General

• Decreased interest in play (children)

• Extreme fatigue, tiredness, exhaustion

• Unexplained recurring fevers (high or low grade)

• Flu-like symptoms (early in the illness)

• Symptoms come and go (vary daily, or even hourly)

• Too much or too little sleep 

• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

• Unexplained weight loss or gain

• Brain "fog"

• Unexplained/odd rashes (not always recognized, not always the "classic bullseye" rash)

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Vision related

• Oversensitivity to light (Uveitis)

• Floaters/spots in the line of sight

• Sudden changes in vision

• Double or blurry vision 

• Wandering or lazy eye

• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)

• Eye pain or swelling around eyes

• Red eyes

 

Ears/Hearing

• Sound sensitivity (often extreme)

• Ringing or buzzing in ears (tinnitus)

• Decreased hearing

• General ear pain

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Neck (and above)

• Headache (migraines), often with no prior history of headaches

• Facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy)

• Tingling sensations 

• Stiff neck

• Sore throat, swollen glands

• Heightened allergic sensitivities

• Twitching of facial/other muscles

• Jaw pain/stiffness (like TMJ)

• Change in smell, taste

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Digestive

• Upset stomach (nausea, vomiting)

• Irritable bladder

• Loss of appetite, anorexia

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Cardiovascular

• Difficulty breathing

• Night sweats or unexplained chills

• Heart palpitations

• Diminished exercise tolerance

• Heart block, murmur

• Chest pain or rib soreness

• Heart skipping

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Psychiatric

• Mood swings, irritability, agitation

• Depression and anxiety

• Personality changes

• Malaise

• Aggressive behavior

• Impulsiveness

• Suicidal thoughts (suicide is believed to be the leading cause of death for Lyme patients)

• Overemotional reactions, crying easily

• Suspiciousness, paranoia, hallucinations

• Feeling as though you are losing your mind

• Obsessive-compulsive behavior

• Bipolar disorder/manic behavior

• Schizophrenic-like state (including hallucinations)

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Cognitive 

• Dementia

• Forgetfulness, memory loss (short or long term

• Poor school or work performance

• Attention deficit problems, distractibility

• Confusion, difficulty thinking

• Difficulty with concentration, reading, spelling

• Disorientation: getting or feeling lost (even in previously familiar locations)

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Muscular/Joints

• Joint pain, swelling, or stiffness

• Shifting joint pains

• Muscle pain or cramps

• Poor muscle coordination, loss of reflexes

• Loss of muscle tone, muscle weakness

     

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Neurologic System

• Numbness in body, tingling, pinpricks

• Burning/stabbing sensations in the body

• Burning in feet

• Weakness or paralysis of limbs

• Tremors or unexplained shaking

• Seizures, stroke

• Poor balance, dizziness, difficulty walking

• Increased motion sickness, wooziness

• Lightheadedness, fainting

• Encephalopathy (cognitive impairment from brain involvement)

• Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)

• Meningitis (inflammation of the protective membrane around the brain)

• Encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord)

• Academic or vocational decline

• Difficulty with multitasking

• Difficulty with organization and planning

• Auditory processing problems

• Word finding problems

• Slowed speed of processing

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Various other

• Unexplained menstrual pain, irregularity

• Reproduction problems, miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, neonatal

• Death, congenital Lyme disease

• Extreme PMS symptoms

• Testicular or pelvic pain

• Benign tumor-like nodules

• A variety of possible skin rashes including a Erethyma Migrans (bullseye) rash, 

• Thyroid (Hypo or Hyper active thyroid glands)

• Liver inflammation

• Bladder & Kidney problems 

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Think you may have Lyme or some other tick-borne disease? Take Dr. Richard I Horowitz's Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire here>