Seeing a Infectiou disease Dr. I'm hoping to get answers to questions I have.

Ora, only an Infectious Disease doctor or someone who has no clue about lyme disease would say such a thing as "you have a false positive for Lyme". Yeah, lots of people have been told that before, but not from a qualified LLMD who knows what he/she is talking about.

Yes, you are confused and always will be until you see a LLMD for testing and diagnosis. Only a qualified ILADS LLMD is able to unconfuse you. Why don't you see a LLMD and get properly tested and diagnosed?

Did you see on another thread where someone recently died of ALS (Lou Gerhig's Disease)? Well, as it turned out, later on this person was diagnosed as having Lyme disease, but by the time he went to a LLMD to get properly diagnosed the ALS had gotten too advanced and he ended up dying from it.

Same thing with MS, many Lyme patients are told initially that they have MS, but when they went to a LLMD to get properly diagnosed they found out that they didn't have MS after all, they had Lyme disease.

There are 300 conditions that mimic Lyme disease http://lymebook.com/blog/testing-diagnosis/misdiagnosed-diagnosis-mimics-great-imitator/

Ora, the longer you mess around with ID doctors and other unqualified doctors, you are going to continue (assuming you have Lyme disease) make life much more difficult for you down the road. I don't understand why you appear to be avoiding seeing a LLMD.

If you want to get to the root of this problem it's simple--see a LLMD and get the facts. Then you'll no longer be confused.

Take care.

Gary

Razzle, great minds think alike. While I was typing and posting what I wrote about "300 conditions" within two minutes of your post I posted the same facts.

Ora, look at the repeated messages your getting here. These are people talking from experience and who truly have your best interests at heart.

Gary

Ora, it makes no difference if your PCP changes his mind. You are in charge of your health, not your doctors. You have to be your own best advocate. The knowledge you're getting here is valuable and can spare you years of misery if you listen to those who have "been there and done that". Doctors aren't god. You have every right to go to a LLMD without the blessings of your ID or PCP doctor. You are in control of your destiny, not your doctors.

Gary

Ora,
Welcome to Healingwell!! You have received some great advice here. I know this is a lot to take in, and is very confusing to say the least. Beleive me we all were at the same place as you early on in our own illnesses. I am from south east Wisconsin, and have some contacts with Illinois support groups. May I suggest you contact chicagolyme.com to look for a LLMD in your area.

Best wishes,
Brandon

It is believed that there are co-infections that usually go along with the lyme. One complication to Bartonella is it's unique ability to turn off the antibodies in the system. It can turn off the Lyme antibodies and also it's own. This adds to the complications of diagnosing the disease because the antibodies are what are needed to provide the positive result on a ELISA or Western Blot test. Also because Bartonella lowers the immune system, it is even more important to diagnose and to also steer away from steroids- including those used for spinal injections without knowing the complications that can arise.
There are things out there that definitely help with lyme disease, however, don't think antibiotics are the answer for late stages of the disease. At least this has been the case for our family. You are welcome to email me and be glad to share.

Best of Luck to you.