posted
Hey guys... I'm located in Georgia around the Athens area and I am in desperate need of an LLMD, or someone who knows what they're doing. I am in the middle of the worst Lyme flare up I have ever experienced. I look and feel like Night of the Living Dead. Every doctor I have seen has told me it is in my head, or it is an unspecified skin infection, etc. You know how it goes.
I have had Lyme since at least early 2004 when I had a Lyme rash and what I thought was an awful flu. I was horribly ill for about two weeks and even had three seizures, though I have not any other time before or after. I was at a boarding school during this time and refused any medical treatment, so I stayed bedridden and 'got over it' - so I thought.
It came back in 2007. Another Lyme rash, along with multiple target-shaped bruises (20+ at peak). This lasted for a month. The walk-in doctor gave me steroids; it got worse. I ended up in the ER with my knee swollen five times normal size and the pain so bad that I was in tears; not an easy feat, as I have chronic migraine and am used to pain. They dismissed it as a skin infection, gave me steroids & antibiotics, sent me home.
This time, in 2008, the Lyme rash was much worse with about 30 target-bruises appearing all over my body at peak. This lasted for about one and a half months. The walk-in doctor was baffled and referred me to a dermatologist, but the appointment came too late and the rash was gone. He told me that I had a minor skin infection that I must've gotten from scratching an unrelated rash, such as poison ivy, and prescribed some anti-itch cream.
Now, it is 2011... and after doing some research, I am positive this is Lyme. The photos of the rash look exactly like what I've been having and my symptoms match up. I'm kind of freaking out here because I may have caught it too late - I'm having symptoms characteristic of the third stage of the disease... symptoms I had originally contributed to chronic migraine.
The Lyme rash is all over my body and it is so bad that I am ashamed to leave the house in anything but winter clothing. So far, this time, I have seen my regular doctor who was very confused but refuses to believe it is Lyme (he doesn't believe Lyme rash is reoccurring), the ER which gave me antibiotics, steroids, and anti-itch pills (helped a little, but not much), and tomorrow I am to see a dermatologist, as per my regular doctor's request. I know the dermatologist won't know what to do, but at this point, I just need something to calm down the rash and the horrible itching and he will not prescribe a thing without official diagnosis, which he refuses to give.
Before you ask... yes, I have been tested for all STDs and other usual suspects (in 2007, 2008, and last week) and all tests came back negative. I do have chronic migraine (diagnosed 2005), but I am starting to wonder if that is caused by Lyme. It would certainly explain why it is resistant to standard treatment & triggered by heat and light.
Anyway, I am desperate for help... please! I don't want this to get any worse...
Posts: 2 | From CSA | Registered: May 2011
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Tincup
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