I think I have Lyme?

Welcome Beeperoni!

Sorry for the reason you're here but, glad you found us.

Unfortunately, regular doctors follow CDC/IDSA guidelines and often miss Lyme diagnosis. Heck, mainstream labs like Quest don't even do complete testing....their tests do not include the bands most likely to show positive.

Please understand that Lyme suppresses the immune system...and the immune system can be further suppressed if there are any of the co-infections that often accompany Lyme.

Lyme tests are antibody tests. If the immune system is suppressed, the antibody response will be minimal.

Even the CDC says that Lyme is a clinical diagnosis - based upon symptoms.

Here's some info about Western Blot interpretation that's geared towards the lay person:

lymetwistontherocks.blogspot.com/2011/01/western-blots-what-do-all-of-those-darn.html

Many people test negative yet are dealing with raging infections.

I invite you to read the "New to Lyme" thread that sits at the top of the forum. There's a lot of good information in there including symptoms lists, help with test interpretations, family dynamics and more.

I'm glad you'll be seeing a LLMD next month and you can do a few things to help yourself in the meantime. Those few things are detoxing methods.

You see, we all deal with toxins in "regular" life - toxins are in the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat (artificial ingredients, GMO-foods, pesticide-laden foods, etc.) and the products we use (personal care products, household cleaning products - even the clothes we wear). It's estimated that the average American is exposed to over 300 chemicals daily.

Add in Lyme bugs that release toxins and we can feel miserable.

If you start a detoxing regimen now and do it daily....and add to it regularly...you can start clearing out toxins now.

Once you start treatment, you will be dealing with even more toxins ala dead bug parts. This can translate into more symptoms. Getting ahead of the game now will only help.

Here's a site that explains much of what I've said and includes quite the comprehensive list of detoxing methods:

www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html

Best wishes to you moving forward!

I was recently diagnosed with Lyme and found the following book very helpful: Why Can't I Get Better: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease by Richard Horowitz. Try to find a Lyme doc so you can get treatment sooner rather than later. I didn't know I had it until 3 months after bite so delayed treatment has led to 5 months of antibiotics and I'm still on the drugs. Time is of the essence with Lyme.

I'm relatively new here myself, but the most important piece of advice I can give is this: If you suspect Lyme disease, see a LLMD. Doctors know frightfully little about tick-borne illnesses.

In fact, I was speaking to a friend in his third year of medical school at UMass, and he sent me a picture of the extent to which they had studied Lyme at that point, which was literally 2 sentences in a textbook.