Reddit reviews Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease: Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease

Yes, you could still have Lyme or a related tick-borne illness.

On your Western Blot, did you test positive on any bands? If so, which ones? If your doctor is following the CDC criteria to interpret the results, it's very possible that you still could have Lyme, but not meet the full criteria required for a positive diagnosis.

If you really believe it's Lyme (or a similar infection) but your test results are negative, I would strongly encourage you to have a full panel done by a reliable lab such as IGeneX and to see an infectious disease or functional medicine doctor that specializes in Lyme and related illnesses.

To educate yourself until you see another doctor, I'd recommend beginning to read 'Why Can't I Get Better? Solving the Mystery of Lyme and Chronic Disease' http://www.amazon.com/Better-Solving-Mystery-Chronic-Disease/dp/1250019400

If you think there's something wrong, don't give up. Persist. I let my symptoms go for years before they finally diagnosed me, which is the biggest regret of my life.

Also, keep in mind that you may not have Lyme, but another type of illness, so don't get too fixated on one thing.

> Did you go untreated for a long time?

Yes. I've been sick for over 20 years. It's true that Lyme is easy to treat if treated early, but most doctors don't even know how to diagnose it. Some people treated early also have relapses because they were not on antibiotics long enough.

> Lyme disease is usually not bad.

I'm not sure that's true. Doctor Horowitz wouldn't have written a 544 page book on Lyme if it was just treat with antibiotics, end of story.

And there are a lot of people with undiagnosed chronic illnesses so regardless of whether it's Lyme (in my case it almost certainly is), the symptoms remain are very disabling. Doctors are about as effective at treating chronic illness and trans HRT. As in most don't know anything and treat you like you're crazy.

> What's your actual disability?

I'm not going to list all my symptoms. In college I was an honors student, athletic, and worked a part time job before my health forced me to drop out. I'm not being lazy if that's what you're implying.

Yes including a MARCONS test but it's complicated.

I am on a couple different lyme threads so pardon me if I repeat anything bc they are starting to blur together.

If you could start anywhere as far as understanding the complexity of everything involved with this, I HIGHLY suggest you read Dr Horowitz book, and learn about MSIDS- mold, genetic factors, heavy metals, candida etc.
it is so, so important.

Here is the link. why you can't get better

If you don't want to get the book at least read through this read here

There is a great book discussing this topic http://www.amazon.com/Better-Solving-Mystery-Chronic-Disease/dp/1250019400
(I have no connection to it ;) )

That sounds REALLY TOUGH, OP. <3<3.

It's so hard to find out how little doctors actually know about how our bodies work. In my own experience, it DOES NOT HELP to get caught up in intertnet controversies about what diagnoses are real and what treatments are legit.

If you find a naturopath that HELPS you, does it matter if your PCP thinks they are a quack? Same with treatment. If you find out that some out there treatment really improves your quality of life, does it really matter if other people think it's out there?

If you're looking for resources (and it's ok if you're not and just wanted to vent!) Then I really recommend the book Why Can't I Get Better. It's written by an MD about chronic Lyme and all of the overlapping things that cause symptoms and made it so hard for many doctors to even recognize that you are sick. It can get pretty dense/technical in places, but there are also a lot of anecdotes that will hopefully help you feel a lot less crazy.

You aren't crazy. You're just finding the limits of modern medicine a lot sooner than most people do.