Lyme disease is a major health problem in the United States. Since the infective agent, the bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, is so difficult to locate and diagnose using present-day blood tests, it often goes undiagnosed and untreated or improperly treated. Even with practitioners who consider themselves Lyme-Literate Medical Doctors (LLMDs) or Lyme-Aware Medical Practitioners (LAMPs) diagnosing this infection can be very frustrating for several reasons. There are several great books that address the controversy, the politics, the diagnosis, and the treatment, and I will refer you to them for further information. However, two of the most important reasons that proper diagnosis is so difficult is that Borrelia burgdorferi can change its shape and form as a way of protecting itself. These protective forms rarely, if ever, show up in the blood and hide away in other tissues that would require biopsies to identify them. And, second the blood labs used to identify our immune response to these organisms have not been completely refined and, at best are 70% effective and, at worst, only 30% effective.
The majority of healthcare providers, not being Lyme knowledgeable, busy themselves treating the symptoms or possibly even treating the wrong disease. Lyme disease is also known as "The Great Imposter" or "The Great Imitator." It can mimic such conditions as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autoimmune arthritis, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and many different heart and vascular conditions. From the practitioners point of view, it makes it even more difficult to properly diagnose and treat when Lyme disease is very often accompanied by any a number of, just as bad or worse, organisms such as Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein Bar Virus, Herpes Simplex I and II, Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV 6), Rickettsia, and Mycoplasma.
I have listed below some of the symptoms related to chronic disseminated Lyme disease (Borreliosis), Babesiosis, and Bartonellosis. You will notice that there are many symptoms that overlap with these three infections.
Please circle (O) the bullet if you are presently experiencing this symptom and place and (X) at the bullet if you've experienced this symptom in the past. Next to the (O) or the (X), please rate the symptom on a scale from 1 - 10. Very rarely or few symptoms would be a 1 while often and/or severe would be a 10.
Lyme Disease
Arthritis-like joint pain and swelling (often migrating or moving from joint to joint)
"Brain fog" with poor concentration, focus, and/or attention
Disrupted sleep cycles, resulting in poor quality sleep, too little sleep, difficulty staying asleep, or early awakening
Back pain
Light sensitivity and/or blurred vision, increased eye floaters
Ear symptoms (hearing loss, ringing in the ears, or sensitivity to noise or certain frequencies)
Chronic and/or severe fatigue with minimal stamina
Facial paralysis (especially Bell's Palsy)
Chronic pain and tender points throughout the muscles of the body
Walking and balance problems
Headaches
Impaired muscle coordination
Impaired reflexes
Memory loss (especially short-term memory)
Muscle weakness
Nerve symptoms (numbness, tingling, burning, vibrating, or shooting)
Night sweats, clamminess, unexplained fevers, flushing
Unexplained weight change (loss or gain)
Unexplained hair loss
Swollen and/or tender glands
Sore throat
Testicular / pelvic pain
Unexplained menstrual irregularities
Unexplained breast pain / milk production
Sexual dysfunction and loss of libido
Upset stomach with nausea and possibly pain
Changes in bowel function (constipation or diarrhea)
Muscle twitching of the face or other muscles
Increased motion sickness, vertigo, or poor balance
Tremors
Confusion, difficulty in thinking
Difficulty concentrating / reading
Disorientation (getting lost, going to the wrong places)
Speech difficulties, vocalization problems, problems writing, word block
Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol
Over 50% of those with chronic Lyme disease exhibit mental and emotional symptoms including:
Behavioral disorders including impulsive acts of aggression and violence
Extreme mood swings between depression and mania
Chronic depression
Dementia
Eating disorders
Hallucinations
Mood swings
Panic attacks
Extreme fears or phobias
Schizophrenia
Personality disorders (radical change in someone's personality)
Thoughts of suicide
Irritability
A large percentage of individuals with Lyme infections also exhibit heart and vascular symptoms including:
Shortness of breath with minimal exertion
Gasping for air
Irregular heart rhythms (occasional irregular beats or beating too fast known as tachycardia)
Chest pains / soreness in the ribs
Enlarged heart
Palpitations
Fainting sensations
Non-productive cough
History of heart murmur or valve prolapse
Two major clues that Lyme is the cause of the above symptoms are: the progressive worsening over time of a multi-system pattern of symptoms, and
the tendency for these symptoms to wax and wane in a cyclical fashion. That is, every 3 to 6 weeks, it seems that the symptoms get worse for a few days, after which they resume the previous pattern.
