Connie Carlton was cleaning at her family farm in Trenton last spring in preparation for her daughter’s outdoor wedding when she later found four ticks attached on her side. The bite areas were inflamed.
But the 54-year-old suspects she may also have been bitten by a tick a year ago because since last summer she has experienced irregular heart palpitations and breathlessness without any other explanation for it.
She had visited the hospital and undergone heart testing, which came out fine, she said.
“(The doctor) put me on heart medication,” Carlton said, “and decided that stress was causing (the symptoms).”
A pediatrician friend suggested she might have Lyme disease, so she asked her primary care doctor to test her with the Western blot test.
“Instead, he didn’t do that test,” she said. “He did a less sensitive test. And it came back negative, and he said ‘You don’t have Lyme.’ ”
Stephanie Tyndall was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 1997.
The rash that later developed on the back of her shoulder was thought to be an infected sebaceous cyst. She was sent to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.
“Even when I found out I had it,” Tyndall said, “there were people that said there is no Lyme disease.”
It took six months of symptoms and numerous doctor visits before she was diagnosed with the Western blot test.
“If you’re treated in the first stages,” she said, “oh, yes, it makes a difference.”
Treating Lyme disease early can mean not having long-term symptoms. Today, both Carlton and Tyndall continue to deal with symptoms.
Tyndall, 39, said once the oozing black center of the rash was lanced, her symptoms escalated. She said she had Bell’s palsy — a clinical sign of Lyme — and she suffered from fatigue, flu-like symptoms, difficulty speaking, dizziness, light sensitivity in her eyes, headaches, stiff neck, numbness and tingling in her extremities and what she calls “brain fog.”
“I had one doctor that told me it was all in my head,” she said.
In the late 1990s, the disease was not well known. Over time, though, the medical profession has come to the conclusion Lyme disease is real, Tyndall said.
A disease specialist did a spinal tap on Tyndall and diagnosed Lyme’s meningitis — which meant the disease had gotten into her spinal fluid causing the neurological symptoms. The bacteria can settle anywhere in the body.
“That’s why they called it ‘the great imitator,’ ” she said.
In April when Carlton discovered the four ticks, she knew she needed to act on it.
As more symptoms began to emerge, Carlton began seeking out more doctors — her gynecologist, a neurologist and an endocrinologist.
Her thyroid tests were fluctuating, adrenal glands depleted, blood sugar was up and down and muscles twitched.
When a doctor found a mass on one of her ovaries, ovarian cancer was suspected and she was sent to Chapel Hill for a CT scan. Doctors there said there was nothing to worry about, Carlton said.
She then had an ultrasound and the mass was gone.
“I found out Lyme disease can cause benign cysts that can come and go,” she said. “So it’s much more than aches and pains in your joints.”
Later, the four bites flared up again. Her gynecologist tested her for Lyme disease using the Western blot test and it came back positive.
This month, Carlton began seeing a physician’s assistant in Wilmington who treats the whole person, rather than symptoms.
“There’s a newer breed of doctors embracing the whole lifestyle,” she said.
Through changing what she eats, stress reduction, detoxing, vitamins, herbal supplements and necessary medications, Carlton said she is slowly recovering.
“In one day, I’ve been able to sleep through the night,” she said. “I’ve not been able to sleep through the night for one year.”
Like Tyndall, Carlton experienced “brain fog.”
“I’m mentally clearer,” she said. “That brain fog has cleared up.”
The aches and pains have, too, but not the heart irregularity.
Carlton said she’s been told it will take one to two years before her heart gets better. She takes one or two drops of herbal medicine and will eventually increase up to 30 drops. She also takes Epsom salt baths, dry saunas and drinks filtered water.
“It’s a whole lifestyle change,” she said. “You don’t just take a pill and feel better. It’s based on what I’m experiencing.”
Carlton is attempting to realize her dream of having a therapy farm for children with disabilities. She raises alpacas and miniature horses and has started to bring in small groups of children.
Tyndall took a series of different medicines and still takes medicine when she has a flare-up. She became a registered nurse in the emergency room at LMH after being inspired by nurses who helped her, and continues to have problems with her vision and achy joints.
“It’s a journey,” she said. “You can cope with it. You can move on.”
Currently, she is working on a bachelor’s degree in nursing through Mt. Olive College. She holds a Lyme disease support group, which she founded in 2006. For information about the support group, call 252-522-7000 and ask for the Wellness Center or visit lenoirmemorialhospital.org.
Tyndall will also be presenting a free workshop from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday at the Lenoir Memorial Hospital auditorium. Tick removal kits will be given out to participants. For information about the workshop, call 252-522-7000 and ask for the Wellness Center.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
To learn about tick-borne diseases
What: Tick Talk
When: Noon-1 p.m. Thursday
Where: Lenoir Memorial Hospital
For information: Call 252-522-7000 and ask for the Wellness Center
Get support
For information about the Lyme disease support group, call 252-522-7000 and ask for the Wellness Center or visit lenoirmemorialhospital.org.
Symptoms of Lyme disease
Rash at the bite site or other rashes
Heart irregularities, shortness of breath
Joint and muscle pain, pain in the shins, feet or neck
Twitches, numbness and tingling, dizziness, memory or vision problems, tinnitus
Mood swings, depression, personality changes, disturbed sleep
Groin pain, sexual dysfunction, menstrual irregularity
Flu symptoms, weight change, fatigue, hair loss, difficulty swallowing, swollen glands and eyes
Source: Lyme Disease Association