Seizures and Lyme

Babesia is the malaria-like co-infection. It's pretty common to have with Lyme and very difficult to test for. It requires different treatments than the Lyme bacteria.

I'm sorry you're having seizures. I had a few when I was off meds and they were very scary. Sometimes I worry if my spaciness and twitching/dropping things is actually some form of seizure. Many things can trigger seizures (brain swelling, liver enzymes elevated, chemicals, toxins, nerve misfiring). Most of those can be attributed to Lyme and co-infections.

The flu-like feeling for me usually indicates a herx.

Hi Justme,

I tracked my symptoms for about a month straight. I logged EVERYTHING about my symptoms, for input into a psychological assessment that the doc's wanted to do when my seizures first hit. Logged the physical symptoms, when they started, how long they lasted, what I was doing before they hit and during the symptoms/episode (it wasn't always a full-blown seizure) and what I was thinking before and during the onset of symptoms. (Do remember: this was for a psychological assessment.)

Every session, I and the psychologist would review the list and ask "is there a pattern". There never was... until one day I walked in the office and declared "I see a pattern!"

The psychologist looked at me with hopeful eyes. "You do? What is it???" I get a severe seizure and then, the next day, I am sick with a viral or bacterial infection. Literally. Happened like clockwork every time. I get a seizure and the next day I am so sick with a bad cold or sinus infection that I am laid out on the couch or in the bed. It is like my siezures know that I am sick before I do. It is an early warning system. Got so reliable that if I had a bad seizure, I would send the boss a note saying that I would likely be sick tomorrow and won't be in to work for a few days.

Before this fall season, I was doing pretty good. No seizure for almost 6 weeks. Then, I started getting loose stools and nausea. I could feel the internal shaking working it's way up. I thought "Oh. Lyme season is here". Then two weeks or so later, the seizures started. Then really loose stool and extreme nausea. Hardly ate for 3 or 4 days. Then, saw a food recall notice for a snack food I was eating to get my iron levels up -- salmonella poisoning. Yup. Should of known I was sick.

BTW, I see a naturopath. Naturopath also noticed this pattern. If I am having a lot of seizures, her tests will always show viruses or a sinus infection, for example.

To help overcome this pattern, the doc had me take lots of vitamin C and Echinacea. Echinacea I took as per label directions (3 times a day before meals). For the vitamin C, I used 'Ester-C 1000'. Doc recommended 1000mg 3 times per day for maintenance during cold/flu season. I would take 2 or 3 of these tablets every 2 hours when actively sick (other than lyme).

It is important to know that you CANNOT overdose on vitamin C. If you have more than your body needs, your body will unload it. As soon as you start taking too much, your stool will get looser and/or you will have diarrhea. If this happens, you reduce the dose.

While doing this, my dentists saw problems with my dental amalgams breaking down. Was it the acid from the Vit C that did this? I don't know. Don't know if this was there before lyme or not. But, I had to have all of the amalgams replaced. This was a happy coincidence, given the extra impact that heavy metals in the amalgams can have on the neurological system. I took it as a win.

But, at my last dental check up, my teeth are getting cavities. I am very careful with brushing and flossing every day and haven't had a cavity in YEARS. So I was taken off guard by this. Is it possible that Vit C can have this impact? I really don't know. But I will be more careful with it in the future.