posted
I saw my MD yesterday and gave him the guidelines from ILADS also the ILADS brochure and also the brouchur on What psychiatrists need to know about Lyme Disease. I also handed Igenex info with all the tests, info on the lab as well as test codes etc etc.. He said he is going to look all of this over and I am to see him in 2 weeks. He has finally agree'd with me that I am for sure having some kind of cranial nerve damage involvment from the Lyme and he also agree's that my swallowing difficulty and stomach problems are probably being caused in large part by the TBI's. I told him I want all NEW tests run on me for TBI's, I said it's been 4 yrs since I have had any and I need to see whats commin up and whats not. He agree'd. He also said he wants me to do ELISA testing for allergies. I had a reaction to barrium I needed to swallow and also over the last 3 mos or so there have been things I have always eaten and suddenly they made me itch terribly so he says somethings going on. I said yes and I am telling you it's all because of the TBI's I have. I told him it's been 3 yrs now since I've been on any effective treatement for any of them and I am now starting to feel symptoms I used to feel when I first got sick in the early 1990's and also am feeling some new ones. I said something needs to be done and if you're not gonna do it you need to tell me now. He said we will get started but first wants the allergy testing done.. He said it's FIVE tubes of blood. 3 LARGE and 2 small. I'm kind of afraid to do this for fear I will pass out. Has anyone else had this done? how did you do with it? Thanks
janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
posted
5 or 15 tubes of blood-it's not much, really, you have plenty.
Just don't look.
Could you get the TBD tests done first, before the allergy test?
And call Igenex www.igenex.com and have them mail or fax you their test requisition form. Might as well send your blood to a good lab for TBD. Maybe you can get the form at their website.
You might wish to consider the following tests
188 & 189 Western Blot $190
and one of the regional panels
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
posted
I see you're from SC-Lymenet members cbb or Thomas Parkman may be able to help you with local info.
With our wonderful new features you can send them a private message. Click on directory above and then type in their name and search for them.
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
lyme_suz
Unregistered
posted
I agree with Janet--it's better not to watch the blood draw...
We find that drinking a lot of water day before and day of the lab work helps the draw go more smoothly.
posted
Sorry I haven't had time to check Lymenet much the last couple days. It's taken a lot of time & energy to get the house ready for a meeting in the morning.
Will be glad to do what I can to help, but as you probably know, we are desperate for LLMDs in our state.
Looks like you've made excellent choices on Lyme material that you took for your dr to read. Could you tell me what city he's in?
Don't know about other people, but when I know I'm going to have blood drawn, I make sure I drink plenty of water before hand. The nurse seems to have an easier time with the draw.
Will you be checked for Bartonella? You may want to consider it, too.
I don't have the details, but a study was done in North Carolina. Of the ticks tested for Bartonella, 85% were positive.
Since South Carolina seems to be about the worst in everything, we probably have as much, if not more, Bartonella here. I decided I should be tested for Bart, even tho I didn't really seem to have any specific symptoms. I was positive.
The reason I mentioned this is that Bart can cause neurological problems similar to Lyme, but the treatment is different.
Tick-Borne Diseases are so complicated!!! It makes it even more difficult that so often the diseases don't fit the descriptions in the medical books.
A dr in Columbia told me - "We don't waste our time studying an illness that we'll see only one bizarre case in a lifetime."
The medical university & DHEC (health dept) keep telling people that Lyme isn't a problem in South Carolina. At the same time, Fort Jackson (in Columbia) has signs posted that warn - This is a Lyme disease area. Take proper precautions.
Will be glad to do what I can for you....even if it's just to validate what you're thinking & feeling.
Posts: 4638 | From South Carolina | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I did the allergy testing just before finding out I had lyme because I was reacting to everything. I was very weak at the time but drawing several viles of blood never made things worse.
It does make it go a lot easier if you drink lots of water the day before and the day of the draw.
I just had 13 viles drawn for several tests and it was no problem.
Posts: 925 | From California | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
I did ok... I didn't pass out ![[dizzy]](graemlins/dizzy.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic