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Can muscle fatigue be herx?

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Posted 4/8/2021 4:24 AM (GMT -6)
Sometimes my muscles gets burned out very quick. And I end up sleeping because of it, but its not often it gets to the point of my sleeping. the muscles hurt like crazy afterwards and it takes very little activity to make this happen. Often when having arms over my shoulders I dont tolerate that well.

But can herx or lyme in general cause muscle weakness?
Posted 4/8/2021 5:16 AM (GMT -6)
yes to all of those

muscle and nerve problems in upper back and shoulders in particular is very common in Lyme - often terms the "lyme shrug".

one of the other common symptoms at onset is radiculitis - inflammation of the nerves feeding the arms as they exit the spine - my partner had this and it resulted in arm weakness - that is particularly noticeable in trying to lift the arms above the shoulder but it can persist to some degree throughout the illness.

100 years before borrelia was discovered - European doctors knew of a disorder which they termed Bannwarths syndrome - which was related to tick bites and included radiculitis of the arm nerves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphocytic_meningoradiculitis
this has seemingly been forgotten by modern day doctors....

fatigue in general is one of the most prominent symptoms of lyme for most people - and a subset of those experience something called post exertional malaise PEM - which sounds very much like what you are describing - between a few hours after to 48hrs after exertion - a person becomes ill, fatigues, and often bedridden with fatigue as a delayed reaction to exercise or exertion.
this may be due to mental exertion not only physical exertion. i suffer this particularly from mental exertion like driving.

careful management of exertion / activity via planning ahead and operating in a safe window, whilst doing some exercise to limit de-conditioning is often required.
Posted 4/8/2021 11:25 AM (GMT -6)
I have had issues with my upper back/shoulder/arm on the left side.
Those were my first Lyme and CO’s symptoms.
And although I ended up with many many body/head/brain symptoms - one of my last to leave are the upper back/left side arm etc.

First in - last out perhaps?
Posted 4/9/2021 2:53 PM (GMT -6)
I have a lot of muscle issues too. I feel like my body is constantly aching. It's like a flu aching, but it's muscle related for sure. I don't have a lot of good advice. I haven't figured out a fix yet.
Posted 4/9/2021 6:38 PM (GMT -6)
I got terrible soreness in my proximal muscles primarily (upper thighs and upper arms) following a mild virus a few years ago. I felt like I had just worked out with them very hard and was "feeling the burn" but with no actual activity having taken place. Walking and functioning were quite impaired, and I used a wheelchair for a while if I needed to be in public for an appointment. The urgent care doctor said I had post-viral myositis, my PCP said I was having an adrenal crash and "post-viral syndrome," and my LLMD said I was having a Bartonella flare. It got to the point that I was bedridden aside from crawling tot he bathroom; my partner had to supervise my baths for safety because of how unreliable my body was, and I didn't go down the stairs in my house for five months. I did the following and the muscle issues (and 85% of my other Lyme symptoms) resolved within a month: I discovered that I had MCAS and treated it with diet and supplements, I began DNRS, I stopped all immune system-boosting herbs, and I had an irritated root canal-treated tooth extracted. I can't say for sure which of those three helped the most, but it was a major turning point for me.
Posted 4/9/2021 7:45 PM (GMT -6)
I had this before during a severe worsening of symptoms for 4 months following a week of abx. I just came across a post about something similar and MCAS was involved. Are you doing any treatment for MCAS?
Posted 4/10/2021 7:59 AM (GMT -6)
Yeah, immune system uses ton of energy to fight off infection hence fatigue

try to up per day calories a bit - it could help like give 20..30% more energy

proteins fats glucose are all important for proper immune system functioning - immune cells consumes ton of fat and glucose and the body uses proteins to manufacture new sets of them

actually its not a bad thing pointing to some sort of making progress especially after abx

Post Edited (Dmitry) : 4/10/2021 9:34:28 AM (GMT-6)

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