I am from Austin, Texas. I used to wash my dog as a teenager and was exposed to ticks all of the time. Never had the bullseye rash. I'm now 33, married and a mom of two kids ages 7 and 4. My symptoms before this summer were tiredness, dizziness, chest pain, burning sensations, arthritic-like feeling in my right hand which started last year. I've been to the ER for chest pain and they've found nothing. I've gone to doctors and they say I'm fine. Doctors here don't believe me. Well, this past June I got treated for H. pylori and felt great for the first time in a long time. But then in July, I got a hemorraghic UTI, then took a couple of antibiotics for two other UTI's which made me have reactions which I attributed to being "floxed." I started realizing after a couple of months that I wasn't like the other floxed people. I had bone pain, and I felt like my brain creaked, my neck creaked. Well, you get the point. So finally I asked my doctor to test me for Lyme. She didn't want to and said, "We can't test you for every possible organism, but nonetheless agreed. Anyway, I came out equivocal for the lyme antibody test. This doc immediately sent me straight to the rheumatologist and refused to do further testing. So I sought an alternative doctor who tested me w/western blot but not Igenix as I now know is the gold standard. I came out negative with an IgM band of 23. but I needed two bands to be positive. So now I went back to the alternative doctor and he said okay I can sign in on another western blot using Igenex but you'd probably have to pay. Which is fine by me! I'm waiting for the packet from Igenex sp? In Texas, it's very hard to get long-term treatment from what I understand so I'll probably have to go out of state which is where you all come in. I need the name of a good doctor willing to diagnose me. I'm willing to go anywhere but I need the name of a LLMD who also uses chinese medicine. Please e-mail me. Thank you all for listening.

Also, to add to some things you may or may not know, there are 2 labs in this country who test and report all bands on the WB test. They are Igenex and Fry. Both are perfectly acceptable. I think they are comparable in price. You have to pay out of pocket for both. I've done the research, so I can tell you. It ain't cheap. I'd ask to have a co-infection panel run as well as a Lyme test, so you can be tested for it all at once, if you can afford it. It's a good idea, because if you have co-infections, you won't get better just treating for Lyme, in all likelihood. Many of them are treated with the same antibiotics, but some, as in the case of Babesia, are treated with different meds, and if you don't kill them, you will remain ill.

There are many members here using alternative therapies who have improved, so it's not unlikely that you will find someone who can help you and an LLMD who can as well. Jaime should have that info, no problem.

For the info on costs, all you need to do is look up the website for Igenex and Fry labs. You can google them, or PM me, I can give you the sites. But the cost runs approx. $900 to $1200 to have the panels for both Lyme AND co-infections. I'm not sure how much to run JUST the Lyme test. You may be re-imbursed by your insurance company once you have paid the bill, and you will receive a receipt that you can file with your insurance company after the fact, but you must pay when you send in the blood samples to be tested. They do not file insurance for you, and you can not be billed. You must pay it all up front in one payment. And I don't think they take personal checks, either! LOL

I believe there ARE some LLMD's in Texas, I believe someone mentioned it to me, and even in New Mexico, so I don't think you'll have to travel all that far to get help, Forlydia. You should be ok.

Welcome to the forum. Oh, and one last thing: I've collected a bunch of websites, about 5 or 6 of them that may help you learn more about Lyme, if you are interested. If you want them, please feel free to send me a PM, and I'll gladly share them. A bunch of people on here referred me to some of them, and some I found on my own, so I've made a list of some great resources, so if you want them, just let me know, and I'll get them to you! If you need anything else from me, an ear (or eyes! LOL), someone to talk to, more info, whatever, just let me know, I'm usually around! Just pop me a PM anytime!

*hugs*

Jen

Forlydia...

While you are waiting, be sure to get the website info. The absolute best thing that you can do right now is educate yourself. The more you learn about this disease - both the facts and the crap...the better off you will be. This is a fight that you will have to undertake, its not fun and can be difficult, but it is not impossible. Ya cant take crap from the docs that dont want to acknowledge it - and keep an ear open for the foolishness...

Talk with your alt doc or get with a nutritionist, as dietary changes can also help with getting better. Diets high in gluten and processed foods and sugars can hinder the healing process, and add to aches pains and inflammation.

Good luck

Christine

I hope you will find the help you need with your doctors. Christine and Jen gave some good information. Ask as many questions.

There's always help here...

Take care of yourself,

Pam