Hi Earthpeace,
Welcome to Lymenet.
We're especially glad you have found us as you were only bitten by a tick quite recently.
It's imperative to understand that there is only a crucial window of opportunity of treating a Lyme disease infection early on with the best chance of a good outcome.
If you did contract Lyme Disease & unknowlingly ignore vague symptoms, Lyme Disease (LD) can rather insidiously slip into a chronic form of LD.
You definitely don't want that.
Because many of us have been in similar situations as you, we feel a strong responsibility to get the facts out about Lyme Disease.
I think many of us here have initially wondered-----do I have Lyme Disease or not?
Should I seek treatment?
Was that a bullseye rash or not?
What if I think I don't have Lyme Disease, and it turns out I do have it?
Our mission is to try our very best to provide you with factual information about Lyme Disease.
Then it's up to you to make informed decisions about your health based on facts-------not 30 year old science.
While it's important to note that only a physician can diagnose you with Lyme Disease (LD), we are glad to share our experiences with you.
Many Lymenet Board Members have posted messages to others numbering in the thousands, so they have paved the way for newcomers and made it virtually painless to research Lyme Disease (LD).
They are a goldmine of information & have invaluable experience. There's not too much they haven't heard or seen on this Board.
Below is a link to Dr. Burrascano's Treatment Guidelines which include a symptom list.
Most folks go ahead & print the entire booklet out & refer to it constantly.
It refers to antibiotics for a newly infected patient. It states how long one should take them & not at low doses.
The treatment is very precise.
It's a lot of information to take in at once.
Here's the Link for the Guidelines:
http://www.ilads.org/burrascano_1102.htm
I'm sure others will visit your post with additional information.
Many of us have been told our weird symptoms were due to stress.
Some were told we had too many symptoms & our symptoms "did not fit."
Lyme Disease (LD) is the new great imitator. That's what gets so many patients & physicians sidetracked with secondary
diagnoses which are merely the result of an undiagnosed primary diaagnosis of Lyme Disease (LD).
It becomes extremely complicated for both physician and patient.
After seeing innumerable well-meaning physicians, many of us have chosen to seek out a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD).
He can evaluate you properly because that's his specialty. You don't have to be your own doctor and patient at the same time.
Please be aware that LD is a clinical diagnosis based on your past history and symptoms.
The diagnosis is not based on test results.
The test only supports a clinical diagnosis.
If a physician tries to diagnose you with a negative test from Quest or Lab Corp, you know it's time to seek out a real Lyme Literate Medical Doctor.
I know.
I lost a year of treatment because my first Lyme Test was negative so I thought I didn't have LD.
The physician interpreted the test incorrectly.
We're just trying to give you a heads up here & the benefit of our own mistakes.
Many LLMDs prefer using a specialty lab for Lyme testing such as IGENEX Labs in California.
Patients can have a negative IGENEX Western Blot test, but can still have a raging Lyme infection.
If you are newly infected, most LLMDs will wait at least 6 weeks prior to testing.
It takes at least 6 weeks for antibodies to build up in the blood & to show up on testing.
A test done too early will prove uesless.
However, an LLMD will understand the implications of a negative Lyme test long after the infection has occurred. Some of the sickest folks have negative tests.
Also, less than 50% of LD patients report seeing a Bulls eye rash. You can have Lyme Disease (LD) without having had a textbook case rash.
If you have a rash, or a rash returns which can happen, place a coin beside the rash for size comparison & take a photo of the rash. Save the photo forever.
The Bulls eye rash is diagnostic for LD.
Every patient presents with a myriad of symptoms. This makes treating each case of LD very complex.
After diagnosis, most Lyme patients are on a treatment protocol tailored to fit their past medical histories and current infection.
An LLMD will want to eventually test or treat you for tick borne co-infections that ticks carry.
These are Babesia, Bartonella and Erlichiosis and others, as well.
Many of these tick borne co-infections are silent infections without raging symptoms.
They're very hard to distinguish from Lyme symptoms.
Hope this information has helped you.
Please keep asking questions.
If you wish to find an LLMD in your area, just let us know. We will be happy to give you more specific instructions.
Some folks have to travel long distances to obtain proper medical treatment.
Most of all, if you do indeed have LD, we just want you to be able to ward off an impending disastrous, infection while you still can.
You deserve to know whether or not you have Lyme Disease.
If you do have an untreated case of LD, then the clock is already ticking fast & hard against you.
Hope this message provides you with the basics about diagnosing Lyme Disease & the travesty of not diagnosing LD in its early stages.
Best Wishes,
Jan
P.S. Just so you'll understand about the unusual wide spacing I placed between paragraphs-----
it's for those of us who have developed vision problems. It really helps us read others posts without going blind. Thanks!
Edited for typos.
[This message has been edited by RECIPEGIRL (edited 20 September 2004).]
[This message has been edited by RECIPEGIRL (edited 20 September 2004).]
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