posted
Wow, that seems very odd. I'm glad my LLMD did not base his diagnosis on a phone call and my previous diagnosis of Somatization Disorder!!
I'd see someone else.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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RoadRunner
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 380
posted
run from this doc and find a better one....
crazy over the phone.
RR
-------------------- "Beep Beep" Posts: 2630 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2000
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lymeladyinNY
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10235
posted
She can't come up with a valid conclusion about you over the phone.
She already has a preconceived notion about you.
I'd see someone else, no matter how "good" a Lyme doctor she is.
And the babs test would not accurately tell you if you have babs. I had a negative babs test right at the time my babs was raging.
I'm sorry this has happened to you.
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
Is she a member of ILADS? The whole "it's all in your head" with just a phone conversation is not the quality of care that I would expect from an LLMD.
Her remarks about babs concerns me. I do not believe that one must have blood in their urine in order to have babs. If that were true, that's all any of us would have needed for testing and many on this board have had clinical diagnosis for babs, been treated and had great improvement.
I'm no expert on the wood tick but I think it is possible that the wood tick DOES carry lyme and we know that it does carry other disease so it's not impossible to think that it may have carried some sort of infection.
http://www.canlyme.com/ticks.html Rocky Mountain Wood Tick (click on photo) Dermacentor Andersoni. This and Dermacentor Variabilis as shown below have been shown to carry lyme but it is still under study as to their ability to pass it on through a bite3. It is 'theorized' that by scratching at an attached wood tick or dog tick (seen below), or by removing it with fingers you may force bacteria into your skin that otherwise would not be transmitted. Click here for proper removal methods
Sorry you are having a tough time. Don't accept the diagnosis of hypochondria. Personally, I don't believe in hypochondria. It is a convenient label that is used when the doctor can't or won't go to the trouble of finding an answer.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Originally posted by TerryK: Don't accept the diagnosis of hypochondria. Personally, I don't believe in hypochondria. It is a convenient label that is used when the doctor can't or won't go to the trouble of finding an answer.
ditto to that!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Michelle M
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7200
posted
quote:Originally posted by adamm: [QB] She told me that if I was worried
about Babs, I could definitively ascertain whether or not I have it
by taking some test for hemoglobin in the urine.
So...what do you guys think?
That is complete hooey.
You'd need to do an antibody titer test, and/or a detailed analysis of a peripheral blood smear -- rarely done anymore. Even then, it's difficult to find -- many strains exist and only two are tested for.
This really does NOT sound like an ILADS doctor.
If you threw out everyone on this forum with a previous diagnosis of "hypochondria," "conversion disorder," "malingering," or "affective disorder," it would be pretty lonely.
True LLMD's hear this all the time and read this frequently in their new patients' medical records, and it rarely raises an eyebrow.
Find someone else. Please!
Michelle
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
Thanks you guys! I'll keep my appt. with Dr. M in wisc.
(BTW, any further comments on him would be greatly appreciated!_
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robi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5547
posted
I have been around Lymenet for 4 years or so. Never heard of a Dr. V... anyone else? Not that I know all the LLMD's but who told you about her?????
You said: "Yep, she's an LLMD (one of the most highly regarded, from what I've gathered on the boards.) " What boards exactly?
robi
-------------------- Now, since I put reality on the back burner, my days are jam-packed and fun-filled. ..........lily tomlin as 'trudy' Posts: 2503 | From here | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I've never heard of a Dr.V, either -- but I definitely wouldn't see anyone who was swayed by a previous diagnosis of hypochondria, or even hinted that she thought I was not truly ill --- in the 18 years I spent searching for a diagnosis, I've had every form of psychiatric label thrown at me, and then some... turns out, I'm CDC positive for Lyme, and also positive for mycoplasma fermentens. In my head? Not quite...
Babesia is hard to detect, even with sophisticated testing techniques. Hemoglobin in the urine??? That's one I haven't heard before...
-------------------- "Looks like freedom but it feels like death.. It's something in between, I guess"
Leonard Cohen, from the song "Closing Time" Posts: 822 | From California | Registered: Jan 2006
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Boomerang
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7979
posted
I'd get a second opinion!
Posts: 1366 | From Southeast | Registered: Sep 2005
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Dr. V is who I went to last year. you can read below for more info.
never heard anything about adam is discussing above!!
Bettyg's 4-20-06 new LLMD in Minn. Office visit summary, complete BODY lab results of 15-18 labs nationwide, all info the lab sent back about specific high/low testing, $$ costs involved, and what each test specifically involved what ... VERY DETAILED!
I did this for other newbies who had NEVER had complete body testing like I did! Hoped it would give them guidance what they entail, how costly if OUT OF POCKET PAID like my $ 4300, and which specific labs nationwide are the best for these SPECIFIC lab work.
AliG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9734
posted
Has anyone here ever actually had a telephone conversation with an LLMD prior to first visit?
I just can't imagine a truly LL-MD actually getting into a detailed assessment of a possible new patient over the phone.
Not to mention, not charging a fee for a specialist opinion? Maybe it's not the same Dr.V?
Seems really strange.
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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cactus
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7347
posted
Adamm, glad you're keeping that appt with another LLMD.
The bite of a wood tick can carry a lot of infections, and a wood tick bite made me extremely ill although I can't pinpoint exactly which infection came from which tick (I've had hundredsd over the years).
I can't imagine an LLMD getting into a detailed assessment with a patient over the phone (prior to an appt) either.
I did, however, speak to my LLMD by phone prior to my first appt - but I had pos test results and a non-LL NP who was willing to work with LLMD while I waited for the appt.
Different circumstances, because LLMD had received calls from both of NP and me asking her to work in conjunction with NP while I was on the wait list.
Adamm, hang in there till your next appt!
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
adam,
this really puzzles me as i never talked to her prior.
how much did she charge you for consult call? --------------------------------------------
posted
I also see a Dr. V in Minnesota (LLMD). I have found her to be very thorough. Telephone assessment? This sounds very strange.
Posts: 83 | From Minnesota | Registered: Dec 2006
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There is always a possibility that our self-diagnose is based on fear and not fact.
Only you know your history - past and present. If you know that self-diagnose and huge fear issues around illness have been a pattern for you, it may help to talk to a professional about it.
Knowing all that I do know now - if I were not disabled, if my symptoms were very, very minimal and not growing - I would not go into Lyme treatment. It is not something to take lightly.
Another thing to keep in mind for all of us is that sometimes the primary issue really is depression. Depression is a horrible illness in and of itself. Depression alone can cause obsessive thoughts and fears re: illness issues, and it can actually cause various physical symptoms, including chronic pain and headaches, appetite changes, weight loss or gain, and severe fatigue.
It may be wise to see a psychiatrist to rule out depression as an illness. Thank God if that alone ends up being your issue - though depression alone is horrible.
Best wishes.
Posts: 364 | From California | Registered: Sep 2005
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