MayberryNut

Greetings to everyone,

I am new to HealthBoards and I am in dire need of help or suggestions. I am a 35 year old male that has been in generally good health (no smoking or drinking) until May 29th of this year. (I remember the date because I teach and this was Field Day at our school.) On this particular day, I suddenly felt a little lightheaded in the afternoon...nothing severe, but definitely noticeable. Later that afternoon, I tried to donate blood, but was refused because I had a low grade fever of 100.4.

In the days following, I developed severe and unusual headaches that started at the base of my skull and extended up through the center of my head. After 5 days of headaches, I went to my physician. He suggested an eye exam, which turned out to be fine. I followed up with him the next day and he stated that I probably had tension headache and put me on an anti-inflammatory, which did not help.

I soon began feeling very lethargic and the headaches persisted. During the month of June, I experienced ALL of the following: headaches, 3 solid weeks of tachycardia, palpitations, neck stiffness, a light rash on my lower legs and feet, sickening spasms in my spine that traveled into my head, and near fainting episodes that took place every 2 to 3 days. The fainting episodes nearly always ended with 4 or 5 very violent coughs that at one time broke blood vessels under my left eye. During the middle of the month, I developed pain and throbbing in the left thoracic region of my back, which continues to this day. I have some pain under my left shoulder blade and my left arm was weak for a few days. I even woke up one night with a burning sensation in my back and both arms were numb. During this time, I lost 13 pounds without any exercise since my appettite was so poor. My liver enzymes were elevated as well.

I tested negative for mono and Lyme in early June. I was reactive on 3 of the 10 strands for IgM and 0 of 3 strands for IgG on the Western Blot test. I also tested negative for West Nile. An ER doctor put me on Doxycycline as a precaution while we awaited the Lyme results. I have had MRI scans of my head, neck, and thoracic spine. All have come back normal. I've had a stress test and an echo and the results were normal. I had a lumbar puncture done. My spinal fluid was clear and there was no evidence of meningitis.

I have begun to feel better over the last two weeks, but night time is now a problem. My heartrate has nearly returned to normal and I haven't had any chills. My appetite is back. However, I experience body tremors every night that are sometimes accompanied by a vibrating sensation in my body. There is also an extreme pins and needles sensation in my hips and upper legs at night. When the tremors come on, my heart seems to pound a little and it gets worse if I lay on my left side. I currently have a blister rash on my chest and the front of my shoulders, which is slowly showing up on my face. (Not sure if this is a result of the antibiotic or not.) I am a little achy in the mornings, but I feel better as the day goes on. I still develop a headache from time to time.

I have been to the ER 3 times, a neurologist 3 times, a cardiologist for tests, and my primary care physician at least 5 times. He recently implied that we may need to look at my emotional state since tests keep coming back negative. I am going to see an infectious disease specialist this week and I've also faxed my medical records to Johns Hopkins in hopes of being seen there.

Everything that I've read keeps leading back to Lyme disease, even though I tested negative. I am 99% sure that I did not get any tick bites this year, although I know I have received some in the past. I have an outdoor cat that brings ticks in from time to time. I don't recall ever seeing a bullseye rash at anytime. I'm wondering if I was bitten last summer and I'm just now seeing the symptoms? I had commented this past winter to a coworker that I wasn't feeling like myself.

I would very, very much appreciate any thoughts or insight. I truly feel that I have reached a dead end street. The area that I live in does not have the best reputation for healthcare. I know that I am very soon to be written off as some type of hypochondriac, which I am NOT. I have tons of other things to do instead of imagining all of these crazy symptoms. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and hopefully I will get some feedback.

With appreciation,

Will