To make a long story short. I am a LD survivor. Came to this site in '02 after nine months on the merry go round of doctors.
Found the answers to my questions here and got the help I needed! Now for my Dad. I've been after him since that time to get a simple blood test for LD.
Still has not done that, but has been under the care of a psychologist and diagnosed as bipolar, seen a cardiologist recently for heart problems and my sister just told me tonight that he went to a neurologist today and had an MRI and they discussed the possibility of early stage Parkinson's Disease!
My Dad is 63 - has been suffering from depression and fatigue since 1989! In the last five years he has had terrible migraines which led him to the bipolar and a "test study" of drugs for depression.
He lives in a rural North Carolina county near a water source. Recurrent ear infections, back and joint pain, obsessive compulsive, But of late he looks really bad and my sister and I are both really worried about him.
I called his psychologist and talked with him about my suspicions about LD and said that for peace of mind I would like it ruled out. They gave my Dad the order to take to a lab for the test, but he has not done it yet.
I thought if someone here had had a similar experience with someone that I could share with him then I could possibly convince him to have the test when I see him on Father's Day. Any advice would be helpful.
On another note, I was recently diagnosed and treated for Guillain-Barre Syndrome. After five weeks in the hospital and continued out-patient rehab I am walking again. When I met another previous GB patient at the hospital I mentioned that I had also had LD and wondered if it had made me more susceptible to this autoimmune syndrome.
The scary thing is that he also had had LD before he came down with GBS. Anyone else out there with this weird phenomenon?
[ 16. June 2007, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: chris-abc ]
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
welcome back chris for info for your dad, etc.
yes, i do remember reading about GB here too. here's what you can do if you are still on the board or this weekend.
use search, found at top under new post type in the full name, GB.... MEDICAL TITLE ANY DATE....make sure you EDIT MY PROFILE to the longest period of time vs. default
leave membership no. blank, and hit enter
read all the posts about it. if NO HITS, try typing in GENERAL SUPPORT vs. medical
good luck on search
i'll send you my 58 pages newbie links, advise, symptoms, tests, disability, much more, and treepatrol's newbie link w/1000 sites of good info ... would be another good place to see has GB links in there for you! Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
forgot to say, we recommend using IGENEX LABS, calif for WESTERN BLOT IGM AND IGG blood test, and having the blood drawn mon. or tues. AFTERNOON. must get in mail early in wk. to avoid sitting in post office.
i hve a lot ofinfo on that in newbie package i'm guess around page 16+...can't remember lyme mind.
for co-infections; fry labs in arizona has been recommended.
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
If he has the usual run of the mill test, it may not give reliable results, especially if he has been sick a long time or has had antibiotics for anything else. May not have any antibodies to measure in the test, in other words.
As you know, there might also be coinfections involved.
It sure sounds like at least the suspicion of lyme is justified. Hope he gets some help.
Posted by cbb (Member # 788) on :
Hi chris, I'm not a dr, but I think you're on the right track. Since you have Lyme, I'm sure you know that the longer a disease goes on, the more difficult the treatment becomes.....whether it's Lyme, sinus infection, cancer, etc, etc.
When my father and I were diagnosed in 1992, the LLMD in New Jersey said it's a red flag for Lyme disease when more than one system of the body is affected.
Your father has symptoms in at least three: neurological, circulatory and musculoskeletal systems (and maybe more).
Could the dr who diagnosed your LD see him for an evaluation? IF IT IS LD, it will not go away. He will continue to go downhill and become more seriously ill.
I saw this happen with my father. When he was finally diagnosed in 1992, he was in his early '80s and the disease was so far advanced.
With no dr here that would work with us, so many problems & complications with treatment, and our ignorance of the severity of the disease, we stopped his treatment. At the age of 86, he died of complications of Lyme. I'm telling you this only because I don't want to see anyone go through the same experience.
Maybe tomorrow you could suggest that for Father's Day, HE give HIS FAMILY a gift. See a LLMD for a consultation - just to be on the safe side. Tell him you want him to be with you as long as possible, enjoying quality of life!!
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