What are the chances.. I know this is taboo but I want to know..

So as many of you know I've really been struggling lately. I've had new symptoms pop up just recently as well as old symptoms flare. I'm just feeling terrible lately.

With that being said, I want to know is it common for people to die from lyme & co? I know my heart is involved, which scares me EVERYDAY. Also, I don't think most know this but I had an mri and mra of my brain by my neurologist and everything was fine except one of my arteries in my brain was smaller than normal (in diameter). So that raises the question of thick blood.. If my blood clots easier, my risks of a stroke are higher.. Right? (I know none of us are doctors, just looking for advice or people with facts..)

None of my doctors will order the hypercoagability test, I don't know why. Every day I just feel like I'm going to drop dead. It's not my anxiety, it's not my stress, I literally feel like death is right around the corner..

Am I scared, yes. But it's not talked about a lot and I'm curious if people pass from lyme & co??? I don't mean to scare anyone with this post or offend anyone, in genuinely wondering and worried about this topic..

Post Edited (Alyrose2) : 5/31/2015 8:38:23 AM (GMT-6)

On the upside you are not likely to die of lyme. On the downside lyme untreated to go into some serious debilitating condiitions. My LLMD did have a conversation with my during my last visit regarding the number of patients who later had stroke. Hope this does not spook you too much. I think a good preventative are the low dose aspirins you can take daily. Also the abx have a tendency to thin the blood.

And btw one of the worst aspects of the disease are the mental effects. Keep up with medications and try to go out even if it is just for a walk everyday. You need to clear your mind because sitting home thinking about it can be very difficult and make you an emotional wreck. (as most of us here know from experience)

It's a blood panel that checks how thick your blood is and how it clots. I talked to my Llmd and asked him to order the test for me but he said that once you start getting into all those little things that you start to stray away from treating the lyme. He said once you treat the lyme all of the other stuff will go away. But since I've had "stroke like symptoms" before, I think this is pretty serious. I see my neurologist tomorrow for a follow up appt and she doesn't even know I have lyme yet. So should I ask her??? I just want a darn doctor to order it!

From what I have read, it is usually the untreated Lyme that poses a deadly risk. You have a great advantage in that you're treating it!

A lot of the herbs and meds for Lyme will thin your blood. Nattokinase, Serrapeptase and Lumbrokinase for biofilms thin blood. Hawthorn thins blood. Vitamin K thins blood. As you treat, you will likely try some of these blood thinners. Of course, discuss your treatment plans with your LLMD and LLND. They also can have interactions with everything you're taking. Always double check these interactions yourself.

Hang in there Alyrose! I'm sorry that you're having such a rough time. The members here know your plight and can help. So, keep posting!

Alyrose - Complain all you want. We don't mind.

Believe me, I've done my share of complaining/whining....lamenting.

Most of us have been there...so we sympathize. Remember, you haven't been treating for very long...it takes a while...you'll get there!

Alyrose, I know it's rough to go through all these emotions. Mine have been flaring too. I had to talk myself down yesterday and not let my Bart take over. I have had a lot of practice controlling my emotions. Of course, it is healthy to cry and not hold it in. I have had major fear issues too. Fear has been the single most counter-productive emotion I have had. These bugs make it impossible to control at times.

Try not to let stress get to you. It's terrible for u. I know it's easier said than done though. In my experience, I get so stressed about things that need to get done. They usually do. All the stress was just wasted energy, which was detrimental to my health.

Hang in there. We're here to listen.

Aly, you really should be totally open and honest about your fears and concerns with the doc. He will understand and not judge you, and hopefully he will be able to help put your mind at ease and help you comprehend. God knows, I call him sometimes JUST for reassurance! Actually just left a message for him because I need to give him an update, but mostly because I just want/need to hear him say what I'm experiencing is normal.

Don't forget that we have a full moon tomorrow and that can most definitely play a part in emotional turmoil when you have these infections!! They definitely did for me and I know that I'm not alone with this.

