Just for Fun let's Look at Babesia Symptoms

 So, it's hard to find good information that isn't dismissive, and list-oriented without detail or facts.  This article called "TOUCHED BY LYME: A close look at six Lyme-related infections", is amazing.  So, just for my own sanity, I'm going to list out the portion on Babesia and talk about which symptoms I have.

Here we go.  

"Babesia, or Babesia-like organisms (BABLO) primarily affect the brain and autonomic nervous system. The first words that a patient with active Babesia-like organisms in his body might say are that he can’t focus or think. His cognitive function is significantly compromised, and his mood is almost always affected. Both depression and anxiety are very common. A person with Babesia has a lot of emotional upheaval; fear is a dominant symptom."

Oh yes, I definitely have said that I can't think.  It's actually gotten worse and become a huge thing for me recently.  I forgot how to tie a bow one day and couldn't braid my hair the other day.  And my mood has been anxious.  I've been going to acupuncture for anxiety for the last two years because I've intensely anxious, about everything and nothing.  And it's different than normal anxiety.  To me, what I would describe as "Lyme anxiety", feels different.  One minute I'm happily singing away to myself as I do dishes, the next I'm having a panic attack... about nothing.  I have been flipping between anxiety and depression for no apparent reason.  Yes, 2020 has been hard, but I'm having trouble beyond that. 

"Babesia also can affect the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for much of the “automatic” functions of the body, such as heartbeat, breathing, etc. This means that the communication between the brain and body is affected, so any physical symptoms that patients have from Babesia can be related more to autonomic nervous system dysfunction rather than the organisms themselves. For instance, Babesia can cause postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS); a racing heart at rest and/or an irregular heartbeat and heavy pounding heart at night, but the problem isn’t in the heart. The problem is that the autonomic nervous system isn’t functioning properly."

I definitely have this... I have said that "Lyme anxiety" feels different, and it often starts with a randomly racing heart rate for me.  I have had trouble sleeping because I lay down and my heart rate is randomly excessively elevated.  I have had trouble breathing this year, and I just thought I was having more trouble with allergies, but I think it's Babesia.  I would take a Benadryl and it wouldn't help, which suggests I've been having Babesia affecting my lungs, not an allergen.    

"Shortness of breath is also common, because people with Babesia don’t regulate their oxygen-saturation flow properly due to problems in the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Such people feel a sense of “air hunger” because the ANS isn’t dilating their bronchial tubes or opening their diaphragm properly, because these parts of their body are not getting the signal to do so from the command center in brain."

I have had trouble breathing this year, and I just thought I was having more trouble with allergies, because they mostly affect my lungs by causing a little shortness of breath.  But I now think it's been Babesia all along.  I would take a Benadryl and it wouldn't help, which suggests I've been having Babesia affecting my lungs, not an allergen. 

"Additional symptoms of Babesia include lots of drenching sweats and chills. Babesia is a relative of the malarial organism and is part protozoan and part bacteria. So as with malaria, people can get terrible chills and lots of sweats and basically feel like they are going crazy.  People with Babesia are often quite chilled and can’t get warm and will have to take a hot shower or jump in a bathtub to warm up. The temperature de-regulation is again related to a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system. So, people either can’t get warm, or they get too hot. They turn down the thermostat at night because they are too hot, but then they get too cold while in bed and so turn it back up by a degree. They freeze when going to bed and throw the covers on; then, in the middle of the night, they get boiling hot and throw the covers off and drench their bedclothes in sweat."

I have had a lot of trouble keeping warm.  I had a period of time where I had drenching sweats and chills at night but I'm not having that now.  I am always cold, however.  I would go to accupunture and relax and then it would take me two or three hours of sitting in the sun on a rock at the beach to warm up.  Then all of a sudden, a few hours in, I'd realize I was boiling hot.  I'd take off jackets and layers and suddenly be cold again.  I also have the same problem with temperature when I'm trying to sleep.  I'm freezing and then I'm hot and then I'm freezing again.  And when I've gone camping, I freeze and I can't get warm again.  It'll take me hours into the next day to finally warm up.  Same thing at night if I go to look at the stars, I'll freeze and I'll have to jump in the shower to get my body back up to normal.  Then I overheat and nearly pass out from being too hot in the shower.  I've joked that I've become a for-real lizard because I have no control of my temperature, but it's not actually funny or fun. 

"Insomnia is common as Babesia affects the sleep center in the brain."

I have had a lot of trouble with insomnia for the past two years.  Again, I thought it was related to the anxiety, but honestly, I've had more trouble sleeping the last two years than any other period of time in my life.  I've actually had to start taking sleep aids to try to regulate my sleeping and give me the ability to get some rest. 

"Other symptoms include blurred vision, bowel-motility issues and bladder difficulties. People with Babesia will either have trouble starting their urinary stream or will go through episodes of incontinence. They may also have problems with bowel motility; usually constipation, but can also sometimes have diarrhea due to autonomic nervous system de-regulation."

I will spare you details.  I will simply say, yes.  It's not fun, people.

"A dominant Babesia infection also can affect certain areas of the wrists, hands, ankles and feet. These areas can be painful, numb or experience temperature extremes."

I originally went to the doctor for all of this because of hand pain.  My fingers have been dealing with arthritis-like pain for two years.  It rotates around to different finger joints and just fucking hurts.  I thought it was symptomatic of Lyme, but it's possible it's symptomatic of Babesia. 

"Babesia does not generally cause pain in the body, so if a person has pain, then it’s usually due to another problem. The picture is always complicated though because people with Babesia who have a compromised detoxification system will have pain in their body as a result of poor waste removal. But, the pain is not from the infection itself."

If this is true, and if my pain is related to poor waste removal... it's possible that I can potentially help fix that and get relief.  This is the most hopeful thing I've learned/heard of in weeks. 

"These are what I call clearly identifiable Babesia symptoms in those patients who have an immune system that is not terribly depleted or who don’t have a compromised detoxification system or other conditions or infections that are currently active and which could complicate the symptom picture. The same holds true for the symptom patterns of all of the other infections described here."

Thus ends the article's section on Babesia.  I have everything on this list but night sweats.  I used to have them, now I'm just cold, always so cold.  And I have other things that make sense if my nervous system isn't functioning properly.  My nose sometimes gets this weird tingly sensation on the right side of it like I've come in out of the cold.  It happens in the summer, in San Diego.  It's definitely not related to actual temperature.  But, perhaps it's related to dis-regulation of temperature caused by a dominant Babesia infection.  

For more on co-infections, here's the informative article called TOUCHED BY LYME: A close look at six Lyme-related infections, that I drew the symptoms from.  I highly suggest reading it if you have Lyme Disease or suspect you have Lyme Disease. 

For Other Posts about Lyme Disease see the following:

So, I have Lyme Disease

How to Find the Right Doctor for Lyme Disease

How can you be Certain you have LYME DISEASE?

Lyme Disease a List of Symptoms

Lyme Disease the Great Masquerader of Diseases

How Did I Get Lyme Disease?

Memory Struggles with Lyme

I Feel Like I'm Playing Lyme Roulette

Do I have Lyme Disease or West Nile Virus? or a Co-infection?