posted
I just found this site. I have not been able to sleep tonight do to some chest pain.
I really need some advice. Here's my story. i'll try to make it short and to the point. (Please Excuse my spelling)
I'm a 29 year old female. Married mother of three.
4 years ago, I woke up one morning and found the whole left side of my face paralized. I freaked out. Seen a doctor that day, was diaonsed with Bells Palsy. They ran tests for everything including Lymes. Test came out eaither negitive or nither possitive or negitive.(Muddy) (I don't really rememeber) I still have some paralisis today. I have been seeing a doctor about once a month for the past 4 years for Severe Pain. The CRainal nerve is running amuck on me, and I have severe ear/jaw pain. I was secondly diaognosed with Trigeminal Neurolsia. I hid in my house for months and would not come out without sun glasses on, my face looked horrible. I have suffred mentally and phyically. Now I have added symtoms . Most of what is on your list. Chest pain, blurred vision, disoraiented, scrambled thoughts, dizziness, rib pain, numbness in my feeet and hands/fingers. Back pain, High temps, fatigue, ohh the list can go on and on...
I live in Pain everyday. My life is suffering. I have though of suicide many times. My will to live being pushed to it's limit. Before this, I was a stable and happy person. I am now sad and angry. I am sure I have severe depression. My doctor does not do much I have had MRI, EKG, and nothing showed. My doctor seems more interested in trying to just control pain. My meds include 15mg Percocet 6 X A DAY, 800 mg neurontin 2 3X A DAY, Ibprohen 800mg 4 X A DAY. And still I;m in pain. And STILL I don't know what causes my illness. My marrige is suffering, my children are getting the worst of this...I really need some advise. I do not remember getting bit by a tick, but I live in Maine and Deer tick are a problem here. I also live in the woods. Could I have been bitten and not known it?
Thank you all in advance
~Mandy
-------------------- ~Mandy Posts: 1 | From Bangor Maine | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
I am sure you could have been biten and not have known about it. I have had lyme disease for 43 years and just last fall found out what was really wrong with me. I will e-mail you more later. sick
Posts: 538 | From Iowa | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
heiwalove
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6467
posted
absolutely, you could've been bitten and not known about it. i've had chronic lyme for many years, though i'm not exactly sure how long because i never saw a tick, bite, or rash (this is very common). also, be aware that most available lyme tests are EXTREMELY inaccurate and have a huge propensity for false negative results. i'm certain that almost everyone on this site has received more than one negative lyme test in his/her quest for an answer.
i would suggest finding an LLMD (lyme literate MD). post in 'seeking a doctor' on this site; you can also contact your local lyme support group.
hang in there, and good luck. i know how scary this disease can be.
Dave6002
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9064
posted
I tend to think that an active infection is the root of your illness.
Once the root has been taken out, all your symptom would disappear completely.
The doctors are shooting at leaves.
Posts: 1078 | From Fairland | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
D Bergy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9984
posted
You only really have two choices.
Find a good LLMD using recommendations from someone with Lyme that is getting better is important.
Or, treat yourself using alternatives. Not a good idea for most people. Still better than doing nothing.
It is unlikely get better without some kind of action.
I would not obsess over the lack of a tick bite. Whole families have had Lyme with no tick bites that are known. I am highly skeptical that Lyme is only transmitted by ticks.
D Bergy
Posts: 2919 | From Minnesota | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
Ill let you know my symptoms and how many years this went on.
In 1988 I was bitten by a tick while at work {{forestry}} it wasnt even attached long pulled off rather easy but it had a grip didnt know what I know now about ticks and there saliva and lyme-coinfections.NO Bullseye
Anyway I had a slight fever that fall summer flu kinda no diarrhoea felt fine afterwards. Then a couple of months later I had a raging fever 105 and over one night.Got over it thought I had the flu.
Well I continued over the next 14 years to be bitten over and over at least 100 bites known 15 or 16 very well attached ticks never once did I have a classic bulls eye bite mark nothing not even red .
Now through all those years I was tested by 4 different hospitals over and over tested at least twice a year some times three times allways negative test results!!!
The point is the tests were bad then and not much better now. Because of the way the spirochete reproduces in our bodies and also its ability to hide from our immune system immeaditly after entering our system.
