YES LYME DISEASE IS ON OTHER CONTINENTS!
For the non-lyme literate: Common Lyme abbreviations: abx=antibiotics  dx=diagnosed/diagnosis

ROMANIA

Silvian Guranda - Here is a list of my symptoms: Skin (the most unpleasant and excruciating since they are ongoing): Unusual and painful sensations in the skin such as: pains like glass scratching my skin (electric shocks-like sensations). Pricks and pinches (sometimes like little needles of a cactus, sometimes like a bee bite) - they worsen a lot during the last two weeks, expanded on almost all of my skin. Itching (like ants moving on my skin) - I feel I need to scratch - they also expanded and worsen. Burning (local or sometimes like hot waves expanding in my skin, from down to up of my body - legs to back or chest). Pain deep in the skin (in the nerves of the skin?) when I do a massage of my skin or when I catch my skin with one hand - it seems to me that the pains are in connection with some deep main nerve routes? Numbness especially in my foots and hands/arms, not very deep in the muscles, but mostly in the skin).

Joints, tendons, muscles, ribs: joint pains (mostly symmetric): shoulders, arms, hips, knees, foots, backbone (all over) - as the pain in my joints decreased, the skin painful sensations increased! - now the joint pains came back, but of a lower intensity. Pain in tendons (Achilles' tendon, neck tendons, arm and leg tendons) - the pain came back again. Pain in some muscles (especially along the dorsal-thoracic backbone). Head - pains in my head (especially on the left hemisphere) as if a knife in my brain - the pain moves sometimes in the right hemisphere and worsen, it is almost permanent.

Temperature - from 36.6 up to 37.2 Celsius (mostly in the evening). Sight problems - if I move suddenly my eyes to an object far from me, I have difficulties focussing (like a dizziness in my head). Teeth:    violent pain in the nerves of my teeth (even in the teeth that have no nerves anymore!). Mental-emotional: depression, anxiety, lack of concentration,  obsessions. (I followed antidepressant medication with Prozac for the last 2 months - I feel better now and would like to stop taking pills). Sleeping problems (now I feel better but there were months when I could only sleep a few hours 1-2-3 hours a night only if taking sleeping pills). While sleeping the painful sensations in my skin decrease! (most of the time) - it is still difficult to fall asleep.

1998(2000?)-2002  strong pain in the heels and Achilles tendons - when walking, the sensation that I walk on glass. Summer 2001-2002 (?) - red spot 8-10 cm (on the skin over liver area) - symptoms like poisoned, extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea, stiffness in my backbone. Next several weeks - red spots on arms, strong perspiration during the night; fatigues; stiffness of backbone. 2002-2003 - old symptoms continued. New symptoms: psychiatric disturbances - anxiety obsessions (no compulsions), phobias, panic attacks, depression, sleeping disturbances (insomnia - panic attacks while falling asleep)

Spring 2003 - new symptoms: sensitive problems (skin: burning, itching, pricks, smarts, numbness, etc.) Psychiatric disturbances increase dramatically - various (3) psychiatric treatments (for the next 3 years, till up to date) / I gained weight, first gained 18 kilos, then in total 22 kilos! Joint pain in hips and backbone + smarts in the backbone muscles. 2004 - same problems; psychiatric problems increase; sometimes severe headaches + visual problems (double sight, narrowing of the sight, perspiration, dizziness, fatigue).

Spring 2005 - I lost (as I intended) 15 kilos in 3.5 months. July 2005 - same problems - worsen; tingling on the left scapula. New: burning, intense perspiration, shortness of breath, sleeping disturbances, severe backbone pain (extending in all of the backbone). Late August 2005 - same problems - worsen. New:  severe increasing pain in joints (simetrical): backbone, hip, arms, knees, etc. Sept-Oct 2005 - same problems - worsen; diagnosed with "FYBROMIALGIA" twice. Nov 2005 - symptoms worsen (pain in joints + psychiatric + insomnia 1-2-3 hours/night with sleeping pills), extreme fatigue, etc.

Dec 2005 - new: severe heart problems - tahicardia (90-140 beats/min) , oscilating blood pressure (11/6-18/11) - no organic heart problems. Mid Jan 2005 - pain in joints reduced dramatically, sleeping improves, BUT pain from left scapula spread all over my back. Feb 2005 - neurological problems increased. March-April - ELISA test for Borrelia bacteria - symptoms worsen! 20^th of April - finally diagnosed with LYME

* * * * * * * *

In the interest of making the stories palatable for everyone, please spell-check your submissions, and substitute a word like "antibiotic(s)" or abx for drug names. This site is foremost about telling the story of our disease and problems with diagnosis, treatment, etc. Please refrain from listing every drug and/or dosage you have been on. We have all been through a unique experience and that is the focus of this page. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
NOTE: If you ask for help when writing, please provide your email address so that we can respond!