Seem Like I Suddenly Bruise and Hurt More Now

Never bruised easily through years of Lyme and all the other fun one can have with it. Now, I noticed a yellowing of skin under left bicep but don’t remember doing anything to bruise it. Had blood drawn a few days ago and it is now yellow.

Also, my biceps hurt some now for no reason I can think of. Front of shoulders hurt more. Same with my back. But those areas aren’t bruised, and I have no yellowing of skin except where I mentioned on arms.

Though my AST and ALT are low normal (16 and 7), the AST/ALT ratio is high, which could mean liver problems. Bilirubin and albumin are also normal. My concern, obviously, is liver problem.

This is new to me, so am wonder if this could be Lyme, Bart, Babesia. And possibly autoimmune. Anyone experience this?

my partner got spontaneous bruises from lyme and bart - i saw one start while i was looking at it - from nothing to a reddish purple bruise in 5 minutes - very odd

both bart and lyme cause damage to the blood vessels - so its no big surprise

i di wonder however when reading your post whether these could all be separate things

eg could the yellowing on your arm below your bicep be just little blood leak where they took blood from
i find its very common for the nurse to go right through the vein with the needle before pulling back until the blood flows again - this always causes a small bruise at the blood draw site from the leaking blood into the tissues

generalised pain and stiffness in the back and shoulders is a common thing for me - not sure if lyme or bart or perhaps both

i very much doubt you have anything serious going on with your liver with such low enzyme numbers - regardless of the ratio's. that's good news

hi RW
if you had jaundice i think you would notice an overall yellowing of your skin and eyes and tissues internally in your mouth, eyelids etc

it doesn't appear as localised yellow patches (it might be more visible in less tanned areas - but the discolouration itself is not patchy) - small yellowish patches like those you mention are most likely bruises or burst blood vessels as we have discussed.

i really don't think the ast/alt ratio is anything to be worried about when both values are so low - if you have real liver damage enough to cause jaundice my understanding one or more of these enzymes would be sky high - like 4x the upper limit

some people - my brother for instance just have generally high AST ( or ALK) for no known reason - he is in good health and goes to the gym 3x per week

i would put this one down and try to focus on things that can move your forward

you mentioned bicillin from India but with payment issues preventing you from ordering.

since this seemed to work so well for you before and is kidney safe - that really seems like a good option to me

can i help with that - we could do some screen sharing thing and i could help you with the online steps steps - or i could pay for you and you could pay me back afterward

Garzie - First, what a tremendous, kind, trusting offer you made. With my mood today and emotional status, it brought tears to my eyes. It simply reinforces what I've already known simply through your posts on this site - you are a very good guy. Your offer is truly rare, and I would take you up on it only if: A. I can't get it to work on my own B. I transferred the money to your first before you order.

Remarkable offer to someone you have never met in person. It is incredible, to me, it takes ordering from India to be able to afford a medicine. Though I have to mix it myself, the cost of the amount of Bicillin shots I'd get in India is about $58. If I bought it anywhere in the U.S., the price for the same amount, only already in shot form, would be about $8,000, That is crazy!

And thanks for the words about the liver and jaundice. With the yellowing of those two areas, sore biceps and other muscles, a weaker feeling, etc.... I did another good job of getting inside my mind and taking it to a worst case situation.

My guess is Lyme and Bartonella, or, possibly, Sjogrens. I have noticed the Bartonella like lines at times, but they fade so fast it makes me doubt that's what they are.

And I still would like to know, as long as you're comfortable sharing, if you are feeling as well as you were a year or so ago.

My goal is to feel more "doable" for the holidays for my kids' sake. They are all in their 20s, but they've known me as sick for most of the years of their lives, despite coaching them from youth through college. Bothers me.

running wild said...
Quin - What part of your shoulders hurt? Are you doing any better with Bartonella? I am thinking that is causing problems as I get what appear like the classic "Bart" lines, but they disappear quickly, so I wonder

Mostly my upper arms, between the elbow and shoulder, and occasionally my upper back. Sometimes the joints hurt, sometimes the muscles. This has been the hardest area to get borrelia out of. The pain in my legs, feet and hands is gone, except for some minor neuropathy in my fingers which probably comes from borrelia affecting the nerves further up my arm.