I finaly after through all those years couldnt take all the problems and searched out a LLMD thats a Lyme-literate MD doctor who has treted lyme before and understands its complexities.
I urge you to find one.
The stuff that I remember happening to me my symptoms were.
eyes messed up blurred vision on and off, then eventially 20/15 vision went down to having to use 2.75 magnification to read anything. also fevers high and low ones on and off months apart sometimes every couple weeks really no pattern to fevers but alot of them over the years. And tingling fingers on and off tips would go numb tip of nose did that to. acheing tired started waking up when I would hit rem sleep usually 3am in the morning. generaly tired ,joint pain in wrist,then shoulders backpain,then knees,then tore cartilge in left knee,sore feet achilles tendon hurt bone spurs on hills,more joint pain ankles,elbows,just about every where at different times it migrated. sweats ,shortness of breath then finally couldnt even think, also nightmares then ZNo dreams at all.Heart palpitaions,bad choices dicisions etc not myself, sinus problems and increase in allergies etc.
It hits your body wher ever your the weakest it shows up first.
Please see the LLMD and get on abx's and strt tretment you may wait but the disease dosent!
Read newbie links and get treated.
dont forget tret coinfections the odds are you have other infections taking off too. Good Luck
___________________________________
_________________________________________
WHAT IS LYME DISEASE? I take a broad view of what Lyme Disease actually is. Traditionally, Lyme is defined an infectious illness caused by the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). While this is certainly technically correct, clinically the illness often is much more than that, especially in the disseminated and chronic forms. Instead, I think of Lyme as the illness that results from the bite of an infected tick. This includes infection not only with B. burgdorferi, but the many co-infections that may also result. Furthermore, in the chronic form of Lyme, other factors can take on an ever more significant role- immune dysfunction, opportunistic infections, co-infections, biological toxins, metabolic and hormonal imbalances, deconditioning, etc. I will refer to infection with B. burgdorferi as ``Lyme Borreliosis'' (LB), and use the designation ``Lyme'' and ``Lyme Disease'' to refer to the more broad definition I described above.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES In general, you can think of LB as having three categories: acute, early disseminated, and chronic. The sooner treatment is begun after the start of the infection, the higher the success rate. However, since it is easiest to cure early disease, this category of LB must be taken VERY seriously. Undertreated infections will inevitably resurface, usually as chronic Lyme, with its tremendous problems of morbidity and difficulty with diagnosis and treatment and high cost in every sense of the word. So, while the bulk of this document focuses of the more problematic chronic patient, strong emphasis is also placed on earlier stages of this illness where closest attention and care must be made. A very important issue is the definition of ``Chronic Lyme Disease''. Based on my clinical data and the latest published information, I offer the following definition. To be said to have chronic LB, these three criteria must be present:
1. Illness present for at least one year (this is approximately when immune breakdown attains clinically significant levels). 2. Have persistent major neurologic involvement (such as encephalitis/encephalopathy, meningitis, etc.) or active arthritic manifestations (active synovitis). 3. Still have active infection with B. burgdorferi (Bb), regardless of prior antibiotic therapy (if any). Chronic Lyme is an altogether different illness than earlier stages, mainly because of the inhibitory effect on the immune system (Bb has been demonstrated in vitro to both inhibit and kill B- and T-cells, and will decrease the count of the CD-57 subset of the natural killer cells). As a result, not only is the infection with Bb perpetuated and allowed to advance, but the entire issue of co-infections arises. Ticks may contain and transmit to the host a multitude of potential pathogens. The clinical presentation of Lyme therefore reflects which pathogens are present and in what proportion. Apparently, in early infections, before extensive damage to the immune system has occurred, if the germ load of the co-infectors is low, and the Lyme is treated, many of the other tick-transmitted microbes can be contained and eliminated by the immune system. However, in the chronic patient, because of the inhibited defenses, the individual components of the co-infection are now active enough so that they too add to features of the illness and must be treated. In addition, many latent infections which may have pre-dated the tick bite, for example herpes viruses, can reactivate, thus adding to the illness. An unfortunate corollary is that serologic tests can become less sensitive as the