I will be adding to this page, but here are some of my favorite resources for information regarding Lyme disease:
ProHealth (my new favorite site with up-to-date, current Lyme info)
Lyme disease is transmitted via tick bites. The tell tale sign of Lyme is a bulls eye rash. But guess what? Less then 50% of people actually get the rash (or are aware of ever having it). Lyme is a spirochete bacteria (clinically known as Borrelia Burgdorferi) that can burrow into ANY part of your body. I mean any. The bacteria originates in your blood stream but can travel deep into your joints, muscles, and organs (including the brain). Most ticks will transmits co-infections along with the Borrelia bacteria (I also have Babesiosis and Bartonella). The traditional Elisa ad Western blot tests are completely unreliable, missing a majority of cases (over 55% false negatives). There are over 300 strains of Borrelia world wide! Yet Elisa doesn’t even recognize close to this many. The CDC claims that 30 days of Doxycycline cures one of Lyme but since over 50% of people do not recall a tick bite or a rash and since the traditional testing method is unreliable, Lyme can easily become a chronic illness (which, by the way, the CDC does NOT recognize as a true illness).
Lyme is considered the great imitator and many with Lyme are mis-diagnosed with illnesses such as arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s, Fibromyalgia, and more. Borrelia is a smart organism. Once you contract Lyme, the little buggers create a “shield” around themselves which protects them from your own immune system and from any drugs attempting to kill them. Lyme can basically hide anywhere in your body for YEARS, laying dormant until your immune system is weak enough that they can pretty much come out and attack your body. Once you have had it for years and it becomes chronic, it is very hard to fight off and get rid of. The goal at this time is to place it in remission and work on lifestyle and stress management in order to cope with the illness and prevent relapses.
Lyme is VICIOUS. It is immune suppressing and life debilitating. More research and attention needs to be brought to this disease and I hope my blog can help do that.
Here is the list of symptoms that appeared for me in February 2012 or have appeared since then:
Severe headaches
Body aches (especially in my muscles… deep aches- lower back, legs)
Joint pain
Blurry vision
Unable to focus my eyes
Trouble reading/seeing (In class I could hardly see or read the slides/board)
Trouble with concentration
Extreme exhaustion/Chronic fatigue syndrome
Rash on chest and upper back
Lightheaded, shaky, dizzy
Tingling on back of hands and feet
Sinus pressure
Head feeling full of fluid or pressure
Chest feeling full of mucus
Ringing in ears/blocked ears
General ill/flu feeling
Issues with breathing/unable to take deep breaths
Occasional fever
Night sweats
SEVERE anxiety with anxiety attacks
Mood swings
Symptoms I had for a while:
Anxiety
Stomach aches/ GI issues
Acid reflux
Chronic injuries (achilles tendonitis, shin splints, etc)
Depression
lemonsnlyme.wordpress.com 
Hi Victoria. lad to see that you are still blogging. I seen the post were you and a friend won an award in a sporting event. Thanks great Lemons. I read your symptoms. I know it may not help but I am sorry for the chronic constant pain you have to go through with this illness.
I will say though the food you post about and eat looks great. I like healthy looking food anyhow. Your welcome to check out my new web site http://www.savorthefood.com and please re-follow my new blog Fun with Food at http://www.savorthefood.com/blog .
Hope your doing well in your university studies!! 🙂 I know it is hard but keep going Victoria, you are an inspiration to more than you know. Look to the right of this comment over there under Archives..in a few weeks you will have had one year blog. Think back of all that you had to face and then see the accomplishments.
I like most of your posts, but this page I won’t push the Like button. I don’t know you personally, but I don’t like what you have had to go through.
Thanks for sharing your blog with Us all Victoria. Keep your chine up Lemons. You have till now. 🙂
Regards,
Randall
http://www.savorthefood.com
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Hello,
I read your story and find it has a lot of parallels to mine. I grew up in Baltimore, always active in sports, exercise, and eating well. I started to get the symptoms you have described: unexplained anxiety, acid reflux/ stomach issues, trouble getting a full breath, and general fatigue, headaches, achy feeling. Doctor after doctor has told me it’s just generalized anxiety disorder, which I refuse to believe. I have been kind of floating along, finding little help in the different supplements I have been taking. I was suspecting it caused by mold exposure and or chronic EBV, but now I’m thinking it could be Lyme. I was tested for Lyme which came back negative, but as you said there are a lot of false negatives. Which test did the doctor use to get your diagnosis? Thanks, and best of luck in your recovery!
C. Travis Mitchell
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I wouldn’t be surprised if you were dealing with both mold and viral issues on top of Lyme. All of that seems to come as a package deal (woohoo, right?). I’ve done both Igenex and DNAConnexions testing. I found DNAConnexions to be the most accurate. They are a relatively new lab out of Colorado and that was the first 100% pos test I’ve had. They also test all the co-infections, as well, so it makes life a bit easier instead of doing a million different tests. I hope that is helpful! Sending healing vibes.
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