I've got lyme disease

NutroLori - look up candida. In those with other serious health issues it can become a problem. Sugar and carby food feeds it.

LDG - I have no faith in doctors guessing anything. I've been done wrong so many times. I've lost track of how many times I've brought up my GI issues with multiple doctors. They just guessed I was eating bad foods or just had IBS. I have physical damage that will never heal. I asked for more testing years ago, but docs guessed I had nothing autoimmune because they only recognize common stuff. You want to know a fun bit of info? Liver tests always showed low level damage going on and issues with proteins.

IMO, for your own records you should have a cbc done, esr, ana, and c-reactive protein checked. I think the latter three are $30 - 40 tests, but it's been a while since I had them done. Other choices are for you to have an independent lab process some test for you. Most people that do this don't have insurance or doctors that will order the tests. Some of the labs offer discounts of 15-20% because of this. You still have to get someone to draw it, though.
Due to your age, D3 needs to be checked as well. When it's low all sorts of things mess up in the body and can mimic other illnesses. B vitamin deficiencies do weird things, too.

If you don't get better after that round of doxy, do more investigation. If you want the name of the lab and discount, let me know and I'll try to track it back down.

strange_wings;3036373]NutroLori - look up candida. In those with other serious health issues it can become a problem. Sugar and carby food feeds it.

Thank you strange_wings, we are calling her doctor on Monday. If this is it, which it sounds like it may be, that would be great to finally see her eat like everyone else!

I don't know anyone who had Lyme or has it. Which is strange because we, too, are very, very rural. It's in our county and there are people whose jobs deal with Lyme and West Nile.

I hope your doctor can get to the bottom of it and you start to feel better soon. Lots of for a quick and successful recovery.

I'm dismayed that your doctor would automatically assume you have Lyme Disease based on her personal experience, and start treating you without having done testing and finding out for sure if that is in fact what you have.

The symptoms of Lyme Disease are many, and somewhat vague, and can mimic a whole host of other serious problems. So there should be testing done to determine if that is in fact what you have.

http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html

Also, giving someone an antibiotic that they don't need, is how bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics. Once we run out of antibiotics to use on bacteria, we'll be seeing a resurgence of plague-like diseases that kill millions because we will have no way of fighting off the bacteria.

Laurie, Hope you are feeling a bit better today. I do know that Lyme disease gets totally overlooked and misdiagnosed in people all the time. It sounds like your doctor is taking all the necessary precautions for you care and you are in good hands. The fact that you have a tick problem in your area, it is highly likely you have Lyme and are treating correctly with the doxy. I just found out, by talking with my sister, that her best friend had it last year and was soooooooooo much better at about two weeks into the meds. I am hoping for this for you and that you feel strong enough to open those jars soon. A sit-com might be in order here You, Gary and all of your special needs kitties Sending lots of healing wishes your way today and everyday and lots of

Hi Laurie. I'm sorry to hear this. You'll be in my thoughts. I know (but not well) a family of 4 where 3 have Lyme! New Jersey too. By the time I first met them, they had already declared victory over Lyme because their worst years (of battling it) were behind them.

I'm sorry I am just seeing this! I don't know much about the disease but I hope you recover soon!

Originally Posted by NutroLori

Thank you strange_wings, we are calling her doctor on Monday. If this is it, which it sounds like it may be, that would be great to finally see her eat like everyone else!

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Just know that it can be chronic, too, and not all docs are that knowledgeable about it. Sometimes alternative med docs are more helpful for it.
What can happen from candida is leaky gut syndrome - that's bad and can make a person very sick.

Did you (or anyone else reading) know that the common yeast ear infection in dogs and cats is candida? It likes the gut more, so can be a problem there, too. It's also more likely if the animal has another chronic health issue. Address overall health to treat chronic.ear infections.


My worry re the lyme diagnosis is that this is a flare up of something else. LDG will have it settle down, think she's better and then one day we'll get the news she's in the hospital. But then I'm a person who probably worries too much.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I'm dismayed that your doctor would automatically assume you have Lyme Disease based on her personal experience, and start treating you without having done testing and finding out for sure if that is in fact what you have.

The symptoms of Lyme Disease are many, and somewhat vague, and can mimic a whole host of other serious problems. So there should be testing done to determine if that is in fact what you have.

http://www.canlyme.com/patsymptoms.html

Also, giving someone an antibiotic that they don't need, is how bacteria are becoming immune to antibiotics. Once we run out of antibiotics to use on bacteria, we'll be seeing a resurgence of plague-like diseases that kill millions because we will have no way of fighting off the bacteria.