infections progress, obviously because of the decreased immune response upon which these tests are based. In addition, immune complexes form, trapping Bb antibodies. These complexed antibodies are not detected by serologic testing. Not surprisingly the seronegative patient will convert to seropositive 36% of the time after antibiotic treatment has begun and a recovery is underway. Similarly, the antibody titer may rise, and the number of bands on the western blot may increase as treatment progresses and the patient recovers. Only years after a successfully treated infection will the serologic response begin to diminish. The severity of the clinical illness is directly proportional to the spirochete load, the duration of infection, and the presence of co-infections. These factors also are proportional to the intensity and duration of treatment needed for recovery. More severe illness also results from other causes of weakened defenses, such as from severe stress, immunosuppressant medications, and severe intercurrent illnesses. This is why steroids and other immunosuppressive medications are absolutely contraindicated in Lyme. This also includes intra-articular steroids. Many collateral conditions result in those who have been chronically ill so it is not surprising that damage to virtually all bodily systems can result. Therefore to fully recover not only do all of the active infections have to be treated, but all of these other issues must be addressed in a thorough and systematic manner. No single treatment or medication will result in full recovery of the more ill patient. Only by addressing all of these issues and engineering treatments and solutions for all of them will we be able to restore full health to our patients. Likewise, a patient will not recover unless they are completely compliant with every single aspect of the treatment plan. This must be emphasized to the patient, often on repeated occasions. It is clear that in the great majority of patients, chronic Lyme is a disease affecting predominantly the nervous system. Thus, careful evaluation may include neuropsychiatric testing, SPECT and MRI brain scans, CSF analysis when appropriate, regular input from Lyme-aware neurologists and psychiatrists, pain clinics, and occasionally specialists in psychopharmacology. HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY AXIS As an extension of the effect of chronic Lyme Disease on the central nervous system, there often is a deleterious effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Varying degrees of pituitary insufficiency are being seen in these patients, the correction of which has resulted in restoration of energy, stamina and libido, and resolution of persistent hypotension. Unfortunately, not all specialists recognize pituitary insufficiency, partly because of the difficulty in making the laboratory diagnosis. However, the potential benefits of diagnosing and treating this justify the effort needed for full evaluation. Interestingly, in a significant number of these patients, successful treatment of the infections can result in a reversal of the hormonal dysfunction, and hormone replacement therapies can be tapered off! CO-INFECTION A huge body of research and clinical experience has demonstrated the nearly universal phenomenon in chronic Lyme patients of co-infection with multiple tick-borne pathogens. These patients have been shown to potentially carry Babesia species, Bartonella-like organisms, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma, and viruses. Rarely, yeast forms have been detected in peripheral blood. At one point even nematodes were said to be a tick-borne pathogen. Studies have shown that co-infection results in a more severe clinical presentation, with more organ damage, and the pathogens become more difficult to eradicate. In addition, it is known that Babesia infections, like Lyme Borreliosis, are immunosuppressive.There are changes in the clinical presentation of the co-infected patient as compared to when each infection is present individually. There may be different symptoms and atypical signs. There may be decreased reliability of standard diagnostic tests, and most importantly, there is recognition that chronic, persistent forms of each of these infections do indeed exist. As time goes by, I am convinced that even more pathogens will be found. Therefore, real, clinical Lyme as we have come to know it, especially the later and more severe presentations, probably represents a mixed infection with many complicating factors. I will leave to the reader the implications of how this may explain the discrepancy between laboratory study of pure Borrelia infections, and what front line physicians have been seeing for years in real patients. I must very strongly emphasize that all diagnoses of tick-borne infections remains a clinical one. Clinical clues will be presented later in this monograph, but testing information is briefly summarized below. In Lyme Borreliosis, western blot is the preferred serologic test. Antigen detection tests (antigen capture and PCR), although insensitive, are very specific