First and Later Symptoms of Lyme Disease and Treatment

Lyme disease is another possible causes of heart palpitations symptoms. Read about first signs of Lyme disease, later symptoms of Lyme disease and treatment of Lyme disease in this article.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infectious disease caused by the spirochetal organism, Borrelia Burgdorferi. It is usually caused by a tick bite. This is not regular tick. These are wood ticks found in dears. Ticks may settle itself anywhere on a human body, preferably on warm, moist, and dark places like armpits and groins. Lyme disease is caused by bacteria from ticks of the genus Borrelia. However, in rare cases, it is also carried by ticks of the genus Ixodes. It has been reported that Borrelia Burgdorferi caused Lyme disease in the United States and Borrelia Afzelli and Garinii in Europe.

Because the organism that causes the disease is often not in the bloodstream, it is difficult to diagnose the disease through testing. Doctors who are familiar with the disease tend to base their diagnosis mainly on the clinical symptoms the patient presents and the risk factors that the patient has had exposure to, using testing as only a secondary measure for making a diagnosis. Besides, the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease may change on a hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis.

The one common characteristic in most Lyme disease cases is the number of systems affected - It can affect the brain, central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, musco-skeletal, etc.

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease

The disease is easy to treat with antibiotics in its initial stages, but it is often not detected at that point. The first symptoms of Lyme disease are a circular, oval, and spreading out rash that is characteristic of the disease, but not everyone gets the rash. The rash may come and go at site of bite or on other parts of the body. The rash looks different in people with darker pigmentation, making it easy to mistake it for other skin conditions, including bruising or eczema. The wide variety of later symptoms of Lyme disease that a person can have in its later stages makes it hard to obtain a proper diagnosis, and the medical testing for the illness is still not very accurate in many cases.

Other most typical signs and symptoms of Lyme disease may include:

1. Pain and tenderness in multiple areas of the body which is often linked to fatigue, sleep disorders, digestive problems, and depression; intense fatigue that does not diminish with sleep or rest is one of the first symptoms of Lyme disease.
2. Blurry vision, light sensitivity, pain or swelling around eyes and face, hearing irregularities, buzzing and pain in ears.
3. Unexplained hair loss, migraine headaches, facial paralysis, sore throat, neck pain or stiffness.
4. Sudden onset of difficulty swallowing.
5. Jaw pain and chest pain.
6. Digestive problems (diarrhea / constipation), abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, anorexia, changes in taste or smell.
7. Sore muscles and bone pain.
8. Joint pain/ swelling/ stiffness and loss of muscle tone.
9. Muscle achy, pain or cramps, twitching of muscles, pain in the rib cage and spinal column.
10. Shortness of breath, heart blockage, night sweats, unexplained chills & fevers, heart palpitations, loss of temperature control. These are also some of the first symptoms of Lyme disease.
11. Tremors, lightheadedness, headaches/migraines, cough, weak limbs, peripheral neuropathy/tingling/numbness, tingling nerve sensations, dizziness, burning/stabbing pains.
12. Mental problems such as sudden abrupt mood swings, unusual depression, panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia, sleepiness, disorientation.
13. Poor concentration, poor memory, difficulty reading, poor coordination, slow speech, diminished or absent reflexes. These are some of later symptoms of Lyme disease.
14. Menstrual irregularities or pain, loss of sex drive, sexual dysfunction, breast pain or discharge, testicular or pelvic pain.
15. Poor circulation, swollen lymph glands, vasculitis, symptoms of hypothyroid, obsessive-Compulsive symptoms, dilated cardiomyopathy, an increased tendency for red blood cells to clump together.
16. Unexplained weight gain or loss, continual infections, liver enzyme irregularities, changes in cerebral blood flow/brain waves.

Lyme disease often causes signs and symptoms that mimic the arthritis symptoms with extreme joint pain and swelling, usually in the knees.

There have been rare cases where the infection appears asymptomatic. And some less common reported cases of having cardiac and neurological symptoms. Cardiac symptoms include heart block and frequent heart palpitations, neurological symptoms include affectation of the central nervous system wherein the senses are impaired, numbness in the hands or feet and short term memory loss.

Many disorders may show the same signs and symptoms of Lyme disease, but that does not mean it is definitely a case of Lyme disease. However, if one experiences numerous symptoms on the list and no other explanation for them, consider Lyme.

Medical complications

Untreated or persistent cases of Lyme disease may lead to a number of chronic diseases with medical complications such as meningo-encephalitis, cardiac inflammation (myocarditis), and frank arthritis.

Meningo-encephalitis has symptoms that resemble meningitis and encephalitis. It manifests inflammation of the brain and its meninges. Myocarditis is the inflammation of the muscular part of the heart. With Lyme arthritis, often only one joint is affected at a time. The most commonly affected joints are those of the knees, followed by the shoulder, elbow, foot, and hip. This symptoms may die down after being treated for one to four weeks and may return in later months or even years.

Lyme disease treatment with antibiotic therapy

Long-term antibiotic therapy may help people who suffer from fibromyalgia, CFS, Lyme disease, and many other “auto-immune diseases”. Nevertheless, there can be serious side effects from this type of therapy. Antibiotics used a long period of time can cause kidney and liver damage. They can cause gallbladder problems. Many people also cannot tolerate oral antibiotics well because of the strain on their digestive system.

Even with medical treatment, many later symptoms of Lyme disease such as fatigue, persistent muscle and joint pain, arthritis, difficulty swallowing, jaw pain and chest pain, shortness of breath, sore muscles and bone pain, heart palpitations, etc. can last months and even years. Doctor usually suggests a continual treatment with an all natural anti-biotic and immune system boosting supplement in Lyme disease cases.

If you are experiencing numerous signs and symptoms of Lyme disease you should seek out a Lyme specialist. Lyme specialists do not require a referral.