On the bright side, he was concered about my illness, and did give me a 2-month supply of antibiotic treatment for Lyme, without a positive test result.

On the down side, my blood pressure (at 22) is dangerously high, and apparently I have a very clear heart murmur He also gave me a blood pressure medication to try.

Hope this goes ok. Just thought I'd let everyone know how it went.

Thanks for listening,

However you have a very positive attitude about it anyway. Hope you see some results from all of this and it is good to know that you caught the other dangers that you have in that 15 min visit.

Is this someone who was recommended to you? What kind of antibiotics were you given? Were you told what to watch out for, how to take care of yourself? Did he recommend you take probiotics?

Sorry it didn't go better.

Have you read the basics on Lyme? You need to at least know about the possibility of herxing, the need for probiotics, and how you might respond to antibiotics. If you are taking doxycycline, there are quite a few precautions you need to know about.

This is very long, but important:
Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano's Treatment Guidelines
Minimizing Antibiotic Risk
Basic Information

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Sonoma County Lyme Support
[email protected]

If you don't have a copy, print "Diag Hints & Treat Guidelines..." by Dr B at www.ilads.org/burrascano_1102.html

It's about 32 pages of excellent info, written like a Readers' Digest version of a Lyme textbook.

The doctor I went to see was sort of reccommended. He is in the Baltimore area. Actually, Dr. S from DC (who is supposed to be pretty good), apparently was referring people to this doctor, but I can't validate that because I got his name elsewhere. He did not ask me much medical history at all, did not ask me what symptoms were most bothersome to me now, and did not tell me what else it could be, if not Lyme disease.

Yes, I guess it was a failure. I have an appt. with Dr. S, but not until the end of March.

The antibiotic he gave me is Amoxicillin. That is not the one I was told I should be given, so I wasn't expecting it, but does it work? I know I am supposed to take it 3 times a day for 60 days, but I am not sure of the mg dosage because it is still at the pharmacy due to some confusion with insurance that just got worked out.

Should I not take this? Are there things I should be concerned about with this drug? He didn't tell me any warnings, just that "it is very safe and I give it to people for minor things too."

The other concern is that I know antibiotics don't always work on me unless they are really strong.

Any help I would be so thankful for once again!

The main concern would be whether he gave you enough to be effective. For Lyme, Dr. Burrascano recommends 1 gram of Amoxicillin three times a day, along with probenicid 500mg three times a day. Some people need higher doses.

Be sure to take a good probiotic two hours after each dose of antibiotic, in order to replenish the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

I would also be concerned about whether you have been properly evaluated. There can be other health isssues instead of or in addition to Lyme disease that need to be assessed. I don't know your history, so I don't know how clear it is that you have Lyme.

But even with a known tick bite and a bull's eye rash, at the very least any tick borne coinfections should be checked. If the Lyme history is not that clear, other things need to be looked at as well.

I personally wouldn't accept this as a sufficient health evaluation. I'm sure the folks out near you could give you the names of other doctors who are more through.

I did not get any other medications in addition to the amoxicillin. I hope it is ok to take just that.

I am now going to go find out what a probiotic is since I have never heard the word before!

I agree, that I should not be satisfied with the assessment. I am not certain I have lyme. I need a much more thorough LLMD to tell me that.

After 5 years of searching for answers and not finding any, going from specialist to specialist and getting sicker and sicker, I think I am willing to give this a try. I hope I see some results, although I'm not quite sure what to expect and when to expect it. I am also a little confused because I was told by some that if I have stomach upset and diarrhea on the antibiotic that it is a good sign that means it's working, and by others that it is a bad sign. I have not started them yet so I don't know if this will happen, I just guess I wish I knew more of what to expect with this medication.

Thank you very much for your help.

Bowen Research Lab in Florida has developed a new test, but it is not covered by insurance yet. www.bowen.org Click Lyme Research, then Info, FAQ, & Research Update.
Good info on all these pages.

A day has passed and I am re-considering this advice. Lyme is a clinical diagnosis. You can have it without having a positive test (per FDA advisory) and you will not be given the results personally. They will go to your doc. And sometimes they need interpretation and the kind of history that a doc takes to understand the significance of the results anyway. So, now not sure about this.