Sometimes when people hear about some of my symptoms, they offer advice suggesting that I have something else going on. For example, I say I have neuropathy and they may say “it sounds more like diabetes”.

I get it – I do the same thing in reverse. Tell me you have ME/CFS or fibromyalgia or MS and I’m gonna start linking to Lyme+.

Believe me I have a ton of symptoms we don’t always have specific links to, but here’s how I know my diagnosis’ of tickborne diseases are what they are – they’re cyclical, and when they cycle, they do so in groups.

My doctor calls it whack-a-mole. One of the diseases is active this month and we are a certain set of symptoms (so we work on that). 2 months later, those symptoms die down and a different set of symptoms appear showing us that another disease has become more active.

Diabetic neuropathy doesn’t really come and go. Bartonella neuropathy does – but it also comes with eye issues, meningitis & encephalitis type symptoms, joint pain, cognitive difficulty, insomnia, and many other issues.

MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome) is a condition that frequently accompanies Lyme. When mast cells activate, I get hives & rashes, digestive issues and a tightening in my throat when I eat certain foods (which can change all the time).

It’s these specific groupings of symptoms that tell me what’s going on in my body.

This is why it takes a specialist who is highly trained in identifying the different diseases and co-conditions to properly manage this complex illness.

In my opinion, shifting symptoms is the most tell-tale mark of Lyme+. You may have some symptoms that stay with you all the time (neck pain is one of mine), but if other symptoms come and go, it’s worth considering that you may have some tickborne diseases.

The table below shows the many tickborne infections. It’s not uncommon to have 3 or more.

Conditions such as MCAS, POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), CCI (cervical instability) and alpha-gal commonly follow Lyme+ too.

If any of this sounds familiar and you want to know more, let’s talk – reach out to me.

There are answers.