Lingering Effects

ticker

Hi Crimson30, welcome to the board!

It sounds to me like you were not treated long enough. Lyme disease needs aggressive and often long-term treatment. You should be treated until all symptoms are gone plus at least two months longer. Ten days of IV is not long enough either.

Were you ever tested for the co-infections that ticks can transmit--Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis (HME & HGE), Bartonella, and Mycoplasma? many people who have Lyme are co-infected. It will affect treatment choice and progress.

You need to be evaluated by a Lyme knowledgeable doctor. If you post where you are located, I will tell you of the closest knowledgeable doctor to you that I know of.

Crimson30

Thanks for the quick response ticker. I am from the Lutherville, MD area. My symptoms right now, if thats what they are at all, are very mild but I would rather have it treated for good and not have to worry about it in the future if it does return. I am sure my friends and family will just assume that I am a hypochondriac.

I am not sure about the co-infections. Do they all have different symptoms as well?

I really hope this stuff is gone and I am just making this all up.

ticker

Hi Crimison30, I am happy to help.

I doubt you are making these things up. I am sure you have better things to do I am sorry if your friends and family do not understand, but they are not the ones who have to live with being sick.

Some of the co-infection symptoms overlap, some are more specific to one disease.

The good news is there is an excellent Lyme doctor in your area. His name is Dr. Kenneth Singleton. I believe he is in either Lutherville or DC. I think he moved to DC in April, but I am not sure. I hope you can get in to see him soon and get some answers.

Crimson30

Ticker-

If I end up going to my regular family doctor what kind of questions should I ask? He seems to be fairly knowledgeable about the subject (although he immediately referred me to a Infectous Disease specialist) and I know he has seen many other cases. Are there specific types of tests he should run to see if it has come back? If it the tests come back negative does that mean I am done with it for sure?

The reason I ask all this is that while my symptoms are mild (possibly its not lymes) I would just like to have the issue resolved while I am under our Family insurance since I will possibly lose coverage at the end of the year.

Thanks again. I looked up Dr. Singleton and it looks like he is still in the area. I will hopefully try to make an appointment with him.

ticker

Hi Crimson. When Lyme disease is a possibility, the most important thing you can do is see a Lyme knowledgeable doctor. Tickborne illnesses are misunderstood by a large percentage of the medical community. By seeing someone knowledgeable from the start, you are able to get proper treatment sooner.

Since you did not recieve the proper treatment initially, I would not recommend seeing the same doctor for this; however, if you do I would ask that he run all tests (Lyme and all co-infections) through IgeneX Lab in Palo Alto, CA.

You are lucky to have a good doctor in your area. There are only a handful in the country and many people have to travel out of state to see one.

Good luck. Keep us posted okay?