Help me determine where to go from here...

Hello, My names Sam im a 22 yr old resident in missouri. Recently(Memorial weekend) Went camping way south... down 44 and about 30 minutes past st james where i contracted a tick bite. Well didnt know i had a tick till a day and half /2 days lter when my bf noticed it on my shoulder blade. He got it out for me.... for the next 2 weeks or so it was really irritateing me and even.. hurt to the touch> putting a bra on was even hurting it! At work i decided to try and look at it since it was REALLY bothering me that day- and i had the "bullseye" rash. Went to the emergency room that night. and i was diagnosed with lyme disease, I had lterally 4 doctors look at me. Was put on the doxyciclone or wheatever and oxycodone for pain. Thank goodness for the pain meds for as long as they lasted becuase literally since then ive been feeling incredible sick. Every morning when i wake up i feel like crap, so much as those pills would actually help me cope for A little since everything was hurting. NO im not pregnant-took about 5 tests. Made an app. with an infectious disease specialits and he told me they diagnosed me wrong. Bc in missouri apprently there is no lyme disease? that i had STARI<But when i asked him if thats how stari makers you feel.. he said no. I'm not sure how to go about this i mean, i should be happy he said they mis diagnosed me? but i had the rash-and im definantly i think feeling what is lyme disease. I would best describe my mornings as... a bad hangover?

Ps. Im a young fun girl- and i rarely drink on my weekends with the ppl my age, beacuase i feel like crap already why drink and have an even WORSE morning ya know>? any thoughts please help me

Hi Whammy!
I am so sorry that you even have a need to be here, but I"m sure glad you found us!! I'm sure that you will find us to be a caring, understanding and helpful group. You are not alone! We are here to encourage you and cheer for you on your path to healing!

If you haven't already, it would be beneficial 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 relevant information and informative links that have been put together by our members here! We also have a pretty good search function on this forum to help you narrow down your search for information from past posts. We must be our own health advocates now and the best thing to arm yourself with is knowledge!

As Achievinggrace said, ID docs really don't know much about Lyme and other infections that ticks (as well as other insects) can pass to humans - seems weird I know! The Bulls eye rash is the skin form of Lyme Disease, and you can only get that kind of a rash from one infection - Lyme Disease, so there's really no question as to whether or not you have Lyme.

You really do need to get in to see a LLMD to ensure that you get the treatment you desperately need now. I would suggest that you use the links that Achievinggrace shared with you, but if you would send me an email, I do have the names of two LLMD's in Mo.

To email anyone here on the forum, all you need to do is to click the envelope under that members name - it'll bring up your email client that's on your computer with the email address already in the right spot. If you use a free email acct. (like yahoo or gmail) just hover your mouse over the envelope and you should see somewhere on your screen the email address of that member. We encourage all of our members to list their email address in their profile, as only members can have access to it that way, and it makes communicating a little easier when we have info that we would rather not share openly - like Drs names. This is an open forum, meaning even those who don't register to us can read the posts, so please be careful what personal info you post as well.

Both Lyme and STARI are in your area. BTW- STARI is now known as Masters' Disease - shows what that ID doc knows! The name was changed when Dr. Edwin Masters passed away in '08 (?) - not real sure on the date. Anyway, Masters is just a strain of Lyme - there are over 100 strains of this infection, so as Dr. Masters' was fond of saying - Lyme-like illnesses deserve Lyme-like treatment!

You will want to stay away from the alcohol for a while - most that get infected with Lyme & other tick-borne infections (TBI's) have alcohol intolerance - and you're right - why have an even worse morning???