Uncertain about doctors current thinking

Hi everyone. I'm new here so a quick introduction: about four years ago I started experiencing symptoms that my doctor was able to find other reasons for (adrenal fatigue and Candida Albicans). After being treated, I felt better for a short period of time. I was experiencing joint pain but never really mentioned it to her because I would always explain it away ("my knees hurt because I need to lose weight, my elbows hurt because I carry children around all day"....). Late last year, the pain moved into my hands and feet. I finally mentioned it to her at my annual physical in June. She had never tested me for Lyme so she decided to do so. I do not remember being bit nor did I ever see a rash. To make a long story short, the tests came back positive and she began treatment. We are thinking that I've had Lyme for at least four years and that the lyme caused the adrenal fatigue which allowed the yeast overgrowth.

Once the Lyme was found, she put me on Doxycycline for six weeks and an antiviral medication (Epstein Barr levels were high....). Once I finished the Doxy (which was really only five weeks...), she switched me to Biaxin for 30 days. I also continued taking the antiviral meds. She told me that after the 30 days of Biaxin, she wanted me to stop all meds for 3 weeks and see her for a follow up to reassess. At my followup last week, she asked how I was feeling. I told her that the joint pain was better than before I was diagnosed (it was pretty severe...) but was still there, that I had experienced two migraines during the three weeks of no meds, and that my biggest complaint was extreme fatigue. I sleep about 8 hours at night and find myself needing 2 - 3 naps per day. She told me this was "great news" and she thinks my body is healing and that I don't require further treatment. I have an appointment with a LLMD next February but she seems to think I can cancel it (NO WAY!). I am trying to get an earlier appointment with a LLMD out of Boston who is also a Rheumatologist. As each day goes by, the fatigue is increasing and my joint pain is increasing (it's back in my hands....). This is the first time I've ever been less than confident in my doctor's thoughts. Not sure what to do.....I fear that four months untreated is a long time for the bacteria to multiply and I'll end up right back where I started from. Thoughts????

Hi

I have been on Baxin 500mg 2x & Plaquenil 200mg for just over 6 wks now.

My symptoms both physical and neuro still go in unpredictable cycles but I can say that I have had a few good days here and there.

Over the past 2 wks I have been much more functional.  It takes time and I have added a whole new series of digestive problems.  Rest, detox and don't beat yourself up too much because we are sick and right now things do not work like they used to.

If you do anti bio for treatment you will need an experienced LLMD, it will take time and Feb. is a long time to wait.  There are lots of good treatment options on this site.

I hope you start to feel better soon.

I agree with the others - please do try to find someone to treat you sooner rather than later. In the meantime, there are a lot of natural things you can do to promote healing and inhibit the growth of the bacteria. There's some good information in the "new to lyme thread," such as the detox baths - raising your body temperature in general will inhibit bacterial growth. Adding herbs like garlic and ginger to your diet can help as well, exercise, and sweating as much as you can, drinking plenty of clean water, with lemon, to aid in detoxification, the list goes on. A clean diet and exercise are also really important.

If you can't get to a LLMD yet, maybe you could find another sort of practitioner in the meantime? An accupuncturist, herbalist, or naturopath? There are also natural protocols that you can do on your own, although it can be quite challenging and of course it's much safer under the guidance of a trained practitioner.

I'm not sure how much your doctor has mentioned about detoxification, but it really is essential when dealing with lyme disease - we've got to clear out the remnants of the bacteria we kill off, plus deal with the effects of taking all these antibiotics!

Forgot to mention....my primary care doctor only mentioned detoxing as far as food consumption goes. She is a big promoter of eating gluten free as much as possible. Although she had never mentioned this to me until I brought it up. Over the past couple of years I have noticed a huge difference I feel when I eat little or no products containing gluten. She also told me to start taking Magnesium for the headaches and Fish Oil for the joint pain.