I'm feeling pretty sick right now, and also don't use a computer. My wife is typing this for me, and she has been kind enough to try to find a dr. for me on the internet through your website.
We know a lot about Lyme since I contracted my first sickness with it 10 years ago. We were to 9 dr.s here in Utah where we live for part of the year, before I found one at that time, to send to IGnex lab where my test came back positive finally, and then I was treated for a month with antibiotics in an IV by a local dr, and I got better then and have been in relatively good health all this time with a few Lyme-type flare-ups that only lasted a few months.
However, this dr. said he wouldn't treat me again with such high doses for antibiotics ever again, when I went in one time for a check-up a year later, as I was having a few flare-up symptoms and asked him if he would, if I ever got worse. He acted strangely, as if I was crazy to ask this, and then asked me if I smoked or drank,(very little) and that because I did, he said that could be causing neck aches and headaches! I think I know the difference between a hangover and Lyme. Well, that's Utah.
However, I've just since this November been in bad shape again with many of the same symptoms I had before. My wife bought the book "Why Can't I Get Better," which is excellent, and I highly recommend it for those who have chronic Lyme, which is what I guess, I have. In Utah the dr's on the whole don't have knowledge of Lyme, and I can't imagine would treat me for Lyme with the strong antibiotics I am finding out through the book I will need. We are feeling a bit desperate through the holidays, as now I have a terrible cold on top of the Lyme, am depressed, and I know if I go to a local dr, he or she will most likely get me the blood test I want, but I have no high hopes of being treated by anyone in the state.
We have a cabin in northwest Wisconsin, where I contracted Lyme. We are thinking either Duluth, MN or somewhere else in WI might be a better place to find a dr -- however -- how do you find a good one?
I know people don't like to give out names on the internet, protecting them, which I understand. Do you have any thoughts about how I would go about finding a good Lyme Dr?
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
Welcome to Lymenet! PM sent for WI & MN.
So sorry you are going through this, but you've come to the right place. We will try to help you every way we can.
You need to be evaluated and treated by a Lyme-literate doctor (LLMD). Non LLMDs have no clue about this horrible disease and its complex treatment!
When you call for an appointment, ask if they have any cancellations or a waiting list. Patients have gotten in sooner by doing this.
Please ask you wife to break up your posts into 2-3 sentence paragraphs, as there are people on Lymenet who cannot read large blocks of text due to neurological problems from Lyme. Thanks.