After all negative results from LabCorp on last month's bloodwork....
(though LabCorp gave me a weak positive in 2000)
my LLMD's office called me with the news from my most recent bloodwork from IGeneX.....
which was Positive!!!!!!!!
And, although my LLMD cannot accurately determine how long I've had Lyme, he concurs that it has been "for a very long time".....
I am THRILLED. I am VALIDATED. I am herxing like h*ll from my doxy and feel like CRAP but I'm RELIEVED.
I am also SCARED TO DEATH, but... take one day at a time.
I am also now LETTING GO of all of what I call my "wasted years": the dozens of diagnoses that I was given, and never had,
The hundreds of treatments and meds that I was given for them,
And the docs that either were ignorant of Lyme, undereducated or uneducated about it, or had their practice guidelines dictated by IDSA.
As long as those guidelines are in place and imposed, things will not change.
After all, as much as I am upset at my previous docs, these guidelines protect them ---- at the expense of the patient.
Just today I mentioned my Lyme diagnosis to my aunt's orthopedist, a very respected practitioner.
And he basically said "gee, that's a shame... I mean all you have to do is to look for that bullseye rash..."
In comparison, my LLMD was very quick to point out how sick I really was, despite the negative tests and the various rashes I had.
He also pointed out to me how he needed to be careful with my treatment --- as a too strong herx reaction in my case could in the best case make me stop the ABX, in the worst case kill me.
I feel like I should send his name to the Vatican for sainthood!
SO -- to anyone out there who has been sick a very long time, and has gone thru gobs of drs and been told you have this and that, and you're still sick or getting worse with Lyme-symptoms...
Do it: find yourself an ILIADS LLMD, and have faith.
Posted by Dekrator48 (Member # 18239) on :
MissMari,
I am so happy for you, that you now have validation of your illness.
All of us here understand that!!
I had a fibromyalgia diagnosis for 21 years, before I discovered, through my own research that I had lyme.
I had my Igenex western blot before I saw a LLMD, so I researched how to interpret it, and along with my symptoms and history, I knew I had found my answer too.
Of course the Dr's all told me it was negative and I didn't have lyme. So typical.
I am glad you found a good LLMD. Mine is awesome also. I'm only 5 weeks into treatment.
I like to think that there is a reason that we suffered for years. Now we will be good advocates, and will be able to help others.
All the best to you in your treatment and recovery!!!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
That's great news! I know how it feels to be sick for years and years with no clear diagnosis.
Could you please post this in Medical where more people will see it!? Thanks!!!
Posted by Leelee (Member # 19112) on :
Gosh, that's wonderful news! The answer, the validation, the treatment, all of it.
At my first LLMD visit today he asked me how many doctors in the last couple of years I had seen looking for help. I said "about 15".
Since I started searching for an answer many years ago, I would conservatively guess about 40.
It is all so sad. Just so terribly, horribly sad.
I am happy for you and wish you all the best.
Leelee
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
mari, mari, quite contrary ...
NOT ANYMORE; WELCOME TO OUR LYME/CO-INFECTION CLUB!!
yes, i had 40-50 other diagnosis/symptoms too for 34.5 yrs. best wishes for starting the road to REMISSION!