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Linda, I do hope I'm not contributing to another drug-resistant bacteria, but I think maybe you didn't read the whole thread? Did you see this post? http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...2&postcount=37

She's not treating me based on her personal experience. She's treating me based on her professional conclusion that based on my host of symptoms, it's the most likely culprit, saving me a lot of money. If the doxy doesn't work, then we start working to figure out what it is. But it's quite common here, and I am a very likely target, especially given my work with feral cats and the large wildlife and deer population in our yard daily.

And in the link you posted, it quite clearly says:

The classic rash may only occur or have been seen in as few as 30% of cases (many rashes in body hair and indiscreet areas go undetected). Treatment in this early stage is critical.

If left untreated or treated insufficiently symptoms may creep into ones life over weeks, months or even years. They wax and wane and may even go into remission only to come out at a later date...even years later.

With symptoms present, a negative lab result means very little as they are very unreliable. Read here. The diagnosis, with today's limitations in the lab, must be clinical.

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(Bold is not my emphasis).

It seems to me, based on the information you provided, that given the prevalence of the disease in our area and the high likelihood of my exposure to it, that if based on her analysis of my clinical symptoms I should be treated for the disease, that is the prudent thing to do, given how nasty a disease it is if untreated or not properly treated when it's still in its early stages.

Laurie, I am just reading this tonight as I have been internet free for four days. I am so sorry to hear of your newly discovered problem and can only wish you well and a quick recovery.

Hi Laurie - hope you are feeling better. I was on doxy for years and it was not harsh on me. So hope it is gentle on you too. I was talking to DH about diagnosis that need to be clinical since I have issues that are not easy to diagnose. And I brought up the lyme disease issue and it seems that your doc followed what is often pretty mainstream. Hope doxy will take care of it. You taking probiotics too? I never had issues with doxy without probiotics but other antibiotics bother me more.
your way.

Originally Posted by Calvin&I

Hi Laurie - hope you are feeling better. I was on doxy for years and it was not harsh on me. So hope it is gentle on you too. I was talking to DH about diagnosis that need to be clinical since I have issues that are not easy to diagnose. And I brought up the lyme disease issue and it seems that your doc followed what is often pretty mainstream. Hope doxy will take care of it. You taking probiotics too? I never had issues with doxy without probiotics but other antibiotics bother me more.
your way.

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Well that is reassuring to hear.

I don't seem to be having a problem with the doxy... though honestly, I rarely need antibiotics, and I've never had a GI problem with any of them. Of course, if I do, we're all stocked up on a wonderful acidophilus/bifidus probiotic from the health food store that we give Chum 2x a day. In fact, I've been taking it on an empty stomach, and it's not bothering me at all (so far, knock wood).

I don't see any difference yet .... but this is day two. At least Gary doesn't mind opening jars and bottles for me.

A couple of years ago my grand daughter appeared with a bulls eye rash on her arm.

We thought for sure it was Lymes...even took pictures of it. Turns out it was a spider bite.

Continuing prayers for you to feel better and come out the other end of this allright.

that your treatment works!

More to you. And just some to cheer you up!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

NutroLori - look up candida. In those with other serious health issues it can become a problem. Sugar and carby food feeds it. <snip>

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Apparently Candida is a common companion of Lyme Disease: Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease There's an entire section on Candida.

And strange_wings, thanks re: the lab stuff. When I follow up with my doc, I will contact you if she doesn't have a low-cost option for the CBC & stuff.

And just by way of an FYI, IGenex is the lab considered to have the highest sensitivity testing for Lyme disease, and even they say that Lyme Disease is a clinical diagnosis, and testing for lyme itself isn't always accurate (even with the PCR):

Lyme Disease is very complicated to diagnose because:

* Lyme bacteria are not always detectable in the whole blood, even in active disease. The bacteria like to hide.
* Every patient responds differently to an infection.
* Antibodies may only be present for a short time.

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http://igenex.com/Website/# edited to add: the link only goes to the main page of the website. The information re: testing is under "What you should know about lyme disease" heading.

Candida is common with all sorts of chronic diseases. It's the stress on the immune system making it unable to keep the candida is check that's causes the overgrowth. I'm even at a risk for it - more so since it loves a compromised GI.


The thing about Lyme's is that it's typically a diagnosis makes by elimination. You have several things to rule out first, like Lupus and MS - two common diseases that it can mimic. (and two serious ones that you do not want left untreated)
When most people get told it's Lyme's, and especially chronic lyme's, it's after they've exhausted all other options and tried better tests for it.

Originally Posted by LDG

Apparently Candida is a common companion of Lyme Disease: Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease There's an entire section on Candida.
.

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Laurie. Just take all the precautions. I got Candida for the 1st time last year while on antibiotics and while on a research trip to Ottawa. Needless to say, it was no fun. I've never had it on doxy but with the association with lyme disease, just fortify yourself as best as you can.