Or...Search This Site
Home
Symptoms
Live Discussion
Diagnosis
Treatment
World-wide Support Finder
Library
Research
Lymelinks
Contact
Pets & Lyme
DONATIONS
Drug Info
Medical Dictionary
Board of Directors
Click on the graphic to vote for this site as a
Starting Point
Hot Site.
-
-
No Warranties or Representations
The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, Directors and members are not liable for any direct or indirect damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this website.
Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect.
en français
For Physicians
Ticks
Coinfections
Prevention
Our Stories
Click Here to order our
free Lyme Disease Flyer
,
Here for our
free Lyme Disease Poster
..documents may be copied (to distribute)
but edit only for alignment.
Karen Lipsett-Kidd
I was born in Stamford, Conneticut where I lived for the first 4 years of my life.
We then moved to Toronto and eventually Ottawa. We spent every summer camping.
As a child I remember having swollen glands a lot and many, many cases of tonsillitis until my adnoids and tonsils were removed, I then developed strep throat instead. I remember finding an insect in my belly button and trying to pick it out. It did come off but it was sort of stuck there. I had redness there and it oozed for a while. My mom thought I had just worried it by picking at it but it is possible that this was my first tick bite.
At age 7 or 8 I started to have severe headaches and neck problems. My folks sent me to chiropractor but that offered little relief. I also had always had terrible motion sickness and nausea as well as vertigo at night. I would often lie in bed at night feeling as though as I was falling from a high distance. I have always thought that this feeling of falling was the natural feeling of falling asleep.
I was plagued with headaches and stomach aches so my folks finally took me to an allergy specialist. He diagnosed me with several allergies to milk and yeast. My ears have always been sensitive to sounds and certain lights would make me feel like throwing up. I have also always suffered from chemical sensitivities; most perfumes and soaps cause me headaches. I also had very painful big toes which I was told was something like gout.
When I was about 13 I suffered from my first aura migraine. There is little relief I could find other than lying in a dark room and vomiting until the headache passes (about 6 hours later).Around this time, I went in for a brain scan to see if the headaches were a tumour but thank-fully nothing was found. I learned to stay away from certain foods although I never really pinpointed the trigger that way. Flashing light was the one thing that could set off a migraine.
By age 16 I battled with extreme mood swings, digestive disorders -gas, bloating, constipation, cramping, painful periods, neck problems, dizzy spells, tachicardia, ongoing yeast infections, sore throats, ear infections. I had a case of shingles and mono around the same time. I was diagnosed with systemic yeast, which seemed to be the cause of most of my problems.
After several years on a strict yeast diet and medicines ranging from Niastatin to Capricin, I seemed to have the yeast beat but still continued to have to restrict my diet. I still suffered from headaches. My hands and feet have always had a tendency to be cold and I often wake up with my hands asleep. Some times my feet are so cold that they hurt and nothing can heat them up but a heating pad or hot bath. I have always been told that my tachacardia was inherited and that there was nothing I could do for it. It seems to only happen at night or first thing in the morning.
Evidence of Lyme infection:
When I was 24 I woke with a strange rash on the nape of my neck. It seemed to spread up into my hair. It did not hurt but I had a general feeling of achiness, low-grade fever and stiffness in my neck and joints. I also felt disconnected to my body.
My boy friend rushed me to the hospital as I felt it going into my throat. I was given IV antihistamines that had no effect on the spreading rash. The rash spread in circles like leopard spots that eventually covered my entire body. My skin sloughed off after the rash disappeared which took weeks. My doctor at the time (Dr. P - who incidentally was the same doctor who had been my allergist years before) was so concerned with the strange rash that he took me into the hospital himself to have tests run. He was concerned that I might have meningitis but none of the tests showed up conclusive. The rash was had a raised edge and a definite circle pattern. I had many of these on my body. I have seen Lyme disease rashes and that is most definitely what I had.
In my 9th month of pregnancy I had an ugly brown rash on my tail bone that felt like shingles I was told it was herpies although I have never had a herpies infection there before and never since) My son was born at home with no complications. But I suspect he was infected with a Lyme related disease at the time of his birth.
When I look back on my child hood I see an emerging pattern that indicates that I have had Lyme or a Lyme related diseases most of my life. Simple complaints that on their own are not that incapacitating but together add up to be not a nice way to live. The scariest part for me is that my memory has worsened, as have the visual disturbances and headaches.
My ongoing complaints include the following:
Memory loss, (inability to finish sentences, losing words) light headedness, confusion, mood swings, tendency for anaemia, vertigo, tinitus, light sensitivity, food sensitivity, sugar intolerance, shortness of breath (feeling like I couldn't breath deeply), tiredness (especially in my legs), ear infections, jaw pain, grinding teeth, neck pain and muscle spasms, numbness between the shoulder blades, cold extremities, motion sickness, aching joints, joints swelling and bruising for no reason, IBS, painful periods, feeling of needing to pee frequently (at night), night sweats, burning pains that come and go, persistent headaches, aura migraines, cracking hip joints, visual disturbances that include floaters intolerance of certain lights. I also developed adult onset asthma and allergies to cats and dogs.
I started the Marshal Protocol in July and found all my symptoms worsen, but after the first 2 to 3 months I began to feel much better. I no longer get headaches, my light sensitivity has diminished and my neck rarely bothers me. I have had many herx reactions such as aching elbows, sharp shooting pains, incredibly itchy ears, itchy spots, feeling like I am being bitten, numbness, tingling. I have a fair amount of pain in my legs, hands and feet in the morning and at night. I have nausea most mornings but most complaints go away in the daytime. My eyes still have lots of floaters in them and sometimes I see the floor undulating.
I feel I am definitely improving. None of my herx reactions are unbearable. I am relieved to know that I am not losing my mind and that one-day I will be free of my long-standing physical complaints!
TOP