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Originally Posted by wellnoshow  I've had blood work done by my general pracititioner, not exactly looking for lyme disease. But wouldn't that have shown up on the labs? |
No, it wouldn't. Like prescription medications, lab tests can be patented so not every lab can perform every test. Doctors often test for Lyme using the Elisa because it is easy to do and relatively cheap, but some have come out and said to do away with it due to it's unreliability. The Center for Communicable Disease and international lyme specialists advocate diagnosis and treatment by SYMPTOMS as the tests are unreliable.
Some say less than 30 percent get a rash..although getting a bullseye rash is the one defining symptom, you can have Lyme without getting the rash.
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....Lyme disease sounds very unlikely at this point.
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I think Lyme is very possible...clicking and popping joints are classic symptoms of lyme...and I have not seen any other diagnosis in which the clicking and popping joints responded to treatment except for lyme. That's not to say other diseases can't cause clicking and popping joints...it's just that I am unaware of them and I have been reading these boards for over 2 years.
You can be born with Lyme Disease and it can lie dormant for years even decades...you can get it through sexual transmission and theoretically, blood transfusions. Although at least 5 different ticks can transmit the disease (the deer tick is only one tick transmitter), other insects can infect humans as well.
It is not uncommon for many family members to have this disease...as I've mentioned, you can be born with it if your mother was infected by the "bug". But I suspect that because you and your brother are both expereincing symptoms at the same time, you may have been exposed walking, hiking, biking, camping, or whatever in the same area. I might add here that I knew 3 professional women who acquired Lyme disease...they didn't remember getting bitten and they didn't get rashes, either...but they all lived on wooded city lots.
I am not a doctor and I have no intention of diagnosing you...however, I am bringing this to your attention because if you choose to ignore this possibility, your symptoms may very well escalate, and hopefully, you will remember something I have told you.
When Lyme goes undiagnosed for a long period of time, it becomes much more difficult to treat and some damage becomes permenant. You might ask yourself if you are willing to take that chance...more on the Lyme boards.
Take care and let us know how you fare.
Bethsheba
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