New to the Group

[Guest guest]

Good Morning All,

I am new the group and already feel at home. I am not sure exactly

how long I have had lyme, but know it goes back to at least 2000.

It may go back further, but I can't remember from on day to the next

(pun intended). I remember having a " bullseye " rash in 2000, but

dismissed it as a mosquito bite and forgot about it until this

year. Since that time I have made many trips to the Doctor for more

things than you can think of: back pain, knee pain, neck pain,

shoulder pain, gout in my left big toe, knumb toes/feet that are

hypersensitive to touch and temperature, muscle

twithing/convulsions, tmj, trouble swallowing, headaches, weekness,

chronic fatigue, memory loss, brain fog; the list goes on. The 2000

infection may have been the second time I was infected. I can

remember many of these symptoms going back to the 90s or maybe even

the 80s, but like I said my memory is very bad.

My current journey started in January of 2003 when my back out for

no apparent reason and was in to much pain that I couldn't walk. I

was also suffering from all of the other classic symptoms. At this

point I went on short term disability and was out of work for about

6 months. When my back did not respond to treatment, my Dr. started

looking into other possiblilities and ordered blood tests.

Everything came back negative for lyme. My Dr. is very lyme

literate and diagnosed me with lyme despite the negative blood test.

We needed the positive test to appease the insurance company so they

would approve the IV anti-biotics. Finally a blood test came back

with positive bands that the CDC uses for a positive. I made an

appointment with an ID doctor and was started on IV rocephin that

day. After 6 weeks of IV treatment, I started feeling better and

went back to work. I was still having some symptoms, so my ID Dr.

wanted me to continue the IV Rocephin, but the Insurance company

denied it. Within a week or two, I was starting to get sick again

and over labor day weekend things got worse than ever. By Sept 1st,

I was so weak, I could not move. To make a long story short, I

spent the next week in the hospital and have been on IV Rocephin,

Flagyl and Zithromax ever since. I am also out of work again,

indefinately. The insurance company I was with approved another 6

weeks of IV theropy. We found out in the beginning of October that

my employer on a leave of abscence with no pay or no benefits, so my

health insurance was cancelled. My insurance cancellation has

turned out to be a good thing, because my wife started insurance

with her employer, who has to clause for pre-existing conditions. I

am starting another 6 weeks with no lapse in treatment.

I am starting to respond to the rocephin and stringing together

longer periods of " feeling better " I am not sure how long I will be

on the rocephin, but my PC Dr. who has lyme disease and is very

literate, is talking six months plus. Hopefully that will get rid

of it, but I know that once it gets in your system for a long period

of time it is harder to get rid of.

Thanks for letting me babble. I tend to do alot of that these days.

Bill