Are These Symptoms of Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is particularly tricky to diagnose, as it mimics many other diseases and disorders. That is why it’s often referred to as the Great Imitator. Misdiagnoses are exceedingly common. That is why it’s so important to be your own health advocate. If you find yourself asking, “Are these symptoms of Lyme disease?” don’t wait. Seek out a Lyme literate doctor immediately. Below is a short list of the symptoms I experienced. It is by no means all-inclusive but maybe you’ll recognize some of them and reach out for help earlier than I did. I can tell you from experience that ignoring curious symptoms will only make things worse. Left untreated, your battle will only be prolonged as a result.

Fatigue

I have been tired for as long as I can remember. Exhaustion enveloped me like a heavy blanket at a young age and would follow me around like a dark shadow until the day I was diagnosed. I craved naps on a daily basis. Ultimately, I would abandon my career as a professional dancer. All through my mid-twenties and into my thirties I would lose job after job due to the weight of the weariness tugging at my every waking moment.

Fibromyalgia

At the age of eighteen I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It is my belief that this was a misdiagnosis. There is research that suggests that many people who are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia are actually suffering from Lyme disease. I may never know for certain, but I feel fairly sure that my fibromyalgia symptoms were actually symptoms of Lyme disease. The pain of fibromyalgia was all-consuming and migratory.  It traveled up and down my torso and limbs like bolts of lightning. Some days it felt as though my spine had been wrapped in a vice grip and tightened to the point of snapping. The constant pain only added to my exhaustion.

Migraines

My migraines always began with visuals, appearing suddenly as a small, shimmering crescent-shaped aura in the corner of one eye. The first time it happened it scared the crap out of me. I thought I was going blind. Eventually, the aura would go dark and leave me with tunnel vision. Fortunately, I rarely actually got a headache but rather more of a dullness of mind. As my disease progressed though, the migraines were accompanied by brain fog and difficulty with word retrieval. The brain fog should have sent me to the doctor but it would take about fifteen more years before I went running for help.

Dizziness

The dizziness, which was also accompanied with a sort of brain fog, started in my mid-twenties and really freaked me out. At the time, this bout of illness was the most perplexing symptom to emerge yet. The dizzy spells would come on suddenly and persist for hours.

Along with the dizziness came a general feeling of disconnectedness or dissociation. It was as though my head was floating several inches above my shoulders and unable to properly communicate with the rest of my body. The dizzy spells were the first symptom that emerged that left me feeling vulnerable and afraid that I was dying.

Excruciating Menstrual Cycles

Due to what I believe was an early onset of perimenopause (I began having hot flashes at the age of thirty) I’m certain my painful menstrual cycles were a symptom of Lyme disease. Call it a gut instinct. For over a decade I struggled with periods that left me doubled-over in pain and crying, begging, for relief. The last period I had before I finally sought medical help due to my declining health, was painful enough to leave me bent over the bathtub retching. It was the first, and only, time I experienced pain so bad as to make me vomit. It was a real eye opener.

Tremor

My tremor also began in my early thirties. Initially, I noticed it only in the mornings and only in my hands. Eventually though, the shake progressed to other parts of my body. It crept up my arm so that not only my hands shook but my whole arm trembled. Over time it progressed into my neck and my legs. By the time I had to apply mascara by holding one hand in the other, a constant question was repeating itself like a broken record in the back of my mind, Is there something wrong with me?

Other Symptoms

There were a multitude of other symptoms that I didn’t even recognize as symptoms until my doctor caught onto them. Along with the visual migraines I would get weird headaches that felt like someone stabbing me in the brain with a hot screwdriver. I had ‘floaties’ in my eyes and a buzzing in my ears. Over time, I became more and more emotional and exhibited symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I constantly struggled with bouts of diarrhea. I rarely ever got sick, which some may think denotes a healthy immune system but the opposite is true. My immune system wasn’t functioning at all. All of this, and more, and I never would have suspected Lyme disease. Thank god I found a Lyme literate doctor who recognized these random symptoms for what they were.

Be Your Own Health Advocate. Don’t Wait!

At some point in your life you may have started asking yourself, Are these symptoms of Lyme disease? Or, maybe you’re asking yourself that now. As someone who ignored these, and many more symptoms for years, I urge you to seek medical help. Be your own health advocate. Don’t be like me. I was too afraid. I knew something was wrong with me and I shrunk from it. Look here for a comprehensive list of Lyme disease symptoms. If you suspect you might have Lyme disease, find a Lyme literate doctor now. Please.