Lymes disease-tell me more about it in later stage

Thanks for writing back, Arkana Jane!

Here's one page about alternative therapies. Do you have access to Chinese herbalists and acupuncturists? I found them mentioned on quite a few pages about alternative treatments to Lyme:

http://www.lymehelp.org/lyme-disease-alternative-treatment.htm

This is a forum where patients are discussing their experiences with acupuncture and Lyme:

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/drugs-treatments/rating/acupuncture-for-lyme-disease

One case study of Lyme and acupuncture:

http://www.integrativepractitioner.com/article_ektid6780.aspx

And a medical study about integrative treatment of Lyme disease in 160 patients. It is a decade old but very interesting:

http://www.rhinebeckhealth.com/rhc/lyme.php

You're not alone in struggling with what may be chronic lyme disease. Here's a page with links you'll be interested in from lymeinfo.net:

http://www.lymeinfo.net/chroniclymedisease.html

I see from researching this that it is indeed not well-inown yet in Australia. I did want to show you this, though you are probably aware of it:

http://lymebook.com/blog/geographic-incidence/lyme-disease-association-of-australia/

And here's a page that contains links to all sorts of articles about alternative therapies with Lyme disease/ and most of them are intended for people who have the chronic form of the disease (they do caution that when it comes to things sold as "remedies," let the buyer beware):

http://www.lymeinfo.net/alt.html

It must be frustrating to be thinking that this may be a primary health issue for you but that doctors don't know a lot about it. Would you be interested in books on the subject?

Here are some amazon.com links to books here in the States that you might be interested in. Some of the reviewers have given the books very high marks:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0975476319?ie=UTF8&tag=lymeinfo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0975476319
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0967721318?ie=UTF8&tag=lymeinfo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0967721318
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970869630/103-0406284-2846223?n=283155
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1587611910/lymeinfo-20/103-0406284-2846223
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0967462312/lymeinfo-20/103-0406284-2846223

I hope there are some things here that are a bit of help to you. Please let us know.

Thanks Diane-this information I m all ready familiar with and I Am after some alternate
therapies that anyone may know of that really work.I live in South East Queensland,Australia
and we dont really know much about it here and lots of advice differs.

Arkana Jane,

Welcome to EmpowHer, and thank you for your question!

Lyme disease is indeed spread by ticks. Do you remember if you ever had a rash around the tic bite? There is a very specific rash that accompanies the deer tic bite if it is infected with lyme disease. You can find a picture of it as well as a lot of information about symptoms and treatments at one of our EmpowHer Encyclopedia pages:

https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/lyme-disease

Here is a list of early and late lyme disease symptoms:

Early Infection

◦EM rash
◦Muscle and joint aches
◦Headache
◦Fever
◦Fatigue

Early Disseminated Infection

◦Multiple EM lesions
◦Facial paralysis ( Bell's palsy )
◦Persistent headache, stiff neck
◦Diffuse numbness, tingling, burning
◦Intermittent joint pain and swelling
◦Impaired motor coordination
◦Irregular heart rhythm
◦Muscle pain and swelling

Late Infection

◦Painful inflammation of the joints, intermittent or chronic ( arthritis )
◦Mild to moderate confusion

Less Common Symptoms of Late Lyme Disease

◦Heart abnormalities
◦Eye problems such as conjunctivitis
◦Chronic skin disorders
◦Limb weakness
◦Persistent motor coordination problems

Do these symptoms sound familiar to you?
Did your rheumatologist test you for Lyme disease?