I am right handed, and the remaining infection is mostly on the left side. It seems that exercising muscles disturbs borrelia. It likes to get into muscles and joints that don't get used as much.

I have not had any bartonella symptoms for over a year. No new rash, and no ammonia/sulfur/asparagus smell. The scars from the bartonella did not go away, but I am not getting any new ones. I get some bruising and itchy spots, mostly associated with herxing from borrelia, but it doesn't look like bartonella rash.

running wild said...


And I still would like to know, as long as you're comfortable sharing, if you are feeling as well as you were a year or so ago.

My goal is to feel more "doable" for the holidays for my kids' sake. They are all in their 20s, but they've known me as sick for most of the years of their lives, despite coaching them from youth through college. Bothers me.

i am happy to help RW - just drop me an email and we can sort it out - always easier with two heads as opposed to one

ref. how am i doing? - yes. good, thank you - i have moved forward since this time last year
by around April /May time this year i was at my best yet -
i then had a couple of setbacks with first COVID and then heart issues - which knocked me back and stopped me from doing physical training etc
but by July i was pretty much back to where i was - and have since started a pulsed antibiotic regimen based on Dr J's approach - while keeping everything else i was doing going ( as that was helping )

i have just finished my 7th cycle of these - and i have been getting a small step forward from each one - so i am definitely at my best yet now - am able to do more each day - and have had some days where i have really noticed the energy increase - i had forgotten what it was like to have a spring in your step!

of course after a week off the abx - you start another cycle again and along with the abx there is more fatigue and herx etc for a while - but there is no denying the trend is upwards

to try to put some kind of scale on it - on the good days i have perhaps closed the gap from where i was in May this year to where i think i will be pretty much fully recovered by around 1/3rd
if things were to continue improving at this rate - no guarantees i know - but if they did - and there were no further complications, like heart stuff or something else out of the blue - i could feasibly be able to work fully time in around 6-9months time.

that's no a hard and fast thing - just what looks possible right now - and helps keep me motivated - all my efforts right now are to continue the upward trajectory.

Good news to see, Garzie. Moving forward is such a great, rare feat in the Lyme world. It felt so great to feel good for those 18-19 months years ago.

Totally under stand when you wrote " I had forgotten what it was like to have a spring in your step! Glad you are re-experiencing that. And all you can do is appreciate each day you feel better. I've come to understand that, even when I get back to 45%-50%. Would be great to see that you are back working full time. When I felt semi-cured in 2015, the 18 moths or more of being able to handle college DI coaching schedule, stress and long hours was so great. Now, even when I set sound and announce a 5K or 10K race, I'm trashed from the early wake up time and challenge to be upbeat and positive at the race.

Quin- Man, you've tried a lot of medicines. I was amazed when I looked at it all compressed in five posts. Also interesting is your how MCAS and autoimmune go away when you herx. What a choice - autoimmune or a butt-kicking herx.

Quin - Your experience is very familiar about having to narrow down what is tolerable and works. After finally getting a Lyme diagnosis after 11 years, the LLMD put me on IV Rocephin, which caused a horrendous reaction. After studying about different antibiotics, I asked him about Bicillin,which he said would be good. That made all the difference back then.

Same first reaction as you. Out of the blue, I would have stuffiness and felt tired after drinking a couple of beer. A another early sign came in the form of headaches, which I'd rarely ever had before.

I am about to order more Bicillin as I may have it figured out how to order again from India for a great price (thanks to Rainy).

Big concern is still kidneys. Hope you have found the right mix to get you better.

Have ordered some Bicillin shots from India (Pfizer brand). Have to mix them, as mentioned earlier in this post. They have been shipped and hoping they can help some. Body pain is really bad now in shoulders, back, knees, neck, etc... Not sure if it is autoimmune related or Lyme. But by trying the Bicillin, it should give me a good indication.

Also, I haven't had an IVIG session for about 7 weeks now, so that could be causing a ramp up in pain. That starts up again Sunday. Depression is really kicking due to the situation, so something's got to give. If I was already treating, I could, possibly, relate it to a herx. But I haven't treated for months now.

Thanks, Garzie. Even the bank I go to had trouble transferring the money. But got it done.

Body pain and fatigue are worse than ever so it may be Sjogrens. Going to ask my primary care doctor today some questions. I imagine from past tests Lyme still is playing a role. She may want to test again, which I’m tired of testing.