Be Mindful Of Your Breath
Deep breathing has displayed a number of detoxifying effects on the body by reducing stress and circulating lymph. Evidence also shows deep breathing can alter the perception of pain by modulating the sympathetic nervous system through relaxation. A breathing technique that can help your bodys ability to rest and digest is the down-regulated breath, which involves slowing your breathing down to four breaths per minute.
How to practice down-regulated breathing: In a seated or resting position, slowly inhale through your nose for a count of eight, raising your belly and then your lungs. Hold for a bit at the top of the breath. Then, exhale through your nose while deflating your belly and lungs for a count of eight.
Practice this for a few rounds until you feel yourself relaxing. Because of the strong parasympathetic response, this breath is best done after a meal, before bed, or any time you feel anxious . It may take time to reach a full eight counts on each inhale and exhale, but with practice, youll find your rhythm.
You Cant Shake Your Fatigue
The exhaustion that Lyme patients can feel goes beyond sleepiness: You might feel too fatigued to stand up from the couch to go make a cup of soup, says Sandy Barenbaum, a licensed clinical social worker co-author of When Your Child Has Lyme Disease: A Parents Survival Guide and psychotherapist for people who have Lyme. If youre tired , you rest, get up, and youre raring to go. A nap could fix it, she says. The fatigue of Lyme is equivalent to the fatigue of congestive heart failure. Lyme disease can keep people from going through normal sleep cycles, adding to the exhaustion, Leventhal says. Here are other common medical reasons you could be tired all the time.
How Common Are Lyme Headaches
Lyme disease headaches and neck stiffness are common symptoms of Lyme disease. In Stage 1 Lyme disease, when the bacteria first infects the body, the headaches arent as severe as they are in the later stages of a Lyme infection. More severe Lyme migraines due to meningitis often develop when Lyme disease has had a chance to spread throughout the body and cross the blood-brain barrier. This is during Stage 2 Lyme disease.4
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How Is It Treated
Facial palsy is treated with oral antibiotics and Lyme meningitis/radiculoneuritis can either be treated with oral or intravenous antibiotics, depending on severity . Most people with Lyme disease respond well to antibiotics and fully recover. Varying degrees of permanent nervous system damage may develop in people who do not receive treatment in the early stages of illness and who develop late-stage Lyme disease.
What Are The Second Stage Signs And Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
The symptoms of second stage, early disseminated, Lyme disease can be difficult to attribute. Symptoms include severe fatigue, fever, pain, intermittent weakness and achiness of the muscles and joints, numbness in arms and legs, vision changes, and cognitive dysfunction such as short-term memory difficulties and problems multitasking. These symptoms are not specific for Lyme disease and can make the diagnosis of second stage Lyme disease very challenging.
More recognizable Lyme disease nervous system manifestations include facial paralysis , or meningitis with severe headache and stiff neck. Notable cardiac manifestations include passing out or feeling faint from an abnormally slow heart rate, irregular heart palpitations, or unexplained difficulty tolerating exercise. Meningitis and carditis are both potentially serious Lyme disease conditions and warrant immediate medical attention.
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What I Discovered About Lyme Disease
I found out how Lyme is not believed to be chronic by the majority of physicians and that many believe Lyme doctors are quacks. They believe Lyme is hard to get and easy to treat.
Then, after watching the Lyme documentary Under Our Skin, I started looking for a Lyme-literate medical doctor.
When I was finally evaluated by someone who knew what to look for, I found out I had Borrelia , Babesia, Bartonella, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, mycoplasma, Ehrlichia, high levels of candida in my gut, Epstein-Barr, and schistosomiasis .
Currently I am only detoxing and treating holistically and with diet, as my body cannot tolerate antibiotics at this point. Im learning what these bacteria crave and trying to avoid those things.
Its tough and I go through periods where I am super angry that its taken this long to get some relief. Its a weird life to live but Im doing it.
Rhisa Perera writes NegraConLyme, from which this blog is adapted.
How Does Lyme Disease Cause Tinnitus
Lyme disease is a persistent and progressive disease that intensifies with time. If not treated in a timely manner, it can slowly develop to a stage where a disorder called Neuroborreliosis sets in. Neuroborreliosis is a central nervous system disorder that presents itself as some or all of the following symptoms facial palsy, double vision, nerve pain, Tinnitus, hearing loss, vertigo, hyperacusis and more. It is believed that Lyme disease affects the ears by damaging the vestibulocochlear or auditory nerve. This is unlike Tinnitus that is caused by exposure to loud noises for example, where hair cells in the middle ear die out of over stimulation.
This study estimates that 75% of people with Lyme disease will suffer from Otolaryngological symptoms. 76.5% of those cases are likely to be Tinnitus, the most common Otolaryngological symptom. These are followed by 53.7% who had vertigo and dizziness, 39% who had headaches and 16.7% who had hearing loss.
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Neck Pain From Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is commonly associated with tick bites and a big circular rash. However, a tick bite does not hurt and many people do not recall being bit or seeing the rash. Further complicating matters, Lyme disease symptoms may start out minor and not become problematic for months or longer.
