Kim's Story
It's a little blurry, a little confusing to me, but....... Back in 1996, I remember going to a doctor because I was feeling "fatigued," and I was having some strange "sensations" throughout my body. My symptoms aren't too clear going back then because at that time, I had not been keeping a journal of the mysterious ailments that were troubling me. Anyway, I was tested for Lyme disease and a few other things, and the only one that came back positive was a positive EBV titer.
So I thought that was it. The doctor advised me that it was very important for me to slow things down and take vitamins, etc., which I did and I was getting by okay.
I guess about one year after that(as far as I can remember -- no log yet), I went back because of a pain that I had in my left ankle, which had I attributed in my mind, to my exercising at the gym up to 2 hours almost every day. Again, more tests were done, including a Lyme test, and everything came back negative.
On my own, I went to an Orthopedic doctor. He x-rayed my foot and could not find anything wrong. Then I ventured over to the Podiatrist, where he ordered an MRI - the MRI showed some fluid surrounding the joint, but nothing that the doctor was concerned about. He told me that I had "loose joints," molded my feet for orthodics, and then I went on my merry way.
From there more unusual things were happening to me which led me to see a cardiologist. I had a thallium stress test done (those tests were normal), met with a neurologist(for a headache that lasted 45 days). That exam didn't provide any further information, except that I was told I had "wonder woman syndrome." Her answer was to prescribe some massage therapy. I went to a Hematologist to see if he could find any rare cancer or anything unusual in my blood, but that also came back negative.
I ventured over to a Rheumatologist to have him tell me that he thought I might possibly have "Marfan Syndrome" (Abraham Lincoln was known to be a Marfan). After this visit, I'd had it with doctors!! No one took me seriously enough.
My list of mysterious ailments was growing now, which included the following: headaches, tingling/burning/itching sensations throughout my body, eye pain/burning/stinging sensations, abdominal cramps, pelvic pain, prickly pains in fingers, sore joints, sore muscles, strange feelings on top of my head and into my face.
I went back to the original doctor that told me I tested positive for EBV in 1996 (now it's 1999). A LUAT was done -- the results came back and now I find out it's highly positive. Finally - a diagnosis!
I have been on antibiotics (all of which have been combinations of oral antibiotics) for 8+ months now. I thought that I was doing better, but lately my headaches have been increasing in frequency and intensity. I am also very cold all the time. My body has had tremors internally which I can feel, but no one can see, and I also have a lot of muscle spasms/twitching.
At my last doctor's visit, he took more blood to send to a lab (Igenex) to test for Babesia. I was in shock to hear that the test for that co-infection came back positive. From what I understand, many people with Lyme disease also carry co-infections. I have not met with the doctor yet regarding this new revelation, but do have an appt. next week. So, if anyone has anything they want to share with me about Lyme and Babesia/Babesiosis, please feel free to contact me. Wishing us all well.
Take care, Kim
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