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Posted 7/31/2018 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hello, I have never posted or chatted or anything online. Forgive me if I do not do things right.

I have not been feeling "like myself" for many years, but in 2014 was diagnosed hypothyroid.

The synthroid medication does nothing for me. I am within normal range on blood tests so I must

be ok according to my doctor.

I have had osteoarthritis almost 20 years. My shoulder surgery was when I was 40 years old.

My thoracic and cervical spine degenerative disk disease. Bad hands also. I had a total Knee

replacement a little over a year ago. Prior to that I was going once a month to have it aspirated

and get a shot of cortisone. This went on for 10 months before my orthopedic surgeon gave me

gel shots once a month for 3 months. The knee continued to swell, and I continued to have it

drained Fast forward to April 2018, had a torn rotator cuff and had to have surgery in the shoulder

again. Post op office visit I told him that my knee hurt more than the shoulder. I asked for blood

test to see if I had gout or possible Lyme Disease. When I went back to him gout was negative.

Something called Lyme Antibody lgG/lg and lgG/lgm was positive. The reference range was

0.00 to 0.89 mine was 4.62. My ortho said to see Rheumatologist, but I can't get in until the 29 of

August.

So here I sit scouring the internet for information. I came across a symptom list on CanLyme site

if you have more than 20 symptoms to see your doc. I had over 40 symptoms.

I know I have to have more testing done. My husband is not sympathetic and I have let go of all

of my friends over the years. My family is all dead. No one to cry to.

A couple of questions...

Could my knee swelling have been a symptom? It feels like there is broken glass in the

joint and I don't even have a joint.

Will a rheumatologist be able to help me? I looked for LLMD near me and come up with nothing

close by.

Any input would be helpful to me as I wait for rheumy appointment.

Thank you
Posted 7/31/2018 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi MrsDave, welcome to your forum. Your post remind me of mine when I first joined. I also did the symptom list and of the 52 symptoms I had 50 of them. The only two that I didn't have were heavy menstrual cycles and lactating breasts (I am a male).

Let's see: Hypothyroid...you need to go gluten free. Gluten entices your immune system to attack your thyroid making you symptomatic for hashimotos (Hypothryroid)

Cortisone is bad for you. Use it only when absolutely necessary.

Lyme antibody positive...Yup you are in the right place, unfortunately. Need to treat Lyme soon.

Yes, joint pains and even osteoporosis have been identified with Lyme.

As for not having anyone to talk to; well, you just joined a humongous family that understands you and knows exactly what you are going through so that is no longer the case. We'll be here for you to listen, to counsel you, to provide moral support and to try to guide you as much as we can.

If you are unfamiliar with Lyme, we have made a post with some very useful information at the top of this forum. It is overwhelming, so read it slowly and use it as reference as you heal from Lyme. Some of the stuff will seem foreign to you but eventually you will get to understand it and use it as reference.

We may not be able to reply right away to you, but we can usually do it within a few hours. We are all going through this and well, sometimes we need to take a break ourselves. So if you don't get a response right away, don't despair. We'll respond as soon as we can.

As for finding a Lyme doctor in your area; start a new post with the subject line "need a lyme doctor in xxxx city" and someone here will email you with a list. Make sure to enable your email so they can email you.

Good luck and hope to hear from you soon smile
Posted 7/31/2018 3:50 AM (GMT 0)

Mrsdave said...
Hello, I have never posted or chatted or anything online. Forgive me if I do not do things right.

I have not been feeling "like myself" for many years, but in 2014 was diagnosed hypothyroid.

The synthroid medication does nothing for me. I am within normal range on blood tests so I must

be ok according to my doctor.

I have had osteoarthritis almost 20 years. My shoulder surgery was when I was 40 years old.

My thoracic and cervical spine degenerative disk disease. Bad hands also. I had a total Knee

replacement a little over a year ago. Prior to that I was going once a month to have it aspirated

and get a shot of cortisone. This went on for 10 months before my orthopedic surgeon gave me

gel shots once a month for 3 months. The knee continued to swell, and I continued to have it

drained Fast forward to April 2018, had a torn rotator cuff and had to have surgery in the shoulder

again. Post op office visit I told him that my knee hurt more than the shoulder. I asked for blood

test to see if I had gout or possible Lyme Disease. When I went back to him gout was negative.

Something called Lyme Antibody lgG/lg and lgG/lgm was positive. The reference range was

0.00 to 0.89 mine was 4.62. My ortho said to see Rheumatologist, but I can't get in until the 29 of

August.

So here I sit scouring the internet for information. I came across a symptom list on CanLyme site

if you have more than 20 symptoms to see your doc. I had over 40 symptoms.

I know I have to have more testing done. My husband is not sympathetic and I have let go of all

of my friends over the years. My family is all dead. No one to cry to.

A couple of questions...

Could my knee swelling have been a symptom? It feels like there is broken glass in the

joint and I don't even have a joint.

Will a rheumatologist be able to help me? I looked for LLMD near me and come up with nothing

close by.

Any input would be helpful to me as I wait for rheumy appointment.

Thank you

Hi Mrsdave - welcome?

Are you from Canada? (You mentioned the CanLyme site)

Your test results along with your symptom history does indicate Lyme disease.

I doubt if the rheumatologist would be much help. Unless he/she is Lyme literate it's unlikely that the test results will be taken seriously....nor your symptoms unfortunately.

I'm sorry your husband isn't supportive, but you have us now...we know/understand how horrible the symptoms can be and how we often feel isolated and alone .

If you let us know your location - we can help you find a LLMD.
Posted 7/31/2018 6:49 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you Healing 98 and Girlie.

I appreciate you taking time out to reply.

I felt as if I was losing my mind for a while. Then I began to find symptom lists.

The CanLyme list was the most comprehensive and the one that led me to ask

ortho for blood test.

I live in the Detroit, Michigan area. I have looked at posts of LLMD in Saginaw

and Grand Rapids, but I do not like to drive that far anymore.

A doc near Wayne/Washtenaw county line would be great. U of M in Ann Arbor

or Beaumont in Dearborn would be perfect.

I do realize that I can't be picky with the good docs.

I do realize that I have quite a long row to hoe.

I want to be "me" again

Thank you again.
Posted 7/31/2018 1:41 PM (GMT 0)
We have people who fly out to another state to see a good Lyme doctor or clinic. And there are those that drive for 3-5 hours also. I myself have driven 4 hours to go see a Lyme doctor. When you are sick and need help, you find a way to get there.

I hope that you can find someone local that can help you, but if not, please keep other options open.
Posted 7/31/2018 2:01 PM (GMT 0)
Idk if rheumy will help or hurt...watch the under our skin documenary to see what were up against
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