Allergies, Anyone?

[LymeEnigma]

I never had allergies until I contracted Lyme disease, except for my long-known allergies to penicillin and sulfa medications. I don’t know if my allergies came on by coincidence or if they were actually triggered by the Lyme disease, but within a year or so of contracting Lyme disease I became allergic to mold, dust, and a number of pollens, and I became extremely intolerant to tobacco and alcohol, to the point of becoming ill upon minimal exposure. I think the correlation is worth exploring.

I can’t help but wonder if there might be a connection between the properties in Lyme that cause some of us to exhibit autoimmune symptoms and a possible similar mechanism that triggers various allergies. I would be curious to know what percentage of people developed multiple allergies within the first year or so after contracting Lyme disease. If so, do those diagnosed and treated early in their disease experience these problems (as I can only speak for those of us who received treatment several months after exposure), or might the developing of allergies be the sign of a longer standing disease? Might the autoimmune issues and allergies go hand in hand, triggered by the same faulty immune response many believe Lyme can provoke? If so, might regulating the immune system be the key to reducing and/or eliminating some (or even many) chronic/post Lyme disease symptoms?

[jysbena]

My response here can be related to the fact that I'm so confused about what's going on with me autoimmune wise, but ...

I've never had allergies until this year. All of a sudden, I was experiencing some SEVERE symptoms (entirely uncomfortable) this year, so I know what you're talking about.

To make matters more difficult, I have no idea what could be causing them, because I have no idea what's going on with my body. I'm wondering if, perhaps, Lyme can cause the same types of autoimmune responses that other diseases can cause? I suppose it's worth looking into...

[LymeEnigma]

Jysbena, your description of "entirely uncomfortable" really caught me. I just had to comment: I never understood, before the last couple of years, just how entirely uncomfortable allergies could be! I was so apathetic, wondering what was so horrible about watery eyes and a sneeze here and there. I had no idea that allergies could be that painful, or that they could make a person just as miserable and congested as if down with a cold. Allergies really are the pits, and I have no problem now taking a benadryl when I have to (I used to get on hakutsuru for taking benadryl and claratin to keep his allergies at bay; now I understand), and I brace myself when the olive trees outside begins to bloom.

There is a lot of evidence out there that Lyme can trigger a number of autoimmune diseases. Give me a day or two, and I'll dig up some of the studies for you.