and are especially helpful in evaluating the seronegative patient and those still ill or relapsing after therapy. Often, these antigen detection tests are the only positive markers of Bb infection, as seronegativity has been reported to occur in as many as 30% to 50% of cases. Nevertheless, active LB can be present even if all of these tests are non-reactive! Clinical diagnosis is therefore required. In Babesiosis, no single test is reliable enough to be used alone. Only in early infections (less than two weeks duration) can the standard blood smear be helpful. In later stages, one can use serology, PCR, and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (``FISH'') assay. Unfortunately, over a dozen other protozoans can be found in ticks, most likely representing species other than B. microti, yet commercial tests for only B. microti and WA-1 are available at this time! In other words, the patient may have an infection that cannot be tested for. Here, as in Borrelia, clinical assessment is the primary diagnostic tool. In Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis, by definition you must test for both the monocytic and granulocytic forms. This may be accomplished by blood smear, PCR and serology. Many presently uncharacterized Ehrlichia-like organisms can be found in ticks and may not be picked up by currently available assays, so in this illness too, these tests are only an adjunct in making the diagnosis. Rarely, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever can coexist, and even be chronic. Fortunately, treatment regimens are similar for all agents in this group. In Bartonella, use both serology and PCR. PCR can be performed not only on blood and CSF, but as in LB, can be performed on biopsy specimens. Unfortunately, in my experience, these tests, even when both types are done, will presently miss over half the cases diagnosed clinically. Frequent exposures to Mycoplasmas are common, resulting in a high prevalence of seropositivity, so the best way to confirm active infection is by PCR. Chronic viral infections may be active in the chronic patient, due to their weakened immune response. PCR testing, and not serologies, should be used for diagnosis. Commonly seen viruses include HHV-6, CMV, and EBV. COLLATERAL CONDITIONS Experience has shown that collateral conditions exist in those who have been ill a long time. The evaluation should include testing both for differential diagnosis and for uncovering other subtle abnormalities that may coexist. Test B12 levels, and be prepared to aggressively treat with parenteral formulations. If neurologic involvement is severe, then consideration should be given to treatment with methylcobalamin (as outlined below in the section on nutritional support). Magnesium deficiency is very often present and quite severe. Hyperreflexia, muscle twitches, myocardial irritability, poor stamina and recurrent tight muscle spasms are clues to this deficiency. Magnesium is maintenance, but those with severe deficiencies need additional, parenteral dosing: 1 gram IV or IM at least once a week until neuromuscular irritability has cleared. Pituitary and other endocrine abnormalities are far more common than generally realized. Evaluate fully, including growth hormone levels. Quite often, a full battery of provocative tests is in order to fully define the problem. When testing the thyroid, measure free T3 and free T4 levels and TSH, and nuclear scanning and testing for autoantibodies may be necessary. Activation of the inflammatory cascade has been implicated in blockade of cellular hormone receptors. One example of this is insulin resistance; clinical hypothyroidism can result from receptor blockade and thus hypothyroidism can exist despite normal serum hormone levels. These may partly account for the dyslipidemia and weight gain that is noted in 80% of chronic Lyme patients. In addition to measuring free T3 and T4 levels, check basal A.M. body temperatures. If hypothyroidism is found, you may need to treat with both T3 and T4 preparations until blood levels of both are normalized. To ensure sustained levels, when T3 is prescribed, have it compounded in a time-release form. Neurally mediated hypotension (NMH) is not uncommon. Symptoms can include palpitations, lightheadedness and shakiness especially after exertion and prolonged standing, heat intolerance, dizziness, fainting (or near fainting), and an unavoidable need to sit or lie down. It is often confused with hypoglycemia, which it mimics. NMH can result from autonomic neuropathy and endocrine dyscrasias. If NMH is present, treatment can dramatically lessen fatigue, palpitations and wooziness, and increase stamina. NMH is diagnosed by tilt table testing. This test should be done by a cardiologist and include Isuprel challenge. This will demonstrate not only if NMH is present, but also the relative contributions of hypovolemia and sympathetic dysfunction. Immediate supportive therapy is based on blood volume expansion (increased sodium and fluid intake and possibly Florinef plus potassium). If not sufficient, beta blockade may be added based on response