fibromyalgia or lyme

hi - I am currently on abx. for 'suspected lyme' -

I just want to tell you all a bit about how this started - I live in U.K. - following a tick bite [ tick was attatched for about 36 hrs. - was very engorged [ like a balloon!] - and I removed it in 'completely the wrong way'.

never heard of lyme disease at the time.

maybe a month after the tick bite - got very stiff neck very bad shoulder - rib - pain - my diaphragm area was very tight - etc; - did not connect the 'tick bite with this - who would? - [never having heard of lyme]

long story short - someone mentioned 'fibromyalgia' [ I had never heard of this either] - whilst researching 'fibro' I came across lyme - the reason for this post is I guess to say that the symptoms of fibro. - with its 4 weekly flares, etc; leads me to believe that everyone with 'fibromyalgia' symptoms

should be treated with abx. - as we all know how unreliable lyme testing is - I don't see the harm in a trial of abx.

just curious to what others think?

 

If these symptoms started after being bitten by a tick, I would say it's lyme. In my opinion, I don't think there would be any doubt here. You were bitten by a tick, ticks carry lyme, you have lyme symptoms.

I haven't done too much research on fibromyaliga, but when I started trying to look for what was wrong with me, my uncle (a doctor) told me that some doctors diagnose fibromyalgia when they probably shouldn't.

Apparently there is fairly strict criteria for a fibromyalgia diagnosis (a certain number of trigger points, etc.), but sometimes when a patient has inexplicable joint and/or muscle pain, and no other diagnosis can be made, doctors just call it fibromyalgia by default.

I don't know (or really have an opinion) on whether Lyme and true Fibromyalgia are the same thing, but I could certainly believe that if what my uncle said is true, than many Lyme patients would be diagnosed with fibromyalgia by default.

But I agree with gorbybelle in that I don't see the harm in trying abx. After all- doctors still don't know the root cause of Fibro, or CFS. So, while getting a diagnosis of one of those two just allows patients to get treatment for their symptoms, it doesn't help them at all in terms of finding and eliminating the root cause. So why not try abx, on the off chance that it is Lyme?

I am being treated for lyme now - never had a positive serology test - I am being treated by LLMD.

I have always been 'over reactive' to insect bites in general I don't know if this fact is 'common' in lyme patients. - like a bee sting will cause me to swell-up.

Hi All,
I currently have not only LD, STARI,but have 18 trigger points out of 18 trigger points possible.
I also have Chronic/Acute EBV. The sx all over lap so badly that I'm never sure which one I'm dealing with at any given point.
As far as the abx question - if there was any tick, mosquito, or any other biting insects that may have bitten someone - bare minimum they need to start testing for LD immediately - IMHO.
I was infected with LD & RMSF at a very early age (5-7yrs old) & have now suffered for many, many years.
We all need to protect our children from this kind of tragedy - if there are clinical signs of LD or any other TBI - please get them tested!
We also need to get the word out - there are many, many people in the area I live, that have no idea (just as you didn't, Glorybell) even what LD is.

I'm on Amoxicillian too. Have you had any herxes yet? That would be a tale-tale sign that you do have Lyme.

The symptoms of Fibromyalgia (often called Myalgic Encephylomyelitis, or ME, in Canada and Europe) can be attributed to a variety of underlying causes, including but not limited to, Lyme, EBV/CMV/other viral infections, Candida infection, nutritional deficiencies, hypothyroid, adrenal burnout, chemical exposures, etc. And sometimes more than one of these things can be combining to contribute to symptoms that would be diagnosed as Fibromyalgia by many MD's.