I am in need of a Doctor in NYC who can accurately diagnose and treat me. I currently taking doxycycline and I am afraid that it will not be enough to treat the Lyme disease and attendant co-infections that I suspect are living in my body. I have been given a Western Blot and tested positive for 7 out of 11 bands of Old Lyme exposure.
I am 20 years old and I have had at least 15 tick bites in my life, and I can remember experiencing symptoms that might be Lyme-related from as early as 7 years old. From independent research I believe myself to be seriously afflicted with a Bartonella infection at the very least, in addition to Borrelia. The most prominent symptoms I experience are fatigue and loss of cognitive function.
I would very much like to see a doctor with a proven record of treating lyme and bartonella specifically as well as other co-infections. If any of you in this forum know of such a doctor I would be extremely grateful if you could pass along their name and information to me. Thank you all.
Posts: 4 | From New York City | Registered: May 2016
| IP: Logged |
Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
So glad you are researching and being proactive. Good for you!
I know you are not a child, so don't freak out here. If you go to this site- Dr. J in CT - it will take you to a site where you can hopefully find a doctor in NY to help you.
posted
Yeah, reading over my post I was being a little melodramatic. My family hasn't been too supportive and i haven't really had a place to release the stress of finding all of this out. Thanks for the response.
Posts: 4 | From New York City | Registered: May 2016
| IP: Logged |
TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
Contact the lyme support groups near you. See Support Groups on the left side of the page.
Ask them about the lyme docs in your city and state. Get LOTS of input before you select a lyme doctor because they charge BIG BUCKS and the wait to get in can be long.
No sense wasting your time and money on a doc that everyone says is no good. So, do a LOT of homework and ask around a lot. You can even contact support groups in nearby states for more info on good doctors.
I have lots of bad reports on various docs in NY state. The good one has a 2 year wait to get in. So, do a lot of investigating.
If you are willing to travel to the D.C. area, you can see a really good doc that I recommend to everyone on the east coast. You can get in with him in about 2 weeks. Cost for first appointment is about $600 which is cheap compared to NYC.
You can do telephone appointments with this doc so you would only have to travel to D.C. area once every 3 months. At least half of all lyme patients go out of state for good care. Many have to fly. You could take a train to D.C. and then the subway to the doc's office.
Let me know if you want the name and all the patient reports I have on this doc.
Also, educate yourself on lyme. This is extremely important. If you read the Burrascano Lyme Treatment Guidelines, you will get your education on this disease. Then, you will be able to evaluate any doctor's treatment of you--whether it is good or bad. And, you will be able to understand what the doctor is telling you. So do it! Here are the Guidelines:
Look at the symptom list on pages 9-10. Make a VERY complete list of the ones you have. Take this to the lyme doc at your first appointment. This is extremely important because lyme is initially diagnosed based on symptoms. Tests are unreliable, but tests are also considered. The final diagnosis is made based on a trial course of lyme treatment (antibiotics).
Welcome to Lymenet! We will help you here all we can. Ask questions and learn all you can.
Lyme is not like other diseases where you just present yourself to the doctor and wait for the magic to happen. There is no substitute for an educated patient. The ones that do not educate themselves rarely get well.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
You need to be evaluated and treated by a Lyme-literate doctor (LLMD). Non LLMDs have no clue about this horrible disease or its complex treatment!
A LLMD is one who has treated Lyme disease and the co-infections which come with it for many years and has gotten patients well. A good one will follow Dr. B's Guidelines, the "gold standard" for Lyme treatment.
posted
Appreciate all of your responses! I will be contacting Dr's as soon as the work week starts and update with further developments.
Posts: 4 | From New York City | Registered: May 2016
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic