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just diagnosed via blood work.

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Lyme Disease
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Posted 12/30/2017 4:06 PM (GMT -5)
so I am 48 year old flight attendant. One month ago I was working. flight to Hawaii and felt a little discomfort in my eye and on top of my head. when we landed my eye was having difficulty blinking in time with the other. I thought I was dehydrated. drank some water went to bed...woke completely paralyzed on left side of face. Went to emergency clinic in Hawaii and they diagnosed bells palsy. told me it should go away with steroids. fast forward a few weeks later and it is not getting better. I insist on blood work. and lymes testing. wait a week. get tests back and they apparently forgot to test for Lymes. I go back the next day and they test me. yesterday I get a call from the state health department that I meet the cdc standard for Lymes disease to go and see my Doctor. who has told me nothing at this stage. I got to Doctor. he says he doesn't know what to do...never treated Lymes and says I should follow up with someone who does. Ive made some calls but everybody closed for weekend and holidays. I tested positive for IGM p23 ab. and Igm p41 AB. igg p45 and igg p30. apart from the bells palsy...which has not improved in 4 weeks I have no symptoms. no fatigue or joint pain.... I'm very very scared. does this indicate an old infection or new. I can't figure where I would have been bitten recently?
Posted 12/30/2017 4:49 PM (GMT -5)
Hi dobbymom - welcome!

I'm sorry you have lyme disease, but am glad you found us here.

Yes, your test results are showing positive for LD.

It does sound like a new infection, since your symptoms started only a few weeks ago.
The next step is to find a Lyme Literate Dr. to treat you.

We can help with that. Just start a new thread titled: "Looking for LLMD in/near_____" and fill in the blank with the city you live in.

LLMD = Lyme Literate Medical Doctor.

Then when you call the LLMD office, explain it's a recent infection...and if they don't have an appt available in the next couple weeks...see if you can be put on a waitlist for a cancellation.
Timing is key. The sooner you treat at this stage, the better your chances are of it not becoming a chronic infection.

In the meantime, you should find a Dr. or go to Urgent care and try to get a few weeks of abx.
Doxycycline 200 mg twice daily.
Then see if you can get another prescription from a second Dr. for the same.

Do what you can to start treating immediately...and have it carry you until the LLMD appt.

Many of us did not see a tick on us...or a bite mark...or bulls-eye rash.
Posted 12/30/2017 4:53 PM (GMT -5)
Here are the Lyme Disease Treatment Guidelines. (ILADS Guidelines have a link to these treatment guidelines)


www.lymenet.org/BurrGuide200810.pdf

Scroll down to page 18 and 19 - there will be the dosages of abx required...and also how long to treat.

You can even bring these to the Dr. to show what dosage is necessary, and that only a few days or a week is
not long enough.

You need to treat until symptom free plus several more weeks.
Posted 12/31/2017 2:48 AM (GMT -5)
Before lyme was known, I had Bells palsy twice in the 1960's and when i went to the docs that long time ago, they said to do just nothing and in a week or up to a month, the bells palsy will go away by itself and twice it did just that. Now I know what it was. Different lyme symptoms almost killed me twice. They were recurring fever that reached 106F or even more. The other was a heart arythmia now described in lyme text book and i had no clue what was going on. I could have been dead both those times but that initial bells palsy did go away those two times and i never thought much about that until way later. I never knew if or when i had been bitten and i do not recall that bulls eye rash till i was 63 years old. A tick bit me then but the docs said not to worry since there is no lyme in Canada. I was stupid to believe that. You will survive the bells palsy, you will survive whatever else those lyme bugs dream up for you. You are strong and its good you have a person like Girlie telling you what to do. She is way better than me at that. We are all on your side. I wish you the best in fighting this scourge. xfmlg
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