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Hello, And Thank You Very Much For Taking The Time
Hello, and thank you very much for taking the time to read my concerns. After being progressively ill since August of 2014, with every blood test and diagnostic imaging test coming back as normal, I am now being evaluated for Lyme Disease. A Western Blot performed a few weeks ago at a commercial lab (Quest) came back completely negative. Not one IgG or IgM band came back as reactive.
I am due to see an Internist who specializes in Lyme Disease and other tick-borne infections, and who treats LD based on a clinical diagnosis, based on the symptoms presented by the patient. My appointment, however, is not for another six weeks.
That being said, I have a few questions of a neurological nature, which I was hoping I could get answered on this forum, since I have been unable to find the answers anywhere else.
1. The advent of my illness began in August of 2014 with random dizzy spells. These were not ordinary dizzy spells which I experienced when pregnant or not feeling well. These were dizzy spells that would make me feel as if I were in another dimension, and which told me that something was horribly wrong. I would begin to sweat profusely, my body would become overheated from the inside, I would begin to hyperventilate, and I would feel that the ground was being pulled from beneath me; that I was walking on air. It was during this time that I also began having issues with depth perception. I kept saying that something was not right.
1. The organic symptoms began in October of 2014, beginning with fevers which occurred twice a day, and ran non-stop for five consecutive weeks. I kept feeling a pulsating pain in my spleen. For two months I had bouts with extreme, unrelenting abdominal bloating and nausea. During this time, I would have this hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up my abdomen and into my thoracic cavity. This usually happened in my sleep, but I believe one time it did happen during the day. Once the extreme bloating subsided, however, I never had that strange tingling sensation go up my abdomen again.
2. When I first began getting sick, I also had the same hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up my entire back, beginning from my hip area, and which would make me feel as if my back were on fire. My skin, however, would be cool to the touch. This occurred quite often in the beginning of my illness - several nights a week. It always occurred in my sleep, and it always woke me up.
3. Over the last few months I have had the same hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up the left side of my thoracic cavity. Again, only occurring in my sleep, and always waking me up. Coincidentally, it appears that whatever affliction or condition I am dealing with, it seems to be affecting only the left side of my body. I have found that if I sleep on my left side, I get the bouts of ascending paresthesia in my sleep, my body becomes overheated, I begin sweating profusely, and I wake up feeling dizzy and nauseous, and with my face flushed. The last few bouts of paresthesia have traveled straight to my brain, and resulted in a vibrating sensation inside of my head. The last incident occurred a few weeks ago, and this time it resulted in my vision going in and out twice; I immediately became very dizzy, nauseous and disoriented; and my legs began to tremble. I also noticed that the left side of my face was hot to the touch, while the right side was of normal temperature. Even the ER physician noticed such. Standard blood tests and a CT of my brain at my local ER turned up nothing. A neurologist I visited after the fact suggested a sleep study with an EEG, but also stated that the results would most likely come back normal.
4. Ever since this last episode which I just described, I have found that if I sleep solely on my right side, I do not get the bouts of paresthesia in my sleep, and I do not wake up feeling dizzy and nauseous. I do, however, get excruciating headaches during the daytime hours from time to time, sometimes solely on the left side of my head, sometimes in the back of my head. Sometimes I get stabbing pains in the back of my head that feel like ice picks are stabbing me. A recent MRI of my brain using FLAIR imaging did not reveal anything of diagnostic importance or specificity, other than "evidence of migraine headaches, vasculopathy and other demyelinating processes." I have never in my life had issues with headaches, nor do I have vascular issues. The report also showed non-specific lesions on the white matter of the brain. A recent SPEP test came back normal.
Have you ever had a patient, or read a scholarly article, where any or all of these symptoms occurred; specifically in a Lyme Disease patient? I have read that Lyme Disease tends to usually involve more than one dermatome, and also tends to involve/affect just one side of the body. The burning and tingling sensation that travels into my brain is what has me worried most.
I am due to see an Internist who specializes in Lyme Disease and other tick-borne infections, and who treats LD based on a clinical diagnosis, based on the symptoms presented by the patient. My appointment, however, is not for another six weeks.
That being said, I have a few questions of a neurological nature, which I was hoping I could get answered on this forum, since I have been unable to find the answers anywhere else.
1. The advent of my illness began in August of 2014 with random dizzy spells. These were not ordinary dizzy spells which I experienced when pregnant or not feeling well. These were dizzy spells that would make me feel as if I were in another dimension, and which told me that something was horribly wrong. I would begin to sweat profusely, my body would become overheated from the inside, I would begin to hyperventilate, and I would feel that the ground was being pulled from beneath me; that I was walking on air. It was during this time that I also began having issues with depth perception. I kept saying that something was not right.
1. The organic symptoms began in October of 2014, beginning with fevers which occurred twice a day, and ran non-stop for five consecutive weeks. I kept feeling a pulsating pain in my spleen. For two months I had bouts with extreme, unrelenting abdominal bloating and nausea. During this time, I would have this hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up my abdomen and into my thoracic cavity. This usually happened in my sleep, but I believe one time it did happen during the day. Once the extreme bloating subsided, however, I never had that strange tingling sensation go up my abdomen again.
2. When I first began getting sick, I also had the same hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up my entire back, beginning from my hip area, and which would make me feel as if my back were on fire. My skin, however, would be cool to the touch. This occurred quite often in the beginning of my illness - several nights a week. It always occurred in my sleep, and it always woke me up.
3. Over the last few months I have had the same hot, burning, tingling sensation travel up the left side of my thoracic cavity. Again, only occurring in my sleep, and always waking me up. Coincidentally, it appears that whatever affliction or condition I am dealing with, it seems to be affecting only the left side of my body. I have found that if I sleep on my left side, I get the bouts of ascending paresthesia in my sleep, my body becomes overheated, I begin sweating profusely, and I wake up feeling dizzy and nauseous, and with my face flushed. The last few bouts of paresthesia have traveled straight to my brain, and resulted in a vibrating sensation inside of my head. The last incident occurred a few weeks ago, and this time it resulted in my vision going in and out twice; I immediately became very dizzy, nauseous and disoriented; and my legs began to tremble. I also noticed that the left side of my face was hot to the touch, while the right side was of normal temperature. Even the ER physician noticed such. Standard blood tests and a CT of my brain at my local ER turned up nothing. A neurologist I visited after the fact suggested a sleep study with an EEG, but also stated that the results would most likely come back normal.
4. Ever since this last episode which I just described, I have found that if I sleep solely on my right side, I do not get the bouts of paresthesia in my sleep, and I do not wake up feeling dizzy and nauseous. I do, however, get excruciating headaches during the daytime hours from time to time, sometimes solely on the left side of my head, sometimes in the back of my head. Sometimes I get stabbing pains in the back of my head that feel like ice picks are stabbing me. A recent MRI of my brain using FLAIR imaging did not reveal anything of diagnostic importance or specificity, other than "evidence of migraine headaches, vasculopathy and other demyelinating processes." I have never in my life had issues with headaches, nor do I have vascular issues. The report also showed non-specific lesions on the white matter of the brain. A recent SPEP test came back normal.
Have you ever had a patient, or read a scholarly article, where any or all of these symptoms occurred; specifically in a Lyme Disease patient? I have read that Lyme Disease tends to usually involve more than one dermatome, and also tends to involve/affect just one side of the body. The burning and tingling sensation that travels into my brain is what has me worried most.
