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Hello, just realised this might be lyme...

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Posted 1/12/2015 5:27 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I finally picked up the pieces. Four years ago I had the bullseye rash on my right arm and well... didn't associate it with ticks and just thought I was stung by a bee or bit by a spider.

Physical symptoms are pretty mild, some problems with vision, muscle twitches, balance problems and joint pains... but the mental stuff is what caused me to drop out of highschool a few years ago.

Anyway, I have multiple diagnoses, hypochondria and major depression to name a few, lyme-wise, from what I've read, things aren't too good here in Finland either, obviously nothing is certain yet but I'm just afraid of not even getting tested properly before being shot down, being a mumbling mess isn't really gonna help my case either..:D
I'll probably just write everything down before the appointment...which leads me to my question, what type of doctor should I see?
Posted 1/12/2015 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
It defintely sounds like a good case for lyme - especially with the EM rash that you had. I don't know what the situation is in Finland but hopefully that have some "lyme literate medical doctors" over there which pretty just means a medical doctor is familiar with lyme and knows how to recognize it and treat it. There is a lab we use here often in the U.S. for testing called IgeneX labs that is a good lab for lyme testing. Our CDC (Center for Disease Control) has a test as well (which is the one you will get from a regular/Non-LLMD doctor) but it is notoriously inaccurate. Hopefully somebody here will have some resources for you in Finland. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! Oh and lots of us gets told we're just depressed and it's all in our head and that's simply dead wrong many of the times. Lyme is a very real illness and if that is indeed what you have that would explain all of those symptoms. Do you know what the prevalence of Lyme is in Finland and also what the standard protocol is for somebody going to their General Practitioner with a suspicion of lyme?
Posted 1/12/2015 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Thulsanator!
Welcome to our community! If you haven't yet, please do read through our "New to Lyme? Start here!" thread as it's packed with important information about healing from these infections, symptom lists, probiotic information and detoxing suggestions.

If you are sure that you had a bulls eye rash, then that alone is diagnostic of Lyme disease. You didn't happen to take a picture of it at the time, did you? If so that could be very helpful- even if it wasn't a picture of just the bulls eye rash, but it can be seen in a picture could be helpful.

I would encourage you to print out ILADS treatment guidelines and use it if you are going to try to get (abx antibiotic) treatment as most countries are looking to the US for guidelines on how to treat these infections: www.ilads.org/lyme/treatment-guideline.php

The best lab that I'm aware of is Igenex in California: www.igenex.com/ Although, you need to be aware that since you have a long standing infection, it's likely that no test will pick up the antibodies and even the DNA testing for the bacteria will be difficult because the majority of the bacteria will be in the muscles and tissues rather than the blood or other body fluids where it can be detected. Many do an abx challenge (using high dose abx for a short period just before testing, then stopping the abx for 3 weeks, then testing) to help bring out more bacteria and more of a response from the immune system.

You need a LLMD - A Lyme Literate Medical Doctor, but I don't know if there are any in Finland. I know that I don't have any listed anyway. If you are interested in using herbs to treat these infections, there are several good herbal protocols and you could use an herbalist to help you find the right herbs or order online.
Posted 1/15/2015 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the replies, sadly I don't seem to have any pics of the rash...

Bry, from what I've read it's incredibly difficult to even get tested for lyme in the first place should you go see a GP, especially if you already have existing diagnoses of eg. depression or anxiety, if I remember correctly it was estimated that about 3000 people here get infected per year, gonna start doing some digging and hopefully come across something that even remotedly resembles a LLMD.

Reading through "New to lyme...", gotta say you guys got a good thing going on here, very helpful site!
Posted 1/15/2015 4:10 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your kind words about our site!! We try to make it as informative as possible, and hope for a feeling of a community not just another forum.

For information on finding a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor(LLMD) in your area, 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 send me an email by clicking on my screen name or the small blue envelop under my screen name. I may have contact information for some LLMD's in your area as well.​
​Please include your state and area that you would like to find a LLMD in and I will see how close I can get.​


You can email Stephanie at: [email protected] You can also go to: www.turnthecorner.org/ if you want to learn a little bit more about Lyme Disease.

You can also go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link: www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74


​ You can also now email TBDA (Tick Borne Disease Alliance) at [email protected]​
​ and ask for LLMD referrals also.
​

You will want to find an ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) trained doctor, as ID Docs (Infectious Disease Doctors) believe Lyme is hard to catch and easy to treat, and don't believe in the reality of chronic Lyme. Go to the ILADS site to read the new (2014) Treatment guidelines to get you started on your Lyme journey.www.ilads.org/lyme/ILADS_Guidelines.pdf
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