lyme vs. ms

Hi justme,

Here is a "short list" of Lyme symptoms (this is NOT all of them by any means!) from the following website:

www.anapsid.org/lyme/symptoms/tbi-symptoms.html

Borrelia Symptoms
(Borreliosis, neuroborreliosis; also known as Lyme Disease)
Spread primarily though the bite of infected ticks that live on a wide range of mammalian species; secondary human-to-human transmission through semen, breast milk, and possibly in utero

Bladder dysfunction
Burning or stabbing sensations
Cardiac impairment
Change in bowel function
Chest pain
Confusion
Depression
Difficulty thinking
Difficulty with concentration and reading
Difficulty with speech, writing
Difficulty finding words; name blocking
Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places
Disturbed sleep: too much, too little, fractionated, early awakening
Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity
Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol
Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity
Facial paralysis (Bell's palsy)
Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina
Forgetfulness
Headache
Heart block
Heart murmur
Heart palpitations
Heart valve prolapse
Increased motion sickness
Irritability
Irritable bladder
Joint pain or swelling
Lightheadedness
Mood swings
Muscle pain or cramps
Neck creaks & cracks
Neck stiffness, pain
Numbness
Pelvic pain
Poor attention
Poor balance
Poor short-term memory
Problem absorbing new information
Pulse skips
Rib soreness
Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido
Shooting pains
Shortness of breath; cough
Skin hypersensitivity
Sore throat
Stiffness of the joints or back
Swollen glands
Testicular pain
Tingling
Tremor
Twitching of the face or other muscles
Unavoidable need to sit or lay down
Unexplained breast pain
Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills or flushing
Unexplained hair loss
Unexplained menstrual irregularity'
Unexplained milk production
Unexplained weight loss or gain
Upset Stomach or abdominal pain
Vertigo
Wooziness

As you can see, your symptoms are in there....numbness, fatigue, upset stomach, etc.

I myself have had MS-like symptoms (bladder dysfunction, numbness, vertigo and imbalance problems, peripheral neuropathies, etc, etc) in a relapsing/remitting sort of pattern over time. However my lumbar puncture and two brain MRIs were clean.

Lyme can mimic almost ANY autoimmune disease!

If you tested positive for Lyme, you MUST see an LLMD (Lyme-Literate doctor) as soon as possible!

Where do you live? I can help if you live in CA or near New York City....please click on the little envelope in the left panel to contact me by email.

Please keep us posted!
JoAnn

If I were you, I'd get some Vitamin B12 supplements - deficiency of Vitamin B12 can cause demylination of the CNS, and also there are some LLMD's who believe Lyme depletes the body of Vitamin B12.

In my 6 year battle I have never quite figured it out. I test positive for Lyme and my MRI and spinal tap show MS. My local Drs will only treat my MS and I also take antibiotics for Lyme. I find that as long as I stay on Minocycline I do not have new MS symptoms. I still have alot of everyday symptoms at this point I feel like they will never go away. The last LLMD I saw thinks he has gotten rid of the Lyme but that now I have other issues and it is propably MS. It's all too confusing for me. Good luck in your journey.