I want to thank EVERYONE who has responded to my posts and those of other newbies here on Lymenet!

Regarding "Search the archives". I have a couple of comments.

My eyes were so blurry the first few times that I logged on that I actually DID NOT SEE THE SMALL letters "search" under POST REPLY.

Thanks to Rosemary and Treepatrol for helping me out the first few times that I posted. Rosemary probably wondered WHY I did not take her advice and search the archives... I COULD NOT SEE IT!!! (Thanks for your patience!)

Secondly, several of us newbies (I can tell from comments) have NOT had a voice or been involved in the "discussions" in the past or been on this board OR ANY BOARD.

MANY of us have "suffered in silence" and wondered if this is "good as it gets!"

So we actually NEED to dialogue and get actual responses (even if it is a link to something you know is helpful!)

I actually only had ONE person via e-mail who had assisted me in being tested and only contacted them once a month before it ever occurred to me to ASK about online support groups.

I Googled and found Lymenet and landed here and later via e-mail that person I had been e-mailing told me to go to Lymenet.

I tried to contact a support group in my area and was told that "We don't have meetings. People are too sick!"

SOME of us just need "human contact" even if it IS on a message board forum. Some of us have been isolated and socially deprived due to the insidious diseases that we face! That makes this forum a breath of fresh air to us!

Some of us NEED the intellectual stimulation.

HAVING SAID THAT...Thank you for directing us to the archives.

But don't hesitate to post a link that YOU KNOW HELPED YOU and give us your feedback!

Things change, there is new research, there are differing opinions and what works for one may NOT work for another, but we get FEEDBACK that is not only helpful, but lets us know that SOMEONE OUT THERE ACTUALLY....

CARES!!!

So, I hope any other newbies who may have had trouble with searching the archives will know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

Love and Peace,

Magdalena

You are completely right that new people need, and deserve a lot of help. Also, that the search function can be challenging, in more ways than one.

Lymenet has been slow this summer, with many of the older, more knowledgeable members on vacation, or otherwise needing a break. So there are fewer of us here trying to cover the huge influx of new folks.

We care. We really do. And I think just about everybody on here will help in any way they can. But sometimes you might get some shortcuts because we're overwhelmed.

Thanks! Glad you understand!!!

To give an example of my experience today:
I searched the word "dental" and did find two very informative threads related to dental with a lot of obvious effort put into them by GiGi and others.

But most of the search revealed topics like:

Testicular pain

...which though I am sure some who experience it might FEEL it in their teeth- that was not actually relevant to my search!

LOL!!! So, I will continue to search the archives.

Another thing that makes me think it is not working or I just don't know what I am doing is that topics will appear for only one year with many other topics on a page. In other words, kinda like looking for a needle in a hay stack!

Thanks again!!!

A thread will come up if even one person mentioned the word you are looking for, anywhere in the thread. Sometimes you stumble across very interesting things, but sometimes it is just frustrating.

Here are a couple of links that also have good info:

Art Doherty's Links on Lyme Disease

Lymeinfo Files

quote:

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Originally posted by riversinger:
A thread will come up if even one person mentioned the word you are looking for, anywhere in the thread. Sometimes you stumble across very interesting things, but sometimes it is just frustrating.

---

Try searching in the Topic only on the search page and you'll be much better directed to the word you are using as your keyword. That helps in that situation. Some may not have noticed that you can search all the posts contents or just the Post's title, thus making the search more directed to the response that you want.

Also, I am putting this link that Dan has provided, as I believe that this is a good post for it to be seen. He graciously has provided step-by-step instructions on how to do a search:

http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000464.html

I hope that not only helps you, but, other new ones as well.

Just wanted to chime in that your sentiments are soooooo right on the money - the reason people come here is for support and actual contact with people who get what they are going through.

I often cringe when I see brief instructions (especially to someone new) to do a search - while searching can be helpful, it kinda defeats the whole purpose of the post.

The search tool sucks, and often I can't even find my own posts.... and my eyes and brain are much better than they used to be. I can only imagine the torture those that aren't quite clear-headed go through. So what if the topics have been covered 8 zillion times - if you know the answer and you have a minute or two, share the info. Even if you don't have the answer but want to send some support, do so. That's what this board is about.

In our defense - I echo Riversinger's sentiment - it's summertime, and those that are feeling better (myself included) haven't been on lately as much as we used to.

That said - keep asking questions, lurk for info - we're here and people DO care about what you're going through.

Today is a neuro day! I needed this!

Love and Peace,

It is also the case that some people who posted good info are no longer here. So, you have the benefit of not only current posters, but those from the past. A double whammy, you could say.

Also, as someone pointed out, the newbies questions sometimes outnumber the oldtimers ability to respond. See, what we need are more people that want to give help,not just receive it. That usually takes a little time and experience before a person can assume this role. Even if not an expert, just sharing their experiences can be useful. A lot of people just get the help they need and are never heard from again until they need more help!

The moral of the story is that when you get help, you eventually need to find a way to pass it on, so others can get help too. If you think it is easy to answer the same question twenty times, try it and see how long you last! Maybe you will be a champ, but the people here who are answering are sick too. In my own case, occasionally I have carpal tunnel problems, and lately the nerve pain coming from my neck and lower back prevents me from sitting or typing very long.

Not talking to any specific person here, just trying to articulate what I have seen after several years of lymenet.

Also, a final thought, if you only get a few replies to your question, then it is not that hard to search and find a lot more information. So what if you have to sort thru some extraneous stuff, not a big deal when you are having to be a go-getter to get diagnosed, find a doctor, deal with insurance companies, cope with persistent disease because you weren't diagnosed at the early stage, etc. etc.

Go getters are the only ones who will make it thru to the other side, if it is possible.