I posted here a month or so ago about my 1 year old getting Lyme. As a short recap, he was bitten by a tick and his regular pediatrician put him on 3 weeks of Amoxicillian.
3 months later I took him to Dr. J in CT after learning how serious Lyme really is. Dr J examined him for 1 1/2 hours, and ultimately thought that he was ok.
Dr. J said that he really believed that 3 months after being bit by the tick, that my son would be showing some symptoms if he were still sick.
So after seeing Dr. J, my son has had several virus's including the Echo virus and Strep throat to name a couple. This is a kid who is not in daycare, not around sick people. The pediatrician told me that kids get average 10-12 virus's per year.
My son also has a swollen Lymph node behind his ear. I noticed this right after he had the Echo Virus, and his pedi said it's nothing to be worried about, kids get swollen Lymph nodes all the time.
Now it's been almost 6 months since the initial tick bite, 3 months since seeing Dr. J. The lymph node is still swollen. My son's face has been breaking out for a few months now. It was generally pretty clear before the tick bite.
Also, my son seems to have yet ANOTHER virus. On top of this, he also has little tiny white bumps on the backs of his arms, and I'm noticing them on his chest and back. Pediatrician said it's nothing to be concerned with.
I come here telling my son's story because you all are so educated on Lyme and co-infections. Do you think that between the virus's, face breaking out, and white bumps on his body, that this calls for another visit to Dr. J? Remember, Dr. J thought he was fine 3 months ago.
Of course my son's health is most important to me, but Dr. J is expensive. Money is so tight these days, so I'm trying to see if I really have reason to go back to him, or if I'm just being a paranoid mom and he would have gotten virus's, etc. anyways even if he never was bitten by the darn tick.
Thank you so much for your thoughts, I very much appreciate it!!!
Posts: 65 | From Beacon Falls, CT | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
Would Dr. J let you have a phone consultation for 30 minutes so you can ask him these questions without having an appt? I know if it were me, I would want to talk to him about it and would be willing to pay.
I really don't think there's a simple answer.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
Phone consult is a good idea. I don't know what a phone consult costs, but it may not take 30 minutes.
Another suggestion would be to FAX a list of the problems (with approximate dates), info on treatment he had (amox, dose, length of time), date of appt with Dr J. and any other important facts. Ask if you should have a phone consultation or if your son should see Dr J for an evaluation.
Do you have his FAX number?
Posts: 4638 | From South Carolina | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged |
Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
I think one of my major clues to my children having Lyme was the
Presence of multiple infections as well.
My daughter had bacterial pneumonia twice in less than 3 weeks.
She also did worse initially on Rocephin shots than better (herx?).
My LLMD does phone consults, but with the swollen lymph node it may be worth a trip....
My obvious concern with my children is co-infections...
Just something we will have to watch for as per my LLMD.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
We have a phone consultation scheduled for next Saturday. Otherwise, I cannot get an appointment to bring my son in Dr. J's office until JANUARY!!
I'll let you know what he says - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's good news again!
Posts: 65 | From Beacon Falls, CT | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
4 year old daughter tested positive at lab quest. She was treated for 30 days, never had any symptoms.
My son was negative on lab quest, had some positive bands from igenex (like me). My son has had "symptoms" since birth.
Low body temperature (had us in er at 9 months) Chest pain Heart palpatiations (cardiologist said he was fine) Trouble swallowing (me too) 4 throat infections within 2 months last year night sweats
Dr J said he was fine and that everything could be explained by growing up (he is 7).
We were delighted. Well, we started him on abx last two weeks ago.
His knee got locked in the middle of the night and he couldnt' straighten it for 12 hours (x rays negative)
He started complaining of blurry vision (eyes examined in august, fine)
He was skipping words when reading and saying that things just get jumbled up some times.
So, I went with my mom intinct and took him to my dr. He is doing very well. He had an increase in symptoms over the first week (more muscle locking), but now has been symptom free for 4 days.
I keep a daily log on both him and me.
I highly respect Dr J- he did an amazing examination of my kids.
However, my son's symptoms are so "light" that compared to all the REALLY REALLY sick kids Dr J sees, he looks fine.
In the end, seeing as how bad off I am after having untreated tick borne diseases for years, my husband and I agreed that the benefits of a short term of abx out weigh the negatives.
Good luck
Posts: 368 | From freehold, nj | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
sometimesdilly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9982
posted
and to dbfan-
IMO, at some point, even as a worried parent of a sick child, you need to be able to trust what a doctor is telling you.
in my own biased opinion, its a shame if you can't completely trust Dr J.
he sees a whole range of kids with Lyme, not just the very sick, fist of all, and second, he evaluates plenty of kids he ultimately does not diagnose with Lyme.
Also, when you spoke to his office i'm sure they must have told you that it was very likely you'd be able to come in much earlier than what was on the books when you called.
our appt, our first, was moved up 2 months wihtin hours of our making the first appt.
i hope you're able to relax soon; your child is in the hands of one of the most capable and compassion physicians in the country.
dilly
Posts: 2507 | From lost in the maze | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I take all my kids to Dr. J and always ask them a million questions. If you feel he does have some symptoms you must convey that to his office. I usually send a fax and they get back to me in 2 days. SOmetimes he may talk to me or one of the nurses. But I do feel as a mom you have to go with your gut- especially if you have Lyme and know the crazy symtpoms that it can cause. Your child's immune system may be down also but it is so important to know if the Lyme is active or a coinfection for that matter.
If I were you I would push for more testing for the Bartonella also. That tends to do a number on the Lymph nodes and cause swollenness. I know my younger son had that for months before he was diagnosed. It looked like he had a bump on his neck.
Remember all your efforts now will hopefully insure a healthy future. By ever letting this go it can cause so many problems later on. If you have concerns I would just voice them to their office and ask for testing if you need to. Sometimes Igenex and MDL kits can be sent to your home and you can have the blood drawn locally.
Posts: 238 | From Bethlehem, PA | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
Dave6002
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9064
posted
quote: face breaking out, and white bumps on his body,
If my kid had such symptoms, I would be worried.
Many (if not all)Lyme patients have skin problem (not necessary the bull's eye), which probably is one of most important Lyme symptoms.
I never understood why the movie called "Under Our Skin".
Now "Under Our Skin" has new meaning in my dictionary.
Lyme is, in my opinion, a skin-nerve system disease, meaning that Lyme pathogens are affecting the two systems.
Many here would agree that raising body temperature would be beneficial, by hot bath, sauna, exercise, physical therapy...but why?
Because the bugs wouldn't survive well under higher body temperature. Skin temperature is lower than the internal one. Thus skin would be the favored place for the bugs to live.
To successfully invade our system, the bugs need to down regulate our body temperature.
Many (if not all)Lyme patients have lower than normal temperature and are heat intolerable.
Posts: 1078 | From Fairland | Registered: Apr 2006
| 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!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic