confused and upset !

[nervousmummytobe]

:blush:Hi everyone!
Just needing some advice!
I have a constant worry that I have lyme disease.... although Im pretty sure this is because I know that lymes can affect an unborn baby and my HA is thinking the worse as Im pregnant....
anyway... Im waiting on some test results from a 'western blot' blood test and from what Im reading apparantly lyme disease is extremely hard to test for unlike other illnesses which are pretty straight forward.
anway the blood test reports back in bands and from my understanding some bands are not specific to lyme (a healthy person without it could have a few bands come back as reactive).
Ive looked online and Im now kind of regretting getting the test as there is much conflicting advice online about what the bands might mean and different stories about different results ending up being significant when they were told it wasnt at the time :( ! some say if one band comes back its lyme others say you need certain bands to react for it to be lyme but its all hear say!
Im so confused as I know there is a possibility some bands may come back as reactive even if the overall result is negative and I know Ill end up researching and finding stories about people with lyme who had only a few bands show or one despite being told the test is negative!
most UK LABS require a certain amount of bands to consider the test positive but online everyone is saying this is not the case and that the testing is unreliable etc!
im so confused and just want to enjoy my pregnancy! I wish lyme disease had a clear yes or no test! :(

[Gale2509]

Hi nervousmummytobe, I feel for you I really do, I felt exactly the same when pregnant last year, I managed to self diagnose myself with so many dreadful diseases that I definitely didn't have. First and foremost, it's really great advice given out on here to not consult Dr Google! Having HA myself I know I'm really susceptible to reading the worst horror stories and then convincing myself i've either already got it or I'm going to get it! Doctors will be especially careful as you are pregnant and I'm sure will be able to reassure you on the findings of the test and it's reliability. Try to relax and enjoy your pregnancy, I certainly wished I had spent more time enjoying all the lovely things pregnancy does to your body instead of worrying abut all the bad things that could happen. Sending :hugs: xxxx

[southey]

Have you actually had cause for concern about getting lyme disease? Infected tick bites are quite noticeable with a classic bullseye rash around the infected bite and is usually accompanied by flu like symptoms.

Unless you have had the above it is highly unlikely you would have lyme disease.

Steve.

[nervousmummytobe]

Thanks for your replys
I had a bite but I'm not too sure what it was from! It was just a red bump when I noticed it! Wasn't itchy didn't seem an infected bite ! But around that time I had a rash which five doctors told me was hormonal and pregnancy related but I can't get it out of my head that the rash was from the bite ! am I being irrational? I have had a blood test called Elisa which was negative and now I'm having another more specific one and am waiting results!
I've become obsessed that I have lymes disease and am reading horror stories online about it going un diagnosed and I'm really worried for my baby! The more I read symptoms of it the more my brain starts giving me symptoms! Is this possible

[southey]

The rash would be specific to the bite area and would look like a bullseye with a red ring around the bite which spreads outwards.

This would have been very noticeable so unless you had this put Lyme out of your mind.

Any yes your brain can cause all manner of symptoms. Are you being a bit irrational? Yes a wee bit:)

Steve.

[nervousmummytobe]

i realise i probably am! but cant you get rashes at other parts apart from the bite! I dont even know if the bite was a tick im so stupid for how i overreact!
since reading about lymes ive had tingling, muscle twitches, headaches and now today im gettign prickly heat sensations over my body! :(

[cattia]

Hiya, I replied to a thread of yours before, I understand what you're going through with the Lyme's fear. I went to A&E with a bite when my son was a couple of weeks old as I was convinced it was a tick bite that had given my Lyme's. I was breastfeeding and I read all sorts of scary stuff online too about how it can transmit through your milk. The nurse told me that the rash associated with Lyme's is very specific and I just needed to watch the bite to make sure it didn't track. Honestly, the chances of your symptoms being from anxiety, which you KNOW you have, are way higher than them being from Lyme's.

[nervousmummytobe]

Thank you so much for that reply.
I have been told that a rash from lyme is very specific and that 'you would know if you had an infected tick bite'
and then i read online how 50 % dont get the classic rash and that others get rashes appear elsewhere....
where im pregnant and my skin has always been prone to marks etc .... I have had different skin marks etc which so many docs have said is hormones etc! but i cant get it out of my head!
it doesnt help that I am gettingall these other symptoms either which i know i am bringing on myself xx

[jade1978]

I get the same symptoms as you and definately don't have Lyme disease. I definately do have anxiety though, as do you.

[nervousmummytobe]

i feel so upset! the minute i try and rationalise i get dragged back in! :(
these symptoms feel too strong to be just anxiety!

[cattia]

Honestly, I understand how you feel. It's so exhausting spending your whole day trying to talk yourself out of the worst case scenario only to fall straight back into it the next minute. Have you spoken to your midwife about your anxiety? She may be able to suggest some extra support, someone who you could talk through your fears with. They are usually pretty hot on mental health issues during pregnancy x

[nervousmummytobe]

Hi Cattia! unfortunately my midwife isnt too helpful!
I went to see my gp last night and he spent an hr chatting to me and i feel a lot better!
i just want the symptoms to dissappear so i can stop thinking im ill!