Need doctor in OR/WA for lyme-related CHRONIC PAIN

Lost my llmd of 3 years in vancouver, wa one year ago, and am still struggling to find help.

Newest llmd in seattle doesn't do pain meds.

I had no side effects on my previous pain meds. They just made my pain tolerable without making me sick.

Now I am incapacitated in pain all the time again. I don't know where to turn. Seems like the lyme doctors don't even care.

I need a doctor who is willing to treat pain from lyme, but I do not need that doctor to treat my lyme, as I already have an llmd.

Really can't afford TWO lyme doctors. And regular doctors send me away when they find out I have lyme.

The only thing that has helped me is IV antibiotics, but my insurance only helps me with prescriptions from MDs and do not cover any medications from NDs.

Please help! I'm in Portland, but willing to travel...

Hi Ignoredbydocs!
Welcome to our community!!

If you haven't ​yet​, 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, helpful links and pdf's, how to detox when one has these infections, information on probiotics and much more.​


For information on finding a​n LLMD in your area, 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.

I wish I had the information you are seeking, but the only pain doc's that I have listings for are in IN, CT, MD only (on in each state) - there may be more, but I haven't heard of them, so I'm of no help. Sorry!!

So why is your LLMD not able to control your pain? Are you being treated and/or evaluated for Bartonella? Many times Bart combined with Lyme creates a lot of pain in the body. Just a thought if you haven't checked into it yet.

I'm in the same boat as you, but luckily there is a natural alternative that can actually work better than prescription pain meds, called Kratom.

It's a leaf from the Pacific Islands that is grinded up and ingested. It tastes and smells similar to most teas. It contains alkaloids that give it similar opiate like effects but with much less risk or dependency, but there's still a chance if you use it chronically. Different strains have different levels of stimulation and pain relief. Plus it's fairly cheap.

Google it. I use it occasionally and sometimes daily but it's common to build a tolerance. There hasn't been any reports of OD's or too many adverse effects.

It's very surprising how effective it is. I'd much rather take it over prescription meds but sometimes the dosages in the plant leaf aren't consistent so you won't get the desired effect.

I would HIGHLY recommend it. I typically take 6g of the powder and feel almost symptom free when my tolerance isn't built up.

Its currently being investigated by some states because it can be very euphoric and similar to opiates so make sure it's legal in your area. I'm pretty sure it's still legal nationwide. You can order it safely online but some vendors choose to be discreet because it's in the spotlight these days.

I don't see it recommended on here much, but this plant can be a huge blessing to those who are suffering.

Again, it's called Kratom and everyone should look into it who desire pain relief and don't want to take pills. It really is effective for a lot of people.

The only gripe I have with it is the dosages sometimes don't do the trick so you have to increase dosing or change up the strain. But for the price, it can't be beat. You can buy it in bulk from some sites, but it's usually 10-20 cent per gram.

Post Edited (superj50) : 9/29/2015 10:02:05 AM (GMT-6)

I have the same request-my LLND in Tigard, Or was given just 30 days to vacate the building. She's only seeing her patients thru October and is then retiring!!! She's way below retirement age ,so I'm suspicious...

With that said, she's never prescribed pain meds, just supplements to treat the CAUSE of the pain, which is inflammation. I take magnesium-orally AND as Epsom salt baths, a supplement called, FLEXNOW(a shea nut extract) which works wonders for the joint pain, and two products by Metabolic maintenance which is made in Oregon and can be ordered directly from them, which is: 5-mthf, and anxiety control. 'Anxiety Control' is for the type of anxiety that's caused by detoxing. It has a balanced mix of ingredients that I've found to be very effective in treating my depression and depression can cause pain!!!!

I have my last appt. W/my LLND today. She will refer me elsewhere I'm hoping.

I could get back to you with a referral possibly???
Now, with all that said; I'm still dealing with muscle tension that causes headaches and other muscle pain.

Ignored and Sweetpea, I will send you the name of my doc if you will enable your email addresses in your profiles. Once Dr. R. retires, he'll be the only lyme doctor in the area. Not good! You'd have to go to the Seattle area or Southern OR to find another Lyme doctor.

I forgot to mention that I only know of one LLMD in Vancouver, so I'm curious about the one you used, since the one I use is still in business.

Bump one more time, in case you haven't found anyone yet.

I think it's extremely important to distinguish between Lyme Literate and Lyme friendly.

A Lyme friendly doc will do as Sweetpea's LLND is doing - willing to treat some cases of Lyme, but really doesn't understand even what symptoms are Lyme.

A Lyme literate doc isn't self entitled - the only way they get that title is by going to ILADS conferences and understanding the complexities of these infections. Not even patients can hand out that title.

Now, to be clear, some Lyme literate doc's act a LOT more like Lyme friendly docs, but that's because not all LLMD's are created equal!!

Sweetpea, those muscle issues you have been having are classic symptoms of Lyme disease. You really need to find yourself another doctor to treat you. Sorry.

I would hope not!! You should be able to switch right over to someone that is actually Lyme literate - or at least is more knowledgeable- without interrupting your treatments at all. Why not get started booking appts for "second opinions" until you can find the right doc for you? You can start a new thread on here, and you can send me an email (if you didn't yet) to try to find someone before this one leaves.