Lyme disease causes neck pain in more than 30% of cases. Watch:Neck Pain Causes Video
Media reports rarely focus on neck pain with Lyme disease, but some estimates note that it occurs in more than 30% of the cases and is typically one of the earlier symptoms.1 Recognizing Lyme disease early and seeking treatment can make a big difference in the outcome.
Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
Many people with early symptoms of Lyme disease develop a circular rash around the tick bite. The rash:
- usually develops around 3 to 30 days after you’ve been bitten
- is often described as looking like a bull’s-eye on a dart board
- will be red and the edges may feel slightly raised
- may get bigger over several days or weeks
- is typically around 15 cm across, but it can be much larger or smaller
Some people may develop several rashes in different parts of their body.
Around 1 in 3 people with Lyme disease won’t develop a rash.
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Youre Sensitive To Touch
With your sense of touch on high alert with Lyme disease, certain clothing textures might feel unbearable, and you might recoil from a persons touch. The sensitivity could be so strong that children might have outbursts when they cant tolerate certain feelings against their skin. Kids can have temper tantrums and refuse to get dressed when the reality is they cant tolerate the feeling of particular kinds of clothing or texture, Leventhal says.
What Are The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
Most people with Lyme disease notice a rash that appears between 3 and 30 days after a tick bite. The rash may be tender, but it usually isnt itchy or painful. Not everybody with Lyme disease gets a rash.
Other early symptoms of Lyme disease are:
- severe joint pain and swelling, arthritis
- heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat
- dizziness and shortness of breath
Lyme disease can also cause long-term problems with the joints and the brain.
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Can Lyme Disease Completely Be Cured
Taking oral antibiotics typically cures Lyme disease after two to four weeks. You may need to get antibiotics through the vein for four more weeks. However, theres no reason to think that Lyme disease stays in you forever after treatment.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
If youre going to spend time in an area that might have ticks, take measures to avoid being bitten. This includes wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants to make it harder for ticks to bite. If you feel sick after being in an area that probably has ticks, make an appointment with your healthcare provider. If your provider prescribes antibiotics, make sure you take all of them as instructed.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 08/16/2022.
References
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Can Lyme Disease Cause You To Be Anemic
4.1/5cansymptomsdisease can causeanemiaanemia
In this regard, can Lyme cause iron deficiency?
Lyme Disease Bacterium Switches Out Iron For Manganese To Evade Immune System, Study Shows. The bacterium that causes Lyme Disease substitutes manganese for iron in its diet, a new study finds. Lyme disease is transmitted by tick bites and can cause fever, fatigue, headaches and rashes.
Additionally, can you be anemic without losing blood? Anemia is a condition in which you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your bodys tissues. Having anemia can make you feel tired and weak. There are many forms of anemia, each with its own cause. Anemia can be temporary or long term, and it can range from mild to severe.
Herein, can a tick bite cause anemia?
Illnesses transmitted by ticks can case fever, anemia, paralysis, lameness, and other symptoms. People can not catch Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever from infected dogs, but the same ticks that bite dogs can cause these illnesses and others if they bite humans.
Does Lyme disease affect blood count?
In patients with Lyme disease, the white blood cell countcan be normal or elevated. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is usually elevated. The serum aspartate transaminase may be elevated. On complement testing, C3 and C4 levels are generally normal or slightly elevated.
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What Is The Outlook For Someone With Lyme Disease
Most of the people who get Lyme disease and receive treatment early will be fine. Treatment can cure Lyme disease but you might still have some long-term effects. Untreated Lyme disease may contribute to other serious problems but its rarely fatal.
Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome
Even after proper treatment, some people may experience lingering fatigue, achiness or headaches. This is known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome or PTLDS. The symptoms dont mean that you still have an infection. PTLDS probably wont respond to additional antibiotics. The majority of people in this group will have symptoms that resolve at some point over the next six months.
Chronic Lyme disease
Chronic Lyme disease is a term used by some for a condition in a person who had Lyme disease and the symptoms of PTLDS. Some people consider chronic Lyme disease to be the same as PTLDS. However, some people receive a chronic Lyme disease diagnosis without a Lyme disease diagnosis. Sometimes, extended treatment with antibiotics helps.
This term may be why some people think a Lyme disease infection can occur without being bitten by a tick. There isn’t enough proof that mosquitoes can transmit Lyme disease. Many researchers dislike using the term chronic Lyme disease.
What Else Can You Do During A Migraine Attack
When all else fails and the migraine takes over, laying in a dark, cool room with an ice pack over your head could help ease the pain associated with a migraine. A warm bath with stress-relieving salts may also help to ease pain and quicken recovery.
Dealing with Lyme-induced headaches isnt easy, but there are ways to deal with the often debilitating pain that goes along with them.
