Symptoms

Lyme Disease symptoms, in my opinion this is what only people with Lyme can really wrap their head around, most people don't have a grasp on what this disease is truly like for us.  I think Lyme has literally affected every inch of my body inside and out in one way or another at some point of this journey so far (I will spare you from most of the gritty details (-:  ).  It is a crazy disease and that is an understatment!

• The Tick Bite, fewer than 50% recall a tick bite or get/see the rash (I have read even lower than this percentage ever see a rash, I never did)

1. Rash at site of bite
2. Rashes on other parts of your body
3. Rash basically circular, oval and spreading out (more generalized)
4. Raised rash, disappearing and recurring

Head, Face, Neck

1. Unexplained hair loss (I lost about half my hair last winter/spring, highly recommend Biotin supplements for this)
2. Headache, mild or severe, Seizures
3. Pressure in head, white matter lesions in brain (MRI)
4. Twitching of facial or other muscles
5. Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy, Horner's syndrome)
6. Tingling of nose, (tip of) tongue, cheek or facial flushing
7. Stiff or painful neck
8. Jaw pain or stiffness (one of my first symptoms was severe TMJ pain)
9. Dental problems (unexplained)
10. Sore throat, clearing throat a lot, phlegm ( flem ), hoarseness, runny nose

Eyes/Vision

1. Double or blurry vision
2. Increased floating spots
3. Pain in eyes, or swelling around eyes
4. Oversensitivity to light
5. Flashing lights/Peripheral waves/phantom images in corner of eyes

Ears/Hearing

(this is a dandy one, you are sometimes so sensitive to noise that even your children's laugh sounds like standing next to a speaker at a rock concert, yet the ringing in your ears is SO loud you can't stand to have silence, awesome!!!)

1. Decreased hearing in one or both ears, plugged ears
2. Buzzing in ears
3. Pain in ears, oversensitivity to sounds
4. Ringing in one or both ears

Digestive and Excretory Systems

1. Diarrhea
2. Constipation
3. Irritable bladder (trouble starting, stopping) or Interstitial cystitis
4. Upset stomach (nausea or pain) or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)

Musculoskeletal System

(I am no wimp to pain, I had my 2 bio babies all natural, but being in intense pain 24 hours a day is unexplainable)

1. Bone pain, joint pain or swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome
2. Stiffness of joints, back, neck, tennis elbow
3. Muscle pain or cramps, (Fibromyalgia)

Respiratory and Circulatory Systems

1. Shortness of breath, can't get full/satisfying breath, cough
2. Chest pain or rib soreness
3. Night sweats or unexplained chills
4. Heart palpitations or extra beats
5. Endocarditis, Heart blockage

Neurologic System

1. Tremors or unexplained shaking (in other words when you can't keep your food on your fork to get it into your mouth, just one fun example)
2. Burning or stabbing sensations in the body
3. Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Weakness, peripheral neuropathy or partial paralysis
4. Pressure in the head
5. Numbness in body, tingling, pinpricks (another one of my first symptoms pinprick feelings in my palms and feet/calves)
6. Poor balance, dizziness, difficulty walking (my walls/doors and I are close friends!)
7. Increased motion sickness
8. Lightheadedness, wooziness

Psychological well-being

1. Mood swings, irritability, bi-polar disorder
2. Unusual depression
3. Disorientation (getting or feeling lost)
4. Feeling as if you are losing your mind
5. Over-emotional reactions, crying easily
6. Too much sleep, or insomnia
7. Difficulty falling or staying asleep
8. Narcolepsy, sleep apnea
9. Panic attacks, anxiety

Mental Capability

1. Memory loss short and long term (years of memories lost because of the seizures)
2. Confusion, difficulty in thinking
3. Difficulty with concentration or reading
4. Going to the wrong place
5. Speech difficulty (I often put the wrong word in a sentence like ice for water, I also will not be able to find a word that I am trying to say)
6. Stammering speech
7. Forgetting how to perform simple tasks

Reproduction and Sexuality

1. Loss of sex drive
2. Sexual dysfunction
3. Unexplained menstral pain, irregularity
4. Unexplained breast pain, discharge
5. Testicular or pelvic pain

General Well-being

1. Phantom smells
2. Unexplained weight gain, loss
3. Extreme fatigue (getting out of bed only to take medicine and then back to bed 2 hours later, not atypical, don't worry I don't leave my kids unattended)
4. Swollen glands/lymph nodes
5. Unexplained fevers (high or low grade)
6. Continual infections (sinus, kidney, eye, etc.)
7. Symptoms seem to change, come and go
8. Pain migrates (moves) to different body parts
9. Early on, experienced a "flu-like" illness, after which you have not since felt well.
10. Low body temperature
11. Allergies/Chemical sensitivities
12. Increased effect from alcohol and possible worse hangover

I think this list I found is a decent description of symptoms, but I think there are many more not covered here.  This doesn't mean that every person suffering from this disease has all symptoms, some have a handful and some, like myself, have too many to count and each of those to varying degrees.  Often the symptoms come and go, many of them I have had in the past, but it doesn't mean new ones won't pop up.  My newest symptoms are my face is constantly flushed, nausea and lack of appetite, smell sensitivity and once a month the whites of my eyes get red and hurt.  You can never guess from day to day what you will be battling and how you will feel.