chlamydia pneumonia also can infect joints. That one is pretty easy to test for - antibody blood test with Labcorp.

Can you describe your arthritis symptoms? Did a rheumatologist examine, X-ray, and blood test you and diagnose you with a type of arthritis? Which kind?

Sorry for so many questions. Just trying to understand more about where you're coming from.
Posted 3/30/2018 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
No, I never tested for it. My arthritic symptoms started after getting an infected blister from raking my yard. Doctor later diagnosed "arthritis" but never put together that it started just after the infected blister. The blister healed on it's on. Never did blood tests or anything else. I know the infected blister must be part of the source as it started after that and has progressed in severity in my fingers. about a year earlier I was bit by a cat and did two weeks doxy but the arthritis isn't near where the cat bit me.
Posted 3/30/2018 5:01 PM (GMT 0)

Clam Digger said...
Hi cakegirl.

I have Lyme & babesia duncani and my only symptom is arthritis.

How did you determine it was Lyme and babesia?

I am debating lab tests as I kinda don't think mine is Lyme but probably some other infectious cause.
Posted 3/30/2018 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Lyme from Armin labs in Germany and babesia duncani from Quest labs.
Posted 3/30/2018 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
"Arthritis" from a pathogen is not usually necessarily centered around the bite area.

Take the "common" lyme "arthritis" - starting at the neck and shoulders, then sometimes migrates everywhere else, a commonly seen pattern, regardless of bite location.

Funny thing is, we (lymies and Drs) just call it arthritis, even though its not like regular arthritis.

We cant forget that everything wrong is not necessarily from these infections either, although the infections can magnify previous health issues.

Raking a yard does subject one to ticks though and harmless hand blisters from holding the rake with pressure. I doulbt the blister had anything to do with a pathogen infection. Raking would though.

Post Edited (astroman) : 3/30/2018 11:35:53 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 3/30/2018 5:34 PM (GMT 0)

cakegirl said...
No, I never tested for it. My arthritic symptoms started after getting an infected blister from raking my yard. Doctor later diagnosed "arthritis" but never put together that it started just after the infected blister. The blister healed on it's on. Never did blood tests or anything else. I know the infected blister must be part of the source as it started after that and has progressed in severity in my fingers. about a year earlier I was bit by a cat and did two weeks doxy but the arthritis isn't near where the cat bit me.

Do you have imaging showing arthritis?

Where your symptoms are...doesn't have to line up with where you were bit. Once you're bit...it's in the blood stream.

I have symptoms all over my body...I think i was bit in my upper back area...and that's where my first symptom started...but now they're body/brain wide.
But, the symptoms can start at a separate location from the bite.
Posted 3/30/2018 6:54 PM (GMT 0)

Girlie said...

cakegirl said...
No, I never tested for it. My arthritic symptoms started after getting an infected blister from raking my yard. Doctor later diagnosed "arthritis" but never put together that it started just after the infected blister. The blister healed on it's on. Never did blood tests or anything else. I know the infected blister must be part of the source as it started after that and has progressed in severity in my fingers. about a year earlier I was bit by a cat and did two weeks doxy but the arthritis isn't near where the cat bit me.

Do you have imaging showing arthritis?

Where your symptoms are...doesn't have to line up with where you were bit. Once you're bit...it's in the blood stream.

I have symptoms all over my body...I think i was bit in my upper back area...and that's where my first symptom started...but now they're body/brain wide.
But, the symptoms can start at a separate location from the bite.

No, we didn't do x-rays.

Not long after the blister on my thumb got infected, I had joint pain in the thumb. Over time the pain moved from one thumb to the other. Now, I have pain/stiffness/limited movement in both thumbs and it has advanced to other fingers. And if I do anything laborious with my hands, they become painful for three days afterward. At one point my knuckles would become red but not so much now.
Posted 3/30/2018 6:59 PM (GMT 0)

astroman said...
"Arthritis" from a pathogen is not usually necessarily centered around the bite area.

Take the "common" lyme "arthritis" - starting at the neck and shoulders, then sometimes migrates everywhere else, a commonly seen pattern, regardless of bite location.

Funny thing is, we (lymies and Drs) just call it arthritis, even though its not like regular arthritis.

We cant forget that everything wrong is not necessarily from these infections either, although the infections can magnify previous health issues.

Raking a yard does subject one to ticks though and harmless hand blisters from holding the rake with pressure. I doulbt the blister had anything to do with a pathogen infection. Raking would though.

I doubt I have "regular" arthritis as no one in my family has arthritis except the very elderly. The blister was infected enough that it was tested for MRSA but negative. I still think I picked up something via the blister either fungal or otherwise because the symptoms started almost immediately afterward. But I was bitten badly by a cat less than a year earlier. Maybe the cat bite is the source and the blister is coincidental?
Posted 3/30/2018 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
Bartonella loves the small joints like the fingers. Cat's are probably more frequent transmitters of Bartonella than ticks, hence the name cat scratch disease. Doxy is not a cure for bartonella. You could very easily have a mild bartonella infection.

If you get tested, Galaxy Diagnostics is the best lab to test for bartonella. You could get a simple Labcorp test first. It's possible to get a positive with that, but not likely.

Just be aware that bartonella, even if mild, will do harm and worsen over time. It is also reported to be immune suppressive.
Posted 3/30/2018 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
One more thing. Don't get too stuck in your thinking about the blister. I did the same thing for years, as my symptoms started after eating suspect shrimp. The infection was likely already in your body and the blister infection may have just been the trigger to activate the immune dysfunction, resulting in symptoms.

You could also ask to be tested for other viruses and infections like various pneumonias and herpes viruses and also CD-57. Those would at least give you clues about your immune system and what is triggering it.
Posted 3/31/2018 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
I wonder which test at truehealthlabs is best for bartonella? I guess Galaxy probably requires a doctor's signature?
Posted 3/31/2018 1:15 AM (GMT 0)
I just looked at the Galaxy test "menu" , its a little confusing. But holy buckets are they expensive.

I thought their $750 bart test was over priced a few years ago, now,( if I read it right?), its just over $900. I understand need for profits, but geeze...

One might be off just guessing and self treating with HH herb since its cheap per the bag.
Posted 3/31/2018 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
$900?!

I'm not sure about testing anyway. It's so expensive and it's not necessarily accurate.

I already have many of the herbs, supplements (and the bart book) that Buhner recommends for bartonella. I was wondering whether I should try to self-treat? My only concern is that I'll stir something up. I am otherwise healthy but the arthritic symptoms are progressing and I will need to do something.
Posted 4/1/2018 7:28 AM (GMT 0)
i would look into mycoplasma fermintans and or propionbacterum acnes...did minocycline or houttynia longterm help?
Posted 4/1/2018 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hey bluelyme, I have never tried minocycline or houttynia.
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