Featured image by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
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What Do Lyme Disease Headaches Feel Like
Article Summary
- Headaches are one of the first and most common symptoms of Lyme disease infection
- If the infection is left untreated, Lyme Disease headaches will usually become more severe over time
- Lyme disease bacteria called spirochetes are able to cross the blood-brain barrier and infect the central nervous system, causing Lyme meningitis
- Lyme disease headaches can feel similar to migraine headaches
Cause : Food Sensitivities
True food allergies and intolerances are hard to miss and can even be life-threatening in some cases. But for many with Lyme, subtle food sensitivities form slowly and go undetected as a result of leaky gut syndrome an inflammatory condition caused by intestinal permeability, usually due to long-lived gut imbalances from infections, prolonged antibiotic use, poor diet, and stress. Indeed, many people can pinpoint specific foods that bring on headaches and migraines, but what can be done about it?
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Manage Your Lymph Fluid
Much like the circulatory system carries nutrient-rich blood into our cells for nourishment, the lymphatic system has a similar network of vessels that carries waste away from those same cells, helping us stay healthy by fighting infection. However, theres one major difference: Our hearts automatically pump blood, whereas our lymphatic system has no such pump and requires the action of your muscles and respiratory system to keep it moving. Manage your lymph fluid by exercising, dry brushing your skin, and adequately hydrating to help your body remove toxic waste.
Natural Techniques For Relieving Lyme
Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that can lead to chronic disease. It is caused by the Borrelia bacteria, which is a type of spirochete phylum. Lyme disease affects upwards of 400,000 Americans every single year.
The rampant rate of infection in the United States results in many of these people living with post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome , a chronic condition that has a lasting effect on the body and mind of the patient. For some with PLTDS, headaches are just one of the many debilitating symptoms.
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Lyme Disease And Vision
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. In its early stages, Lyme disease commonly results in a rash, which can appear anywhere from one day to one month after a tick bite, joint pain and headaches. Later-stage Lyme disease is characterized by arthritic pain, cognitive difficulties, fatigue and other symptoms that can have an enormous effect on a patients life.
One tick may carry more than one disease, so sometimes people get more than one co-infection from the bite of a single tick. Experienced doctors may be able to distinguish each of the tick-borne co-infections and order appropriate tests and treatment.1 If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease occur each year in the U.S. However, some experts suggest this number may be under-estimated.
What Is Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria transmitted in a tick bite. The types of tick that carry the bacteria are not native to Australia and its not likely you can catch Lyme disease in Australia.
Researchers are investigating whether Australian ticks can cause Lyme disease or Lyme disease-like symptoms. People bitten by ticks in USA, Europe or Asia can return to Australia with Lyme disease. It is not possible to catch Lyme disease from someone else.
Read about the latest Australian findings on Lyme disease.
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Symptoms To Look Out For
As it advances, Lyme disease affects several body systems and looks similar to other conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome and adrenal fatigue. No two peoples immune systems are the exact same the type and severity of symptoms an infected individual experiences relies on the health of their immune system and body as a whole.
Two common symptoms of Lyme disease at any stage are chronic headaches and migraines. One study found 78% of children with the condition reported headaches and, in another study about 50% of adults said they experienced headaches. One of the reasons for this is that Lyme disease is an inflammatory disease, and a common cause of migraines is inflammation.
Other symptoms to look out for include:
- Rashes, which can start out as one bulls eye rash and then spread throughout the body
- Extreme fatigue or sleepiness and difficulties sleeping at night
- Muscle and joint pain and swelling, which can be localized or widespread
- Flu-like symptoms, including fever, dizziness, and muscle pain
- Brain fog, which includes difficulties concentrating, making decisions, and remembering information
- Heart problems like palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, and light-headedness
- Mood swings, irritability, anxiety, and depression
- Neurological problems including loss of taste or smell, balance or coordination issues, blurry vision, or light sensitivity.
Diagnosing Neurological Lyme Disease
The first step in the diagnosis of Lyme disease and associated infections is to order blood tests through a Lyme specific laboratory. It is well-established the traditional two-tiered test has low sensitivity for diagnosing Lyme disease.
The diagnosis of acute central nervous system involvement of Lyme disease requires a lumbar puncture to analyze cerebral spinal fluid . The analysis of the CSF should include IgM and IgG antibodies to Borrelia bacteria and a test looking for the bacteria DNA . If either of these markers is elevated, it is diagnostic of Lyme neuroborreliosis.
An increased level of white blood cells in the CSF known as pleocytosis also aids in the diagnosis. However, some people with neuroborreliosis do not have elevated antibodies in the CSF, and since pleocytosis can be present in other central nervous system infections, Lyme disease may not be considered.
The chemical attractant something known to call the immune system to fight an infection CXCL13 in the CSF has become an important marker to help diagnose Lyme neuroborreliosis. In a 2018 study of Lyme neuroborreliosis patients with elevated white blood cells but no detectable Lyme antibodies in their CSF, 73% had raised levels of CXCL13. The authors of the study have proposed a CXCL13 result greater than 160 pg/mL is consistent with Lyme neuroborreliosis.
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