Blood work had come back ok on regular work up. Finally, after 6 months, convince GP something is wrong and bullseye still on leg. Yesterday sends me to do a western blot and starts me on doxy. Calls me today and tells me to quit taking doxy, he is putting me on amoxicillen because I am chronic strep. I had strep over 20 years ago and no problem since. I am very upset because I finally felt I could maybe see the end of the pain. Is this strep showing active now because of the lyme??? Will the 1500 mg of amoxicillen help the lyme any? Thanks for any input
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
hello,
I have strep too that was just found via an ASO blood test.
From what I have been told you have to take care of the strep first or you wont get rid of the lyme.
I was told my body is now fighting strep and cannot fight lyme, which is why my WB is negative.
Do you know what test he ran to diagnose you with chronic strep?
Posted by KKYOUNG (Member # 10024) on :
He ran like 4 other tests and then ordered the western blot. One was like S??, 3 initials. I can look it up tomorrow as I work at the hospital. Are you telling me the chances of my WB test coming back positive are dim due to the lyme? Ill never get him to treat me for it if it comes back negative...I've had 6 months trying to convince him my "bruise" isn't a bruise and something else is desperately wrong. Im getting real discouraged because my pain is getting worse and worse and now I am on hold. I was tempted to ignore him and take the doxy instead of the amoxy but if you are right that would be stupid of me. Guess Ill struggle a few more weeks and see what happens. Thanks for the info...greatly appreciated.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Have you looked at the "rashes" in this link? Maybe one there is like yours. You could show it to your dr.
Have you posted under the seeking dr section on this website? You really should see a LLMD for the lyme.
Also, take a pic of the rash, and hold a coin up next to it so you can see the size of it in the photo. This way if it goes away you can show it to future doctors.
The amoxy may help with the lyme too, but you have to remember treating lyme is not a quick fix...it can take many months of abx.
try to hang in there as best you can and keep posting.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
Hi KKYOUNG
Did your doc run the test thru igenenx? Their webb site is www.igenex.com Phone is 800-832-3200
They send you a kit & all you do is have the blood drawn & your doc signs the paper.
Most standard lyme tests are iffy at best.
Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis.
You can still have lyme and test CDC neg. Here is a link that describes reasons why:
If you get frustrated with your regular doc and suspect lyme you can make an appointment with a LLMD. A lyme literate MD. There is a section called "doctor seeking where you can get some finding someone.
Take care and hope you can feel better soon
Posted by am36 (Member # 9409) on :
interesting
years ago, a few years into lyme (but still undx) I went to the dr saying that i feel like i'm dying.
the only thing that came back positive was a high strep titer (without a recent strep throat infection). It continued to be high for a long time. They eventually shrugged their shoulders and stopped ordering the test.
the reasoning is that the strep titer can't possibly have anything to do with the chest pain I was having, as, you see, if I had an infection in the heart, i would be dead by now. And that's a direct quote.
Posted by monkeyshines (Member # 6406) on :
My LLMD believes I have a persistent strep problem, and that it needs to be treated before tick borne diseases can be addressed. I don't know about the amoxy.
monkeyshines
Posted by johnlyme1 (Member # 7343) on :
I know of a couple of peopple who had a low strep acting up in there system due to the lyme, myself included. Mine was wipped out after a couple of weeks on IV rocephine. I believe if you look into Dr Bs outlline he mentions strep also needing to be cleared before fully addressing lyme and co-infections.
Throughout my whole treatment I have had a number of dam strange bugs surfacing, especially at my end stage of treatments, the immune system has so much to deal with, all of those darn bugs that you may have come across when you were young have the chance to re-activate. In the last 4 months I have had crypto, toxoplasma, Pnuemocytis cari(a fungus like protozoa that only aids people get) and a bunch of parasites. My LLMD said that I was like a dam aids patient with all the crap surfacing. He tested me for HIV just to make sure that I did not have it. Gezzzzzz.
Posted by AmyInMI (Member # 9506) on :
I also had a very high ASO Strept titer right before I was diagnosed. I have not had it checked in a while, but there seems to be some sort of correlation between the strept and Lyme.
-Amy
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
A chronic strep infection can also cause pain. So treating the strep may reduce some of your pain.