raylp

I've had TMJ issues for the last year, which arose from muscular tension, spasms, and led to a temporary dislocation of the jaw. Then the discs were out of place and I had restricted opening.

For months I have been focusing on treatments for TMJ: massage for really tight muscles, splint therapy, relaxation exercises, nutrition. They all helped, but recently I injured my knee and started wondering what the heck was going on with my body? Within one year I started having all kinds of problems, whereas before I was healthy.

My orthopedic surgeon recommended a lyme test and sure enough I had a positive result. It indicated long-term Lyme. I then went and looked up the symptoms and there was TMJ, as well as alot of other things I have been dealing with this last year.

Alot of internet research has showed me that Lyme is underdiagnosed and typically undertreated. The conventional perception on Lyme is that comes from a tick, and if there is no tick, there is no lyme. If there is Lyme, they treat it with antibiotics. If the antibiotics don't work, then it isn't Lyme.

Digging deeper, it became more obvious that Lyme is more than this. Is is a group of infections that can cause a whole range of symptoms. It can be treated, usually you need to get to a Lyme specialist. Then, as with TMJ, there is a huge range of these folks. Some are pro-antibiotics, some mix alternative with western medicine, and then some say antibiotics are not helpful and they use a different group of treatments.

If you go ahead and get yourself examined for Lyme, be prepared for resistance from your physician. Our country's medical system is still in the dark ages about these things.

I'm doing alot of reading on Lyme since being tested, and what I have found completely deconstructs the common perceptions we have about the infection. Two top microbiologists working with Lyme found that they could no longer find blood samples free of Lyme. They also found Lyme present in bodily fluids meaning it could spread without a tick or mosquito. In England, people who never go near the woods were diagnosed with it.

There are alot of possible symptoms, but they aren't the same in any two people. Neck stiffness/pain, muscle pain, TMJ, joint problems, back pain, nausea, fever, chills, tingling in extremities, headaches, brain fog, dizziness/fainting, confusion, difficulty in finding words, fatigue, irritability, confusion, depression, personality changes, disorientation, panic attacks, and more. As an immune system thing, it gets worse with stress, and also goes through cycles. I think from what I understand it is something like a 30- day cycle.

There is alot of info out there online. If you decide to research it, start with the lyme foundation, lyme.org and other reputable sites.

It might seem frightening to think that this is a possibility, but in my case, I was grateful to find out that my symptoms had an underlying cause.