corina Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 hey guys,as there is so much going on about lyme lately, i started thinking if i should find out more about this. so i invited my doctor (he always visits me at home when i ask him) and we talked about it. although i think it will be negative (and my doc explained me that negative doesn't mean that you don't have lyme) he wants to try this. i told him that i just want to be sure because i have so much trouble accepting that this will be my life for as long as i live. i can deal with it (well, i have to ) but i want to make sure that i've tried everything that can be done. he immediately understood and ordered bloodwork for this coming thursday. i so like his attitude: he is always thinking with me and he knows how much i love life and want to get the very best out of it. also i will be trying methylfenidat (ritalin), that is my doc wants to find out first if it fits with the rest of my meds, to try get my concentration better and to stop me from falling asleep during the day. i really hope that will work. i've been trying it some years ago but it gave such a terrible headache that i finally decided to stop. maybe i will tolerate it now.just thought i'd let you know, corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldicedance Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 Corina, It sounds like you have a gem of a doctor. Good luck on trying Ritalin. It helps me.Hope the Lyme possibility results in a lessening of your symptoms.Lois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariella Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 hey Corina!if your doctor knows that a negative lyme test doesn't rule out lyme, he's more educated than most. Any idea which test he ordered? The ELISA is known to be highly innacurate, especially for chronic lyme dx. Western blot is considered much more accurate.good luck with testing, and also with the ritalin. Why does your doctor think that ritalin will help your concentration? best wishes!Ariella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger Posted August 21, 2006 Report Share Posted August 21, 2006 Be careful with your lyme treatment. I was clinically diagnosed with a seronegative test and did 4 months of antibiotics. They did not help me at all, wish I would have never taken the antibiotics since I feel they damaged my ANS even more. But hey, if your test comes out positive go for the treatment!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted August 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2006 sara, i only will be treated with antibiotics when they find lyme antibodies. if not, i will forget the "lyme path". it's just to be sure. but thanks for warning, i appreciate that !ariella, the ritalin is meant to prevent me from falling asleep during the day. when i was on it last time (a few years ago) i noticed that i felt sharper and more concentrated. as i very much want to try to drive again (short distances), i need to be sharper. corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 corina-I agree with you--rule everything out! I wish there were an accurate test for this, b/c my only fear is that there is an over-diagnosis of Lyme. I am not trying to start a debate on this, however. Does lyme exist in Europe? Have you been to the U.S. where you might have been exposed, if not?I hope you get some definitive answers.Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamyla Posted August 23, 2006 Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 Hi Corina, Glad to hear your doctor seems to have some knowledge of lyme - that's tough to find! Something else you might want to consider is to also test for co-infections. A lot of people who have been bitten by a tick end up with other things besides lyme (Bartonella, Babesia, Erlichia, etc.) In my case I had babesia as well and my immune system seemed to ignore the lyme in favor of the babesia. Once I got the babesia under control that's when my positive lyme test showed up, but I wasted years as no doctor ever tested me for the co-infections until recently.And yes, lyme does exist in Europe but I believe there are different strains of it than we find in the US.As for the prevalence of lyme, I personally believe it is very underreported in the US. Lyme is a confusing and difficult diagnosis to get and my best advice is to educate yourself as much as possible.I hope you find some answers! Keep us posted on how your test turns out.Take care,Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted August 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2006 pam, thanks for letting me know. i didn?t think of co-infections! i will discuss this with my gem uhhh my doc i mean katherine, yes like pam said there is lyme in europe and especially this year is a very bad tick year. there are several countries in europe where they've warned for ticks and lyme. when we were in denmark (about 10 years ago i think) we hired a house in the country site(near the sea) and television warned for ticks spreading lyme. a few days later our son Justin (almost 3 by then) got a tick and we hurried to find a doc. once we arrived to get rid of it the tick had gone by itself. i never forget that. i always warned my children to watch out while playing outside (not playing in bushes). Justin didn't get sick with lyme (at least not noticable) so i hope things will work out fine.corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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