My hubby does his INR at home, so it's a very simple skin prick test - one drop of blood is all that's needed. Don't forget that YOU hired that doc, not the other way around. You pay him to do things for you, not the other way around. You have every right to have your blood tested, so be insistent - just do it politely. Tell them you will wait in the office if needed to have it done - or have them make an appt at the local hospital to have it done.

Traveler - Thank you for that. I will ask my doctor again, this time adding a little of my italian attitude in there LOL!

Dancingbear* - Thank you so so so so much for that. I am going to type that up and every time I feel stressed or scared, I'll read that outloud to myself. & Thank you for the birthday wishes. My son is my world and I cannot believe he's going to be 4. He's my motivation to get my health back. I want him to know me as a happy and healthy mommy!

Random thought here.. I decided to add two pictures to my photobucket library. One picture is captioned before my infection and before I started feeling symptoms. The second picture is after I started experiencing symptoms. You can definitely tell the difference. It's amazing what a disease can do to someone.. physically mentionally emotionally and financially.. (not to mention I added 30 pounds onto my second picture. totally not happy about that but its slowly coming off with the right diet and etc.)

http://s577.photobucket.com/user/adiaferia22/library/Mobile%20Uploads?sort=3&page=1

Dancingbear -- I like your post. It's sort of like what I'm going through right now. I (like everyone else here) went from doctor to doctor, and test after test. Every test came back normal, and every doctor told me I was perfectly healthy but had anxiety. When I found out I had Lyme, it was actually a huge sense of relief. Like "I KNEW something was wrong with my body". I suddenly was so calm for quite a while, not worrying about my symptoms.

NOW...totally different story. I'm obsessing over certain symptoms that aren't going away. Thinking to myself "oh my god! why aren't they going away? Is something other than Lyme causing them"...I try to remind myself that I spent an entire year at doctors and having tests, so realistically nothing else could be causing them. But still...

Do others do this as well? I'm not really sure how to get past this worry and obsessing over symptoms, and get back to the place where I just trust that I have many odd symptoms because of my illness -- Lyme & Bartonella. I want to get back to that place...

Runner, I want to get back to that place also. I feel like I am there a lot more now, than before. For me it is something I always work on. It doesn't come easy and I slip back into old habits easily.

So this is what I do, and you can try it to if you want. Its not easy and it is something I have to work on daily (at first). Have something you tell yourself when you have these obsessive thoughts. Tell your self "I am not allowing these thoughts." and have another pre thought ready. Something you have set up that you say. You really have to release it to the universe. I have heard "you create what you fear". If you are constantly repeating what you fear, you are like a magnet calling it to you. Fear is like this.

This is a great reminder for myself also, cause it is easy to fall back into the fear. Is worrying helping? Absolutely not. What good is it then? Are you going to do something about it, go to more quack doctors maybe? NO! So release it. Have faith that you will be well again. (Hard I know). We will though, you and I and all the others here. We will be better. We just don't know when. Repeat that when you are scared. "I will be better one day!". You also create what you believe! Believe you will be healthy! "I am healthy!". "I trust my doctor!". "I am in good hands!" "It's just the Lyme!"

Don't allow yourself to give into the fear. Change your thoughts. If you say it enough, you will believe it. "You create what you believe!".

We got this girl!!!!!

YES! I insist it!

I agree with Dancingbear! When I get scared and overwhelmed, I repeat over and over "It is going to be okay!" I force all other thoughts out of my head. It calms me down.

I think back on all the horrible situations I have faced and how God helped me through them every single time. I'm going to get through this too. And so are you!

I'm extremely sorry that you lost your fiance. That is a lot of trauma to have to face.

Hang in there Alyrose. You are going to get through this! Stay positive! I'm happy you found us. Also, you might check out some local Lyme support groups if you have not already. It helps to have face to face interaction with fellow Lymies. You might find someone you connect with if you go a few times. :)