[QUOTE=bella98105;3144455]How long have you been suffering w/ lyme? How long were you on antibiotics? Do you feel as if you're "cured"? I've just begun learning about this disease. My in-laws have been suffering for years but only just began treatment last November...any advice can help.

Sick since May 2004. Had the usual 3 weeks of Doxycycline 200mg twice and it didn't work. Took until October 06 til I found a doc who could treat me...

My doc thinks I am cured, but we have to wait and see, now that we've discontinued abx therapy (was Cefzil, with Tindamax later on)...was on abx for 7 months.

Have you read Burrascano's treatment guidelines yet? Go to the Lyme Disease Association and read up...

I truly think she got it from bodily fluids, but it's going to be impossible to prove. Unless you can take one infected person and their uninfected partner, and seal them in a plastic bubble for several months, there's always going to be someone saying that they might have been bitten by another tick...and I don't see anyone being willing to sign up for a study where they try to go and give you Lymes from your infected partner.

3love, goo gle the CD-57 test; in short it's a test to check your body's levels of a certain white blood cell that only appears to be affected by Lymes...

Bella, it's been found in all body fluids. No one has been able to or is willing to be a guinea pig to see if you can catch it that way, but it's likely. Probably both sexually and orally transmissible.

[QUOTE=3love;3205388]Bill, that's good to hear! I'm sorry don't remember....why did Doc suspect that she might be infected....sorry for having to repeat yourself if you answered this already.

Stay well,
J

We had her Lyme tested (at Igenex) because we wanted to start a family and needed to know if she was exposed or not. I'd been on both Cefzil and Tindamax for 4 months prior to trying to get her pregnant, so we hope the spirochetes were suppressed and didn't infect her. There's no way to say for sure if she was infected before or after this, but she did have longer-term antibodies as well as shorter term ones.

Update:

Over 2 months now, no abx, no recurrence of Lyme symptoms...still have the gastrointestinal issue to deal with. Had an Endoscope a few days ago, looks normal, but awaiting biopsies to confirm all ok. My be just residual inflammation and not Lymes.

BUT, my wife got bit by a dang deer tick. However, it was only attached less than 2 hours, and the LLMD thinks she's at a very low risk of infection. To be safe, we put her on some Cefzil immediately after discovering it...cross our fingers there aren't any co-infections.

We just can't seem to get a break it seems.

[QUOTE=ticker;3254377]Hi Bill. I am glad your Lyme symptoms are still gone.

I am sorry your wife was bitten. Was the tick reomoved properly? Personally I do not think tick attachment time is relevant. The tick that bit me was attached for three hours at the most and it transmitted five diseases.

Yes, I used a tick removal tool I had (in my camping gear), so it wasn't squeezed or anything. I have heard tons of conflicting opinions on tick attachment time. The doc thinks it is possible, but very low probability. But he's still inclined to presumptively treat in this case. :)

Yes, it's still possible to transmit Lymes or co-infections. We'll have to see. The Cefzil ought to take care of any Lymes before it gets established. The doc was talking about 6 weeks of Cefzil. We are still trying to get my wife pregnant, so if she does become pregnant, the Cefzil will be the main line of attack for the moment. If she doesn't (we'll know mid-next week), she's going on Levaquin and Minocycline (dropping the Cefzil and postponing the pregnancy attempts for a month or two) to hit the Lymes harder, and try to head off any potential Bartonella. (the doc is starting to test all new patients for Bartonella - especially the ones with Psoriasis, as my wife does have it).

The doc had an interesting comment in that he's been seeing some research that seems to point to several inflammatory diseases as being bacterial caused, even though the tests aren't too helpful at this point in determining which bacteria. He's really interested in a new Bartonella test he's using, and is looking to see if any of his patients with psoriasis have Bartonella.

Quick update:

3 months off abx, no recurrence of symptoms. Doc thinks my tingling skin is a case of over-active fungal infection (I have a medium case of sebhoreaic dermatitis - dandruf). He changed my supplements all around, and we'll carry on. Followup visit in 3 months.


Still have to see an allergist about these rashes I get; had a food allergy to soy and dairy because of leaky gut acquired from the Lymes in my gut.

Wife finished a course of Cefzil for the tick bite, no rashes, no symptoms. Negative Bartonella test.

She's 7 weeks pregnant, and things are looking well so far...