I'm looking for a Lyme knowledge doctor in Northern VA. I found a Dr. S. in Reston, VA but have not had any luck in getting in touch with that office. I left a message Monday, no call back as of yet.
Here's what's going on: about 6-7 weeks ago, I woke up for my morning bath and found a deer tick embedded in my leg. I removed the tick and called and asked a family friend (he is a doctor) if he would Rx some antibiotics to me proactively for possible Lyme as I knew the sucker was on me for a good while (likely since the previous day, as I woke up with it). He would not prescribe without some symptoms, he told me to wait and see if I get joint pain or a rash.
My daughter had the bulleye rash and was treated for it over a year ago, so I knew enough from that to be concerned, and perhaps a little paranoid. We live in a wooded lot with plenty of wildlife (deer, mice, etc.) and it is a high risk Lyme area. I never take antibiotics, but wanted to treat just in case because I know early detection is key.
Fast forward to this past Sunday evening, I got a bullseye rash about 3 inches from where the tick bite several weeks ago was. I could have been bitten again and not noticed the tick, but it's unlikely. Called Dr. friend again, he Rxed 100mg doxycycline, twice daily for 21 days.
I'm pretty unenthusiastic about allopathic medicine in general and won't visit a doctor unless I have a ``no-brainer'' (broken arm, needs a cast, etc.). I've had a few too many bad doctor experiences (from the scarce times I've *needed* to go to a doctor) between giving birth to my kids and a vaccine injured child that I have little faith in most of them. My daughter's pediatrician would not treat her for Lyme in spite of the bullseye rash (he wanted to wait for test results to come back positive), which is why our Dr. friend treated her instead.
I've found SO much conflicting information on the net about Lyme that I don't know what to believe...and frankly it scares the heck out of me. Our Dr. friend assures me that 21 days of this is a 100% cure. I want a second opinion on that because, though he is a friend, we disagree on many aspects of medicine/nutrition/health and time is of the essence.
I've been on the doxy for 3 days, it is making me horribly nauseated and I'm trying not to vomit and lose any of the antibiotics...my body is fighting me tooth and nail on this. I'm taking copious amounts of probiotics (which the pharmacist advised against taking at all ), spaced apart from the abx, and eating homemade yogurt like it's going out of style (which it probably has, many decades ago).
My bullseye rash is still there, about 10 inches by 6 six inches, although the rings have become faint, the center is still quite red, hot and very, very itchy. I itch all over my body like I have been attacked by phantom mosquitos (only no bites to be found). Not sure if that is a Lyme thing or a side effect of the abx.
I'm overwhelmed with conflicting information, without a knowledgeable doctor to consult. Any insight is greatly appreciated. Glad I found this place.
Posts: 4 | From Northern Virginia | Registered: Jun 2010
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mbroderick
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5220
posted
I can assure you that 21 days is not a 100% cure!!!
Take a picture of your rash right away. Use a coin as a size reference.
Check your private messages for lots of information and a list of Lyme Literate Doctors. Click on the flashing envelope above.
Posts: 2097 | From PA | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by PaigeTurner: ...Called Dr. friend again, he Rxed 100mg doxycycline, twice daily for 21 days. [snip] ...Our Dr. friend assures me that 21 days of this is a 100% cure.
THAT is a lie.
It is my understanding that if a person's first case of Lyme disease is not treated promptly and completely (at least 3 months beyond the end of all symptoms), there is no cure for Lyme disease. The stealth spirochete persists in human tissue.
The good news is, there are several protocols proven to get patients into long-term remission! So you're on the right track now.
Dear Paige Turner, You display more wisdom than your friend (whom we'll now call "a duck"). Welcome to the supportive LymeNet community.
Waiting a week for a busy, successful LLMD such as Dr. S to call back is, unfortunately, not unheard of. Sadly, there are WAY too few LLMDs to treat the hoards of Americans infected with Lyme disease & associated co-infections.
