I have my first appointment with a LLMD on Tuesday as 2 weeks ago recieved my blood test results which show i have Lyme disease.
I have written a list of questions to ask the LLMD, is there any you would recommend i ask?
thanks
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Someone wrote a lot of good information about this same topic a few weeks ago. Hopefully you will be able to find it. Maybe if you look at bettyg's newbie package it is there.
The one thing I do remember best is this piece of advice: you are there to listen and learn from the LLMD. I kept that in mind and tried to absorb everything he said.
As for questions, my LLMD pretty much answered them all during our conversation so I didn't have to ask too much. I did show him one CT scan report from a few years ago and asked him what he made of it.
Other than that, he led the appointment in such a way that I didn't have anything to ask.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
you may want to have one notebook just for this purpose
a journal to keep notes between visits and a place to write down notes at the visit
take pictures of rashes if this applies and make a copy for the doctor
keep a list of all meds and supplements to hand to doctor, more efficient and will give you more time for other questions
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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And, some background reading (too much here for a couple day's preparation and you probably have done your fair share to have a LLMD lined up but so just select what might be helpful to you.
Best of luck. I hope your consult goes very well and that you get settled on an excellent path to recovery.
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES TO FUEL THE "LYME WAR" -(author's details at link)
As two medical societies battle over its diagnosis and treatment, Lyme disease remains a frequently missed illness. Here is how to spot and treat it.
Excerpts:
Meet the players
The opponents in the battle over the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease are the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the largest national organization of general infectious disease specialists, (and)
and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), an organization made up of physicians from many specialties. ( www.ilads.org )
ILADS, by contrast, asserts that the illness is much more common than reported, underdiagnosed, easier to contract than previously believed, difficult to diagnose through commercial blood tests, and difficult to treat, (especially)
especially when treatment is delayed because of commonly encountered diagnostic difficulties ( http://www.ilads.org/guidelines.html - Accessed April 6, 2007).
. . .
" . . .To treat Lyme disease for a comparable number of life cycles, treatment would need to last 30 weeks. . . ."
`` . . .Patients with Lyme disease almost always have negative results on standard blood screening tests and have no remarkable findings on physical exam, so they are frequently referred to mental-health professionals for evaluation.
"...If all cases were detected and treated in the early stages of Lyme disease, the debate over the diagnosis and treatment of late-stage disease would not be an issue, and devastating rheumatologic, neurologic, and cardiac complications could be avoided..."
. . . * Clinicians do not realize that the CDC has gone on record as saying the commercial Lyme tests are designed for epidemiologic rather than diagnostic purposes, and a diagnosis should be based on clinical presentation rather than serologic results.
- Full article at link above, containing MUCH more detailed information.
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Co-infections (other tick-borne infections or TBD - tick-borne disease) are not discussed in the Savely article due to space limits. Still, any LLMD you would see would know how to assess/treat if others are present.
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Not to frighten, but to help support availability of proper treatment for long enough:
May 2008 Volume 39 Number 5 LABMEDICINE www.labmedicine.com - American Society for Clinical Pathology
CHRONIC BACTERIAL AND VIRAL INFECTIONS IN NEURODEGENERATIVE AND NEUROBEHAVIORAL DISEASES
- by Garth Nicolson, Ph.D.
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TESTING
You should also be evaluated for coinfections. Not all tests are great in that regard, either, but a good LLMD can evaluate you and then guide you in testing. One of the top labs is:
There are a couple other good labs for certain tests: Fry; Clognen; Focus. Your LLMD will know. Some say MDL does good work (but I don't know if they test all the bands).
The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) provides a forum for health science professionals to share their wealth of knowledge regarding the management of Lyme and associated diseases.
- In the menu to the left of their home page, you can order DVDs of past ILADS seminars. You might also be able to borrow some from your local lyme support group.
This are invaluable to understanding how these infections work. And, none of this is taught in medical schools. None.
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This book, by an ILADS member LLMD, holds great information about treatments options and support measures:
I would encourage EVERY person who has received a lyme diagnosis to get the following tests.
- at link.
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Posted by adamttt (Member # 19691) on :
thanks, that links just what i was looking for
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Your LLMD may or may not know about Rife machines and, even if so, may not be able to bring it up. Still, you may want to read a little about them or at least know that some lyme patients have found Rife helpful.
You might ask your LLMD if any of her/his patients have used Rife and with what results.