posted
I live in an extremely wooded area. Have had numerous tick bites over the years. Over the last year I have noticed a few things progressively getting worse. Fog, headaches, neck pain, numbness in extremities, waves of flutters radiating from chest, feverish feelings, light headness, almost a cloudy vision at times the list goes on. Recently I have been made aware of neighbors being diagnosed and just last week my dog.
I had the vaccine back in 97-98. Not sure exactly when and the physician is no longer in practice.
So whats my first step? Talk to my new physician, who I haven't seen in probably 3 years or go straight for a specialist?
I am in Burlington County NJ
Posts: 1 | From Southern New Jersey | Registered: Apr 2010
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You should go straight to an LLMD who is a member of ILADS or familiar with the ILADS research about tick-borne diseases (www.ilads.org).
You can find one by posting in the "Seeking a doctor" forum. Your local doctor probably doesn't know who to refer you to, so you have to find an LLMD yourself.
Most other doctors will either not help you or will actively hinder you, and will be a waste of time and money. They do not have the knowledge or experience necessary to recognize Lyme, much less treat it until you get well.
Given your symptoms, history of tick bites, and the diagnosis of your neighbors and your dog, Lyme is very likely. On the chance that it could be anything else, you still need an LLMD to tell you whether they think it is or is not Lyme.
You may have to wait for several weeks or months for an appointment with an LLMD, because there are too few of them and too many of us. Most of them do not take insurance, due to insurance companies campaigning against them.
Meanwhile, if you have a good relationship with your local doctor, you might be able to get some doxycyline or something while you are waiting for your LLMD appointment. Just don't let another doctor talk you out of visiting an LLMD.
I don't know the details about the history of the Lyme vaccine, but I got the impression that it did not provide lifelong protection like some vaccines do.
In any case, there are hundreds of different strains of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme, and there are many possible coinfections you can get from the same tick bite, so the disease we casually call "Lyme" is often a mixture of different tick-borne diseases, such as babesia and bartonella, and the Lyme vaccine would not protect you against all of those.
For more about the political situation surrounding Lyme, and why it is difficult to get a good diagnosis and proper treatment, see the DVD "Under Our Skin" (www.underourskin.com) and the book "Cure Unknown" by Pamela Weintraub.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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Mttled, I'm sorry you're not feeling well and that your dog got Lyme, too.
I'm new to this site, but contracted Lyme Disease while clearing brush in Monmouth County, NJ in 1989. Had the EM rash, but still have Lyme symptoms due to inadequate antibiotic Rx (too little, for just a week).
Maybe mttled could get in with a neurologist (due to headaches, neck pain, numbness in extremities), while he awaits LLMD appt?
I've a follow-up w/ my rheumatologist soon and hope she'll get on board as a Lyme-friendly M.D. 'til I get a LLMD. Either her or my PCP. I need abx!
More experienced people: Which non-LLMD may be more likely to give abx? What have you gleaned? Thanks.
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Keebler
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- Be sure you are not getting even a trace of aspartame or MSG (Google for all the names they hide under).
Most neurologists and most rheumatologists do not believe in lyme disease. Some rheumatologists prescribe steroids which can spell disaster for lyme patients, or anyone with any stealth infection. (Stealth = hard to detect but potentially dangerous; complex in nature and tricky to treat.)
ONLY if you can find one who is ILADS-educated would I go.
Most go by the IDSA guidelines, which are dismissive and dangerously ignorant, especially for anyone who has had the vaccine.
Find an ILADS-educated Lyme Literate MD (LLMD). If you need a specialist in a certain field, your LLMD can guide you from there to one who is LL.
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