Vital to print out, read & re-read: Dr J Burrascano's Guidelines -- 16th Ed., Oct. 2008, 37 pgs I put my copy in a 3-ring binder and added my own dividers. Dr. Burrascano now lectures internationally on the treatment of Lyme disease, so he is the one LLMD whose entire name can be posted openly.
Take photos of your rash. Include a ruler and the date if you can.
I'm not a healthcare professional.
Many members here take doxy with a meal (B & D) to avoid stomach upset. Unless you take 200 mg 2x/day (400 mg total, or sometimes up to 600 mg) the spirochetes just morph into a cyst-like form that isn't harmed by doxy. Conventional Western med ducks won't treat you & your family appropriately because most have allowed themselves to be brainwashed by the IDSA, CDC, big pharma and insurers.
Kudos for supplementing with probiotics opposite the doxy dosing. Florastor must be included as well as kefir.
In case you're not already, go gluten-free and cow dairy-free asap. This is vital to overcome your serious infection.
If one member of a household gets LD, the entire household should be evaluated by a LLMD for LD & co's. I sense from your post that your health-conscious lifestyle will contribute greatly to your successful remission in partnership with a LLMD.
I don't believe your itching is from doxy. In exploring other threads in "Medical," you'll find many members experience that. I've had some very disturbing "crawling skin" sensations that i attribute to my Lyme neuroborreliosis. I have multiple co-infections and haven't yet sorted out what makes my skin crawl.
A note about LymeNet now: This is high season! Shorter initial posts to start a topic this summer may be easier for other members to read.
Looking forward to seeing more posts from you! Smile
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pmerv
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1504
posted
Hi, I am brand new to this forum and to Lyme. My 7 yr old daughter was diagnosed two weeks ago. She noticed a huge bump on the back of her head and we watched it for a few days thinking it was a mosquito bite. Four days later she developed a fever, which would go up and down over the next five days. In the meantime, the ped. diagnosed her bump as a reactive lymph node. Her neck hurt so badly she couldn't bend it forward. She also had headaches, chills, stomachache, general flu-like symptoms. When her neck pain wasn't going away the ped. sent us to Inova FX Hospital ER, thinking it might be mono or an infected lymph node.
When the mono test came back negative, I asked the nurse, as she tried to discharge us, whether it could be Lyme and would they please do the Western Blot test. (My sister-in-law has chronic Lyme so it is on my radar.) She blew me off saying, ``You have to have a bullseye rash for it to be Lyme.'' My daughter only had a vague, pinkish rash around one eye, which the ER doc thought was cellulitis! I knew that Lyme sometimes shows with a rash and sometimes not, but that certainly it doesn't have to be a bullseye.
Needless to say, her tests came back positive three days later and she started Ceftin twice a day for 21 days. (She can't take Amoxicillin due to a past allergy to it.) Knowing what I know from my s-i-l, I worry that 21 days is not long enough.
Wanting to do everything possible as soon as possible to make sure we nail this bacteria, we visited an infectious disease specialist on Monday who examined my daughter and was so low key about it all I would have thought she just had a simple cold. She felt confident 21 days would be curative and that my daughter will have no further problems.
I am terrified for her to go off the Ceftin next Wednesday... The ped.'s office is not supportive of investigating this further, agreeing with the ER's ``red book'' ``cure'' of 21 days. I do not currently have an appt with any other LLMD. What can I do, short of calling the pharmacy and telling them I spilled the Ceftin and need more??!!
Does anyone have any LLMD that I can call in Northern VA?? I would be happy to travel to DC or MD also.
Thank you SO MUCH for any help!!
Posts: 2 | From Northern VA | Registered: Jul 2010
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Siciliano
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15920
posted
Paige, I sent you a pm also.
-------------------- I'm sorry but I am no longer accepting any private messages due to my own battle with lyme. Posts: 3897 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Jun 2008
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Siciliano
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15920
posted
Hi, ec1974--I sent you a private message, click on the flashing envelope.
-------------------- I'm sorry but I am no longer accepting any private messages due to my own battle with lyme. Posts: 3897 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Jun 2008
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![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
), spaced apart from the abx, and eating homemade yogurt like it's going out of style (which it probably has, many decades ago). 
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