to the Isuprel challenge. The long term solution involves restoring proper hormone levels and treating the Lyme to address this and the autonomic dysfunction. SPECT scanning of the brain- Unlike MRI and CT scans, which show structure, SPECT scans show function. Therefore SPECT scans give us information unattainable through X-rays, CT scans, MRI's, or even spinal taps. In the majority of chronic Lyme Borreliosis patients, these scans are abnormal. Although not diagnostic of Lyme specifically, if the scan is abnormal, the scan can not only quantify the abnormalities, but the pattern can help to differentiate medical from psychiatric causes of these changes. Furthermore, repeat scans after a course of treatment can be used to assess treatment efficacy. Note that improvement in scans lag behind clinical improvement by many months. If done by knowledgeable radiologists using high-resolution equipment, scanning will show characteristic abnormalities in Lyme encephalopathy- global hypoperfusion (may be homogenous or heterogeneous). What these scans demonstrate is neuronal dysfunction and/or varying degrees of cerebrolvascular insufficiency. If necessary, to assess the relative contributions of these two processes, the SPECT scan can be done before and after acetazolamide. If the post acetazolamide scan shows significant reversibility of the abnormalities, then vasoconstriction is present, and can be treated with vasodilators, which may clear some cognitive symptoms. Therapy can include acetazolamide, serotonin agonists and even Ginkgo biloba, provided it is of pharmaceutical quality. Therapeutic trials of these may be needed. Acetazolamide should not be given if there is severe kidney/liver disease, electrolyte abnormalities, pregnancy, sulfa allergy, recent stroke, or if the patient is taking high dose aspirin treatment LYME BORRELIOSIS DIAGNOSTIC HINTS Lyme Borreliosis (LB) is diagnosed clinically, as no currently available test, no matter the source or type, is definitive in ruling in or ruling out infection with these pathogens, or whether these infections are responsible for the patient's symptoms. The entire clinical picture must be taken into account, including a search for concurrent conditions and alternate diagnoses, and other reasons for some of the presenting complaints. Often, much of the diagnostic process in late, disseminated Lyme involves ruling out other illnesses and defining the extent of damage that might require separate evaluation and treatment. Consideration should be given to tick exposure, rashes (even atypical ones), evolution of typical symptoms in a previously asymptomatic individual, and results of tests for tick-borne pathogens. Another very important factor is response to treatment- presence or absence of Jarisch Herxheimer-like reactions, the classic fourweek cycle of waxing and waning of symptoms, and improvement with therapy. ERYTHEMA MIGRANS Erythema migrans (EM) is diagnostic of Bb infection, but is present in fewer than half. Even if present, it may go unnoticed by the patient. It is an erythematous, centrifugally expanding lesion that is raised and may be warm. Rarely there is mild stinging or pruritus. The EM rash will begin four days to several weeks after the bite, and may be associated with constitutional symptoms. Multiple lesions are present less than 10% of the time, but do represent disseminated disease. Some lesions have an atypical appearance and skin biopsy specimens may be helpful. When an ulcerated or vesicular center is seen, this may represent a mixed infection, involving other organisms besides B. burgdorferi. After a tick bite, serologic tests (ELISA. IFA, western blots, etc.) are not expected to become positive until several weeks have passed. Therefore, if EM is present, treatment must begin immediately, and one should not wait for results of Borrelia tests. You should not miss the chance to treat early disease, for this is when the success rate is the highest. Indeed, many knowledgeable clinicians will not even order a Borrelia test in this circumstance. DIAGNOSING LATER DISEASE When reactive, serologies indicate exposure only and do not directly indicate whether the spirochete is now currently present. Because Bb serologies often give inconsistent results, test at well-known reference laboratories. The suggestion that two-tiered testing, utilizing an ELISA as a screening tool, followed, if positive, by a confirmatory western blot, is illogical in this illness. The ELISA is not sensitive enough to serve as an adequate screen, and there are many patients with Lyme who test negative by ELISA yet have fully diagnostic western blots. I therefore recommend against using the ELISA. Order IgM and IgG western blotsbut be aware that in late disease there may be repeatedly peaking IgM's and therefore a reactive IgM may not differentiate early from late disease, but it does suggest an active infection. When late cases of LB are seronegative, 36% will transiently become seropositive at the completion of successful therapy. In chronic Lyme Borreliosis, the CD-57 count is both useful and important (see below).