Babesiosis
Chills
Fatigue and often excessive sleepiness
Night sweats often drenching and profuse
Severe muscle pains, especially the large muscles of the legs (quadriceps, hamstrings, buttocks, etc)
Neurological symptoms often described as "dizzy, tipsy, and spiciness," similar to a sensation of floating or of walking off the top of a mountain onto a cloud
Depression
Episodes of breathlessness, "air hunger" and/or cough
Decreased appetite and/or nausea, perhaps vomiting
Spleen and/or liver enlargement
Laboratory abnormalities that may include low white blood cell count, low platelet counts, mild elevation of liver enzymes, and elevated "sed rate"
Headaches (migraine-like, persistent, and especially involving the back of the head and upper neck areas)
Less common symptoms are joint pain (more common with Lyme and Bartonella), anxiety and/or panic attacks (more common with Bartonella), lymph gland swelling (more common with Bartonella and Lyme), non-specific "sick feeling" (also encountered with Bartonella and Lyme)
Dark urine
Enlarged lymph nodes
Significant memory changes
Struggle organizing
Profound psychiatric illnesses
Significant fatigue, daytime sleep urgency despite nighttime sleep
Waves of generalized itching
Balance problems with dizziness
Severe chest wall pains
Random stabbing pains
Weight loss
Sensitivity to light
Sleep in excess of 8 ½ hours per night
Sore throat with unproductive cough
Bartonellosis
Fatigue (often with agitation, unlike Lyme disease which is more associated with exhaustion)
Low grade fevers, especially morning and/or late afternoon, often associated with feelings of "coming down with the flu or a virus"
Headaches, especially frontal (often confused with sinus) or top of head
Eye symptoms are common and include blurred-vision episodes, red eyes, dry eyes, depth perception problems, retinal problems, and light sensitivity
Ringling in the ears and sometimes hearing problems (decreased or even increased sensitivity known as hyperacusis)
Sore throats that are recurring
Swollen glands, especially neck and under arms
Anxiety, panic, or worry attacks; others perceive as "very anxious"
Agitation, irritability, rage, impulsivity, or aggression
Episodes of confusion and disorientation that are usually transient (and very scary), often can be seizure-like in nature
Poor sleep (especially difficulty falling asleep), poor quality sleep
Joint pain and stiffness (often symmetrical, as opposed to Lyme which is often unsymmetrical and often migratory)
Muscle pains, especially in the calves; may be twitching and cramping also
Foot pain in the morning involving the heels or soles of the feet (sometimes diagnosed as plantar fasciitis)
Nerve irritation symptoms that can be described as burning, vibrating, numb, shooting, tingling, and so forth
Tremors and/or muscle twitching
Heart palpitations and strange chest pains
Episodes of breathlessness
Strange rashes recurring on the body, red stretch marks, peculiar tender lumps and nodules along the sides of legs or arms, and spider veins
Gut symptoms, especially acid reflux
Shin bone pain and tenderness
Fainting
Bladder pain, irritation, infections
Genital disorders
Obesity and body swelling
The list of Borreliosis, Bartonellosis, and Babesiosis symptoms were borrowed from Joseph Burrascano, M.D. (Checklist for Lyme Disease 2008), Kenneth Singleton, M.D., M.P.H. (The Lyme Disease Solution 2008), and James Schaller, M.D. (Bartonella: Diagnosis and Treatment 2008 and The Diagnosis and Treatment of Babesia 2006)