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Posted 8/11/2013 1:01 AM (GMT -5)
I'm wondering what you guys think...
Is it possible that I have Lyme disease from 20 years ago??
I'll take any replies. Thanks!

I am reading forums and I am reading my story over & over again, except for the length of time. I've never considered Lyme until recently.
I have every symptom on the short list from Ticker in the "New to Lyme" thread (except tremors).
I was treated for a brown recluse bite in 1992. I didn't see what bit me. I was in Atlanta, GA. I had the classic bullseye.
I went to a dr for fatigue in 1994. I've been diagnosed with mono 2 or 3 times since, tested for Lupus, RA, sinus infections, pinched nerve in shoulders... I think you guys know the story...
I need a good doctor that will help me find out what is wrong. I thought maybe you could give me some feedback to see if Lyme is a realistic possibility.
THANKS in advance.
Posted 8/11/2013 9:18 AM (GMT -5)
I am certain I went 18 years before getting a proper diagnoses of Lyme. From what you're saying, yes it is possible. It would not hurt to find a Lyme Literate doctor and get properly tested and evaluated.
Posted 8/11/2013 2:36 PM (GMT -5)
18 years?? How does that happen?
I have so many questions. I don't even know what to think.
Doctors and tests are so exhausting! Will any doctor take me seriously after so many years?
Posted 8/11/2013 3:35 PM (GMT -5)
It can be challenging to find a doctor that will work with you. Lyme people don't fit neatly into a diagnostic box, so they get frustrated. Also most doctors don't look at the whole person and only look within their specialty.

In my case I was living in MA and grooming dogs for a living. I spent a lot of time hiking in the woods and camping and didn't think twice about it. At some point around '93- '94 I remember getting very sick with a high fever. After that I had severe neck pains, tingling in my arms and hands, a buzzing in my shoulder. I was told I had carpal tunnel about the arms/ hands, the doctors had no clue about the buzzing and told me to stretch more for my neck.

As things got worse I found myself having memory issues. I remember I would be driving down the street and forget where I was and where I was going. I would just keep driving until I remembered.

I was lucky that I found a very good acupuncturist who did a lot of the right things even though she didn't know I had Lyme. We used diet and herbs with the acupuncture to manage my symptoms.

In '96 I moved to VA and kept having bouts of weird symptoms and no one knew what to do. Over the years the symptoms morphed and I went through 2 years with a horrible cough that no one could stop. I finally addressed that by giving up dairy and using various herbs.

I went to so many doctors. I was told by one doctor that I was overweight and if I just lost weight that I would be fine. I was about 30 pounds overweight, but I knew that wasn't the problem. They did a bunch of tests and would just tell me I was fine. I even went through a few years of therapy because the brain fog was so bad I thought it was psychological.

So yes, you can go 18 years and not know. I honestly don't think it should happen and thinking back it's really sad that my case is not unique. It sounds like you have been suffering a while and I understand your frustration.

A Naturapath will take you seriously and a Lyme Literate Doctor will take you seriously. I don't usually trust the standard doctors anymore. I only use them for things that I have to, like if I needed stitches.

They are too specialized and they look for symptoms that fit neatly into a diagnosis. They can't handle people that are complicated and don't make sense.
Posted 8/12/2013 2:44 AM (GMT -5)

Hi Lillypud,

I'm totally with LoveHealth. It took me 18 years to get diagnosed as well.

They blame it on my history, then when it takes too long, they strongly advice you to learn to life with 'it' (it being a huge list of debilitating symptoms), then when you're really insisting, they say it's all between the ears, that you're depressed and should seek professional help for that, and if they are really lazy, they will try put you on antidepressants without any follow-up. I can't even remember how many drs I saw the past 18 years...

After all those years, I found 1 dr that took me seriously, thank God for that! Most of the drs are plain lazy. In my language we say that they are wearing horse blinkers. My dr says that when he took the dr's oath, that he swore to research and help his patients, that's what he's doing now...

Have you read the thread on top of the Lyme page 'New to Lyme? ... Start here!'? There's so much important information there (on all TBD's, on different treatments, detox, symptoms, helpfull links, etc), I would advice you to go through it, it's really worth the effort.

Also, if you're looking for a LLMD, you can start a new thread 'Seeking LLMD in ____________'. Please enable your email, so that members can send you the names of drs in a pm. We want to protect our drs, so we don't publish their names.

We're here to help, so if you have questions, fire away...

MarieLS

Posted 8/12/2013 6:13 AM (GMT -5)
12 years here.

  well for the symtoms anyway, being a hiker/camper I cant tell you how many ticks Ive picked off me.

  TOM.....

 

Post Edited (TOM@ocala) : 8/12/2013 5:16:41 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/12/2013 9:10 AM (GMT -5)
Thank you, LoveHealth, MarieLS and Tom@ocala!
I am absorbing information very slowly. I am reading through the New to Lyme thread in pieces. I'm not feeling well right now, I'm just so tired!
I stepped up my excercise this summer, and so far have been doing well. I had started thinking it WAS all in my head. But this week hit me hard. I pushed myself hiking, and now I'm paying for it.
I'm almost afraid to get excited/hopeful that I might get a diagnosis. You know?
I really, really appreciate the responses. Whatever I find next, I am starting to find there are friends and people I can talk to.
Posted 8/12/2013 9:17 AM (GMT -5)

Lillpud,

Whenever I'm having troubles reading texts, I print them out and read them bit by bit, highlight the parts that can be important for my situation. I have 2 files full of interesting highlighted articles :-)

Posted 8/12/2013 2:33 PM (GMT -5)
I may have had it for 30 years. I was very ill in my late 20s. MDs told me I just needed to get a life or that it was all in my head. A neighbor had introduced me to homeopathy, so I took a couple of classes to learn about it and ended up going to the homeopath who taught them. He told me I was so ill I had no place to go but up. He's a classical homeopath and I improved to the point where I felt better than I ever had and I think that's why I'm not doing as bad as many are now. My symptoms sure matched Lyme, but I'll never know for sure. I'm thinking of contacting him again to work on my daughter and I. He lives in a different state now, but we can work through skype or by phone. I haven't come across anyone who has done a classical homeopathic treatment, so if I do it and have good success again, I'll post about it if it will help someone else.
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