LLMD in Tampa and Chicago areas please?

The reason I ask for both, is I live in FL. 34698 area but am all alone here. If I am going to need help with driving distances and herxing etc. I may need to go back to family in IL 60565 area Chicago suburbs to not go through it alone as I don't foresee being able to drive myself (as I am unable to now sometimes).

I just got dx'd/well igenex positive WB results (but not CDC) luckily the coinfections said negative. Though symptoms would never confirm that ;) I am not sure economically what I can even do to get help. Any recommendations are welcome...

Medicare is all I have, am on ssdi. so they covered the igenex test but not sure if future nec. testing will be covered (doubt it). I also do not know if I will go abx or natural protocol route. I've heard it's best for a MD who is ILADS. Also input personal experience on clinics or treatment centers i.e. envita etc. are welcome.

Thanks from a head spinning newbie!

HI Joeybee! Welcome to our little community!!

Let us know if the referrals that Summer16 gave you don't turn up any good options for you. There are a few other things that you can do as well though:
You can start a new thread titled something like:"Looking for LLMD/LLND in the _______ area." Although you will need to enable your email option in your profile in order to receive any recommendations, as we don't allow doctor's names and contact info to be posted on the forum for several reasons. You can enable your email option in your profile, under 'edit profile'. Be sure to click the submit button to actually save your preference.

You can also email our long time member, Dan's Mother at:[email protected]

And you're right, you will want an ILADS trained doc, as ID Docs believe Lyme is hard to catch and easy to treat, and don't believe in the reality of chronic Lyme.

If you haven't already, it would be helpful for you to start with reading through the thread at the top of the forum titled,"New to Lyme?...Start here!!", as it is packed full of important information, symptom lists (as Lyme rarely occurs by itself), helpful links and pdf's, how to detox when one has these infections, and a list of questions that you can ask any doctor that you are seeking treatment from!

AS for your test results, most of the tests that are currently used are pretty faulty- they are looking for an immune response, but Lyme disease can actually suppress that immune response, so it won't show up on any tests! The most knowledgeable LLMD's will diagnose based on symptoms and hope for the tests to back up the diagnosis, not the other way around. So you can use your symptoms to guide you to which of the infections you likely have as well.

As for help that's available for different things, try these links:
www.lymetap.com/

www.internetdrugcoupons.com/

medicationcoupons.com/

www.prescriptionhope.com/index.html

Some of the links that I've already listed are on these next two sites, but I believe there are some others there as well:
lyme.kaiserpapers.org/financial-assistance.html

lymedisease.org/news/touchedbylyme/needy-meds.html

There are a lot of people here using abx, using abx and herbs and using herbs/natural medicine alone so you have plenty of experience to help you through this no matter which way you choose to treat!

If you would send me an email (please include your screen name) and tell me where in Fl you need a LLMD, I might be able to help.

JoeyBee, I just sent you an email to your personal email account with information for an LLMD in Chicago as well as information on how to get financial assistance with Lyme tests. I live close to you in Chicago so I hope this information helps you. Good luck.

Be sure to get started with detoxing right away. Herxing is generally from an overload of toxins overwhelming the body. This can happen quickly or build slowly over time. We have some really good detoxing suggestions listed in the 'New to Lyme?' thread that sits at the top of the forum.