Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I was able to get all this information about Lyme Disease from a site. The link it sat the bottom of the page. It was decided that my mother had Lymes Disease even before I was born, so with that, every child in our family has it. Most Lyme Disease is not diagnosed because of the fact it has so many symptoms. It is never the same between two people. There are five in my family and none of us are the same, but we all share this disease. Below are most symptoms and misdiagnoses.

Early symptoms soon after exposure by tick bite:
Skin rash around tick bite - about 75% of cases have this rash; often hot to the touch but not painful; may have bullseye shape.
Erythema migrans (EM) - the official name for the tick bite skin rash
Mild illness
Flu-like symptoms
Fever
Chills
Malaise
Swollen lymph nodes
Headaches
Stiff neck
Fatigue
Muscle aches
Body aches
Neck aches
Arthritis
Joint pain
Knee arthritis
Neurological symptoms - often occurring some time after exposure, from weeks to years later.
Numbness
Limb pain
Limb weakness
Radiculitis (numbness, tingling, burning)
Bell's palsy
Visual disturbances
Poor motor coordination
Encephalopathy
Memory loss
Difficulty with concentration
Change in mood
Changed sleeping habits
Thinking difficulties
Nerve damage - in the arms and legs
Encephalomyelitis - including its various symptoms Encephalomyelitis of such as:
Limb weakness
Motor coordination problems
Muscle weakness
Meningitis symptoms
Fever
Stiff neck
Severe headache
Heart abnormalities - less than 10% of Lyme patients get heart problems
Irregular heartbeat
Dizziness
Shortness of breath
Eye inflammation
Conjunctivitis
Hepatitis
Severe fatigue
Chronic skin disorders
Joint problems
Arthritis
Chronic arthritis
Knee arthritis

It can also cause these complications:

Arthritis - often occurs several months after the tick bite.
Chronic arthritis
Permanent joint damage
Meningitis
Aseptic meningitis
Bell's palsy
Radiculitis
Encephalopathy
Heart abnormalities

Heart inflammation
Heart enlargement
Eye inflammation
Conjunctivitis
Hepatitis
Severe fatigue
Encephalomyelitis
Heart damage - rare if Lyme is treated.
Muscle aches
Memory problems
Concentration problems
Persistent fatigue Prenatal infection - the unborn child can get Lyme disease from a pregnant woman
Miscarriage
Stillbirth

For a diagnosis of Lyme disease, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Lyme disease:
Babesiosis
Ehrlichiosis - may be similar to early Lyme disease.
Multiple sclerosis
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Depression
Fibromyalgia
Mononucleosis
Epstein Barr virus
ADHD
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Mesothelioma (type of Lung conditions)
Urticaria
Reaction to arthropod bite
Cellulitis
Erythema multiforme
Granuloma annulare
Rocky mountain spotted fever
HIV
Fibromylagia
Gonococcal arthritis (type of Infectious arthritis)
Rheumatic fever
Still's disease
Parvovirus
Sarcoidosis
SLE
Viral meningitis
Bell's palsy
Lyme disease
Lupus
Influenza
Infectious mononucleosis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Alzheimer's disease
Heart disease
Migraine headache
Human monocyte ehrlichiosis infection (transmitted by Lone Star tick)
Tick-borne relapsing fever (type of Relapsing fever)
Leptospirosis infection
Babesiosis infection
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis infection
Insect bite
Spider bite
Reiter syndrome
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Parkinson's disease
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Neuritis
Psychiatric illness
Schizophrenia
Heart failure
Angina
Irregular heart rhythm
Dermatitis
Attention deficit disorder
Chronic pain disorder (type of Pain Disorder)
Inflammatory eye reaction
Lou Gehrig's disease
Brain tumor
Gout/hyeruricemia
Trigeminal neuralgia

The other diseases for which Lyme disease is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:
Acute rheumatic fever
Arthritis
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Cold & Flu
Depression
Dysthymia/seasonal depression disorder, PND
Ehrlichiosis
Encephalitis
Fibromyalgia
Flu
Infectious arthritis
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis
Lupus
Lyme disease
Mosquito-borne diseases
Multiple Sclerosis
Osteoarthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
STARI

All the information above was found at http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/l/lyme_disease/intro.htm

If you feel that you have many of these symptoms or have been diagnosed with several of these things, then please be tested for Lyme Disease!

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