About September of 2003 I started getting very severe muscle and joint pain. My right hip area was the worst. My primary care doc ran some tests (including Lyme) and ordered some x-rays. The conclusion was that I had bursitis and I was given a cortisone injection. That did nothing and symptons were getting worse even with 4+ weeks of physical therapy.

I was then advised to see a psychiatrist because they thought stress was causing this. I agreed and after two meetings he had me see a clinician in his office that specialized in pain management. With her help I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The dr said I scored 18/18 points that they check for tenderness. And since my knees were now starting to ache very badly he gave me shots of cortisone in them as well as another in the bursar on my right hip area.

None of this as well as different medications (including Vioxx) and another round of physical therapy did much good. I was also starting to have terrible mood swings and getting depressed about not feeling well. The psychiatrist put me on Paxil and I had a very bad reaction to it and wound up in the ER. I am now on Klonazepam.

I won't go on much longer with my problems here but just want to say that I only continue to get worse. Have now had back problems (myleogram showed a bulging disc), very bad muscle/joint pain all over, fatigued a good part of the time (very disturbed sleep) and a myriad of stomach issues (been on Nexium, Prevacid, Zantac and others with no success).

A friend at work recently gave me an excerpt from a newsletter that was titled something like "Lyme Disease, The Great Impostor". It went on to talk about how it gets missed by dr's in diagnosing a patient and can be the underlying cause of many of the symptoms that I have mentioned above.

I live in a very rural area in the Southern New England and have two dogs from which I have pulled off many tics. My work also takes me to some buildings that sit in areas where there are swamps, marshes, etc. I have never noticed the "bullseye" rash on me but I have taken tics off my skin.

So does anyone think that this could be Lyme and that the test did not reveal this? If so, where do I go to be tested again?

Welcome to Lymenet. It sounds like lyme is certainly a possibly, I have many of the same symptoms. Many many people get misdiagnosed with other diseases and then find out they really have lyme/co-infections.

Please seek out a LLMD, Lyme Literate Medical Doctor. Someone here can help you with that...if they don't help here first you can post in the seeking a doctor section of lymenet.

You certainly can't rule out Lyme in your situation. I would recommend seeing an LLMD. I'm in Southern NE (CT) and I see a good one. Feel free to email me and I'll be happy to email you back his contact info, etc.

Sorry to know you are another victim out there. Thru the years I've tried many treatments for my deteriating health. So works good and others were craps. Recently I discovered Podi Patch product, www.podipatch.com , for pain reduction and it works like magic. My pain improves after the first night using and gets better as I continue my program. My energy increase as well and now my pain level has improves about 80%. I've been using this since August 2004 and many others have with success as well. Definitely worth the try and worth the price. Feeling better is priceless to me.

welcome, sorry to hear you are feeling so yucky.

If I were you I would definately have a lyme work-up (by Igenex lab). Your symptoms sound suspicious.

I had lab tests for 20 years. All negative. But none had been done by Igenex lab.

I had lyme in '85 given 4 weeks antibiotics and told that I was cured. I got it in New England. I continued to get sicker and sicker. All kinds of doctors told me didn't know what was wrong. I wasn't re-diagnosed until I went to a LLMD.

Watch out for cortisone shots until you have a definate diagnosis. They are steroids and these are not good for Lyme patients.

Yes, see medical questions and look for:

TREEPATROL'S newbie links. Print links off, check off as you read thru .. will take months!
http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/029917.html

You'll need to copy/paste to ADDRESS line at top of screen.

Do a search for 300 OTHER medical conditions that lyme mimics posted by Shelley, any date, and shown in topic line. This one will blow your mind. Look for your diagnosis, and then read the list about them!

Now I don't blame the drs. for failing to get dx us EARLIER & accurately. I didn't before reading this valuable link.

Do a search before asking many questions as they have been answered over & over. Just become familiar and comfortable with the board.

If you do post, make sure you check the box at the bottom that you want all responses to go to your private email box. It's the only chance you get before you hit enter.
Betty G., Iowa