Lyme Disease Support Group
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. It is now one of the fastest growing infectious diseases in the U.S. Lyme disease is caused by infection with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, and is primarily transmitted to humans as well as dogs, horses and other domesticated animals by the bite of infected ticks.
I have been diagnosed with parkinsons disease, for the last 5 years, and have stumbled across a conversation that l might have lymes disease instead of parkingons.
is their a test available that would tell the truth of my disease.
I have had a what l call target , bullseye rash on my legs , years ago.
Please someone tell me the advanced symptoms of lymes, if l have had it, it would now be 8 years old in my body
is their a test available that would tell the truth of my disease.
I have had a what l call target , bullseye rash on my legs , years ago.
Please someone tell me the advanced symptoms of lymes, if l have had it, it would now be 8 years old in my body
http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf
It is long. I suggest you print it and read little bits at a time. Try not to be overwhelmed. Symptoms are listed in checklist format, somewhere around page 10.
Your history of a bullseye rash sounds like lyme disease to me. If you have lyme, it could have triggered symptoms similar to Parkinsons, or, possibly, triggered Parkinsons. (I am not in the medical field, this is just a guess.)
You will need to find a "lyme literate md," LLMD, in order to get properly diagnosed and treated. ILADS can make referrals of doctors who treat lyme for longer amounts of time (not 1-4 weeks of antibiotics, which is what the Infectious Disease Society of America recommends). Long term treatment is controversial, but, many people with chronic lyme have gotten their lives back by being treated until after the symptoms resolved.
Keep us posted....
Symptoms vary from one individual to the next. I think the most telling sign is that so many different body systems can be involved. Muscles, joints, brain, heart, gastro-intestinal, etc. This causes most American doctors (specialists) to throw up their hands and declare the problem "psychosomatic".
I had Lyme and coinfections for 17 years before diagnosis. My late stage symptom was severe memory loss. I was terrified that I was soon going to lose the ability to take care of myself and live independently.
Even if you have Parkinson's and Lyme, cleaning up the Lyme should go some way toward improving your quality of life.
http://www.canlyme.com/donta.html this one is from the doctor that treats me. it has a pretty good list of symptoms.
http://unmixingcolors.typepad.com/along_the_way/2010/01/imagining-lyme-disease.html this is just a persons blog, but it hit the nail on the head for me.
Good luck!