I was diagnosed with lyme disease last may over a PCR test, having been previously diagnosed negative under 2 igenex tests and 2 specialized tests I can't remember.  For the past 2.5 years I've likely been suffering from late-stage neuro lyme, and cannot clearly recall experiencing early symptoms, which may have led to prompt identificiation and treatment for me.

Now, a weird observation concerns that I can think of times when I could have shown the early symptoms, and those times happen to be over the period when my sex dysphoria began and rapidly intensified back in 2014.

My first bout with intense dysphoria was largely physical and neurologic in nature. 
I remember getting migraine headaches, flu-like symptoms, severe, sudden episodes of depression and lethargy, and burning sensations in the female parts of my body (curves and breasts), which led me to believe that this was sex dysphoria.  Of course, this also came with an altered mental state and I remember being in some kind of haze, and I was frequently dissociating from my body. 
I also began to experience weird hormone fluctuations.  Initially, it was a prolonged surge in free testosterone levels that was strong enough to bring on secondary sex characteristics (clit doubled in size, started growing a bit of body hair, torturous and incessant libido).  The T levels finally started going down in late 2014 and early 2015, to be later replaced by a crash in progesterone levels.

Sometimes I ask myself whether my feelings of being male, along with ID'ing as female, are simply a consequence of the lyme getting into my brain, altering hormonal cascades, and manipulating how my brain interpreted my body.  While there was scant indication that I was trans before early 2014 and these events, I had never experienced much dysphoria at all until that point (even over female puberty). 

I've heard of a few folk before who noticed, at the very least, an intensified level of dysphoria after getting lyme, but I'm wondering whether this could point to a unique symptomology of lyme disease.

So, I guess my questions here are:

1. Anyone here with lyme disease?

2. If so, did it have an impact on your dysphoria, or did it cause your dysphoria to get much worse?

I hate to be Captain Obvious, but GD exists in places where there is no Lyme disease - like Australia.

I do not have Lyme Disease, sorry. So I wouldn't know.

The specifics seems like it could cause an increase in GD, but not generate it if it wasn't already there to begin with, to me. Sorry I couldn't help ya, dude.

Lyme disease and syndromes similar to Lyme disease can cause a massive release chemicals that affect the immunoneuro-network and can produce chronic fatigue and stress syndromes.

People do report that they suffer GD symptoms more when they are under stress. The reasons for this are in basic psychology. However the GD is not caused by the stress, it becomes more apparent because of the stress.

So, I would suggest getting good treatment protocols for Lyme disease and for CFS if you have symptoms of that and some good counselling sessions with an experience gender therapist.

Lyme disease can take a long time to get over and its side effects can be pretty horrible, so do get treatment.

I have no idea of the impact genderwise, but I've been exposed to Lyme disease. Any outdoor activity here will result in picking up some ticks, and deer ticks are tiny, so they can go unnoticed on your body. I  had one attached under my left breast, and  the bite developed a beautiful bullseye around it. Doctor confirmed Lyme and gave me a course of antibiotics, Augmentin, I believe.

Hi. If you are out there somewhere, please let me know. I am trying to pool together research proving a connection between tick borne illness (including Lyme Disease) and gender variance. My name is Isabel and I believe strongly that there is a connection. If you want, you can email me directly at Isabelrosemailinglist@gmail.com.

As far as I know, I've not experienced Lyme disease, but I was experiencing trans feelings long before it appeared here in Ontario..  I know it can present some very severe symptoms.

Quote from: Isabelrose on October 17, 2018, 07:16:49 AM
Hi. If you are out there somewhere, please let me know. I am trying to pool together research proving a connection between tick borne illness (including Lyme Disease) and gender variance. My name is Isabel and I believe strongly that there is a connection. If you want, you can email me directly at Isabelrosemailinglist@gmail.com.

Hi, Isabel Rose!

Welcome to Susan's Place.

I don't have Lyme disease.  Although we get quite a few ticks here, I don't believe I have ever had one successfully bite me (though they sure were fixing to do so!).

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Sorry, I'm a city girl.  I've never been bitten by a tick.  I haven't seen a tick since Boy Scouts, and I wanted be a girl long before I even thought about becoming a Boy Scout.