encephalopathy. Even in meningitis, antibodies are detected in the CSF in less than 13% of patients with late disease! Therefore, spinal taps are only performed on patients with pronounced neurological manifestations in whom the diagnosis is uncertain, if they are seronegative, or are still significantly symptomatic after completion of treatment. When done, the goal is to rule out other conditions, and to determine if Bb (and Bartonella) antigens or nucleic acids are present. It is especially important to look for elevated protein and white cells, which would dictate the need for more aggressive therapy, as well as the opening pressure, which can be elevated and add to headaches, especially in children. I strongly urge you to biopsy all unexplained skin lesions/rashes and perform PCR and careful histology. You will need to alert the pathologist to look for spirochetes. THE CD-57 TEST Our ability to measure CD-57 counts represents a breakthrough in LB diagnosis and treatment. Chronic LB infections are known to suppress the immune system and can decrease the quantity of the CD-57 subset of the natural killer cells. As in HIV infection, where abnormally low T-cell counts are routinely used as a marker of how active that infection is, in LB we can use the degree of decrease of the CD-57 count to indicate how active the Lyme infection is and whether, after treatment ends, a relapse is likely to occur. It can even be used as a simple, inexpensive screening test, because at this point we believe that only Borrelia will depress the CD-57. Thus, a sick patient with a high CD-57 is probably ill with something other than Lyme, such as a co-infection. When this test is run by LabCorp (the currently preferred lab, as published studies were based on their assays), we want our Lyme patients to measure above 60; a normal count is above 200. There generally is some degree of fluctuation of this count over time, and the number does not progressively increase as treatment proceeds. Instead, it remains low until the LB infection is controlled, and then it will jump. If the CD- 57 count is not in the normal range when a course of antibiotics is ended, then a relapse will almost certainly occur.
Symptoms
Persistent swollen glands Sore throat Fevers Sore soles, esp. in the AM Joint pain Fingers, toes Ankles, wrists Knees, elbows Hips, shoulders Joint swelling Fingers, toes Ankles, wrists Knees, elbows Hips, shoulders Unexplained back pain Stiffness of the joints or back Muscle pain or cramps Obvious muscle weakness Twitching of the face or other muscles Confusion, difficulty thinking Difficulty with concentration, reading, problem absorbing new information Word search, name block Forgetfulness, poor short term memory, poor attention Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places Speech errors- wrong word, misspeaking Mood swings, irritability, depression Anxiety, panic attacks Psychosis (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, bipolar) Tremor Seizures Headache Light sensitivity Sound sensitivity Vision: double, blurry, floaters Ear pain Hearing: buzzing, ringing, decreased hearing Increased motion sickness, vertigo, spinning Off balance, ``tippy'' feeling Lightheadedness, wooziness, unavoidable need to sit or lie Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains, skin hypersensitivity Facial paralysis-Bell's Palsy Dental pain Neck creaks and cracks, stiffness, neck pain Fatigue, tired, poor stamina Insomnia, fractionated sleep, early awakening Excessive night time sleep Napping during the day Unexplained weight gain Unexplained weight loss Unexplained hair loss Pain in genital area Unexplained menstrual irregularity Unexplained milk production; breast pain Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction Erectile dysfunction Loss of libido Queasy stomach or nausea Heartburn, stomach pain Constipation Diarrhea Low abdominal pain, cramps Heart murmur or valve prolapse? Heart palpitations or skips ``Heart block'' on EKG Chest wall pain or ribs sore Head congestion Breathlessness, ``air hunger'', unexplained chronic cough Night sweats Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol Symptom flares every 4 wks. Degree of disability
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
posted
! ! ! ! ! W E L C O M E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It is possible you have Lyme but it could be other things. You need a thorough Differential Diagnosis by an MD. We call Lyme doctors Lyme Literate MDs or LLMDs for short. Find one near you in the Seeking Doctors column or through a local support group reference!!! Best wishes, Sarah in CA
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Sounds like lyme disease -- please be sure to read all the information provided above.
I hope that you will find a lyme literate doctor soon and make an appointment! Even if it means traveling (some people drive or fly long distances to see their lyme literate doctor).
I do know know about Maine, but there are certainly a few doctors in New England, so you will have a choice to make. They may be expensive, but your health is worth it.
There are not many of them unfortunately, most doctors do not know much about tick borne diseases. Check out the section "Finding a Doctor". Good luck, it is very possible not to have seen a bite or rash. Even common.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
| 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