need some medical advice, help

I am a mess, I have autoimmune thyroiditis even though I am on a high dosage of levothyroxine 200mcg., and have been suffering from shortness of breath with any exertion at all. Of course I was having some angina pain which got me every heart test including heart cath, no blockage thank goodness. Finally they realized it might be my thyroid and did an ultrsound which revealed the autoimmune thyroiditis.

I am awaiting seeing a endocrinologist and no one will do anything to treat the autoimmune thyroiditis at all until I see one, only thing is I don't drive, the guy is two hrs. away and the nearest bus is an hour away, I live in a rural area, my few friends all left when I got sick and I have no family who can take me, so baasically I'm not going to be able to make the appointment.

After getting tick bit for the fifth time this year I realized in the last five years I have probably been bitten by a tick at least 40 times, so I looked up all of the symptoms for someone who is suffering from lymes disease over a prolonged period of time and I have many of them, in fact most of them, so I went to my GP for a test and got one and it came back negative.

So I looked up what could give a false negative and I met two of them, one is having an autoimmune problem and the other is taking anti-inflammatory drugs, every joint I have is aching so yes they have put me on anti-inflammatory meds.

I called back and informed the nurse of this, ( though the truth is I should not have had to) my you would have thought I was asking for the moon when I informed her what I had found and asked if there was another type of test or perhaps they could go ahead and start treatment since there is no way to know for sure from the test they gave since I have those two problems which would give a false negative. No reply back from the dr.yet.

I have an appointment to see a pulmonary specialist and I am thinking of asking him to treat me for the thyroid problem and maybe seeing the ortho dr. who I see for arthritis for treatment on the lymes disease.

What would you do if you were in my shoes? I've cried already it didn't help. LOL TIA.

[edit on 10-6-2008 by goose]

Did you ever develop a target rash at the bite site? I believe they only occur in half of all lyme infections, but it's a dead giveaway when they do.

Can't hurt to take a course of antibiotics to see if there's any improvement. They might to do a tetracycline like doxycycline but I personally would avoid all of this class antibiotic.

I am of the belief that most autoimmune conditions are caused by dietary factors. If you have any food sensitivities to things such as gluten over time the constant inflammation can trigger an inappropriate immune response. Recent research also suggests red meat and dairy may be be a factor in autoimmune due to a certain sialic acid. For this reason I have stopped consuming red meat (mammal meat) and dairy as I have a family history of rheumatoid arthritis.

Really hammer them on the lyme. If they won't satisfy you find another doctor who will. In the mean time analyzing and adjusting your diet could not only bring relief of symptoms if diet is a contributing factor, but good nutrition will reduce inflammation and help your body take care of itself.

A taxi may be in order, also.

You should have a huge red area where the tick bit you. It will start to scab after a few days and looks like a serious zit in the beginning.

I started to get hot and cold after about 9-10 days. Felt seriously fluish and dizzy. But you will definitely notice where you have been bitten.

I don't think it would hurt to take anti parasitic herbs from any good health food store.
Black walnut hulls are GREAT.
The bacteria in Lymes disease seem to be almost worm-like, IMO.
There are MANY parasites that a human can get, that create joint pain and swelling.
Also fatigue.
If it won't interact with any medications, I would do it.

Thanks everyone, I'm off to see the pulmonary specialist tomorrow. I am going to talk to him about the breathing problems of course, but I am also going to mention the lymes tests, to shearder and apc, thank you, I was under the impression that when they ask about a rash they meant an all over rash, but yes I have had a really bad bite and rash at the bite site least once that I can recall, it took a while to heal up, I probably got sick but ignored it and treated it like a cold.

APC what do you eat? I've already thrown out red meat and currently I am eating turkey and chicken, using ground up turkey for chilis and sauces and also buying turkey sausage. But I can't imagine doing without dairy products, I love milk and cheese and ice cream and all of that stuff, is there a replacement for it? I can't have soy due to thyroid problems.

Clearskies I will talk to my pharmacist about the black walnut hulls and see what they say and try it if it is okay.

Thank you all very much!

That does sound like an infection of some kind. Hope they can isolate it so you can get proper treatment. If it's lyme recovery can be slow but ultimately has a good chance for being complete. I did a lot of reading on lyme a while back and it's amazing how many people may be infected without even knowing it because their symptoms are so subtle, and when it finally gets bad doctors are stumped until by chance someone considers lyme.

I've increased my fish and shellfish to make up for the protein from beef. Turkey bacon instead of pork. As far as dairy, it's been soy unfortunately. There's other things like rice, almond, or hemp products. But simply reducing dairy can go a long way if eliminating it completely is too much. I rarely ate iced cream or cheese anyway so that wasn't a big deal for me. The only thing I'm still working on finding a suitable replacement for is butter. Margarines and spreads are packed full of hydrogenated oils so that's out. Dunno... I still need to do some experimenting.

Good luck with the doc.

Thanks APC, look up the benefits of olive oil, it is tasty, it does burn quicker than some of the other oils, I have not gone completely off of using margarine, but I do mix it with olive oil when cooking and it gives a good flavor and most things don't get too brown when mixing the two together, at least it cuts down on the margarine and is healthier for you.

[edit on 13-6-2008 by goose]

I only cook with extra virgin olive oil. As I type this my tummy is full of shrimp sauteed in garlic and olive oil. I just put butter on toast, pancakes, etc. I guess olive oil would work on the toast... maybe I can keep butter on my pancakes as my own little sin.

We just found out the benefits of olive oil a few years back, until then it was vegatable oil and lots of margarine.

I am waiting on the GP to get back to me about the lymes disease, I am sure I have it, but this dr. is very conservative and will not treat me for it without a positive on the test, GRRRRRRRRR

I went to the pulmonary specialist who threw a fit about my weight and ordered lots of tests on my lungs, some of them sound awful, sticking something down in my lungs, I'm thinking pain.

It really makes me angry when they tell me to exercise, knowing that the meds for thyroid problem is on the low side of normal which is making it impossible to lose weight without starvation, then I got arthritis in my knees to where it hurts just to walk, all my joints hurt and a ruptured disk in my back with nerve damage and no one is giving me any heavy duty pain meds to help with the pain. My insurance will not pay for any of the surgeries to help me lose weight. I'm just ******.

I really don't know what to do, when a dr. just refuses to treat you for lymes disease because the tests are negative even though you got two reasons that the tests could give a false negative and you clearly state you've been bitten 30-40 times in a five year time period and have all of the symptoms, though I told them no rash thinking that they meant an over body rash, I am going to call them on Monday to let them know that and hope for the best. It is very frustraing to be so sick and have to beg for help. It is antibiotoics for heavens sake, you would think they would not have such a problem giving them to me, christ I may have to move to mexico so I can buy them OTC.

Hell, when I was trying to figure out why he was vomiting so frequently the vet gave my cat a course of antibiotics "just in case it was a bug" even though he's been puking up his food since birth. Turned out it was diet... I've never seen him puke up a mouse.

If possible I would try another doctor. Maybe if you can find one in your area that others have reported good experiences with in properly diagnosing and treating lyme. If the pulmonary specialist is more understanding maybe they can refer you to someone.

You could always buy your own antibiotics from a reputable pharmacy in Canada or something and self-medicate just to see if it improves anything. High dose amoxicillin or doxycycline for a month or longer is effective on advanced lyme. I've experienced serious side effects (intracranial hypertension... not fun) from doxycycline, which is rare, but it is supposed to work better. Risk vs. benefit.

Thanks, good advice, I will call the current dr. and if she will not help me I will have to find someone else. Can you order antibiotics online from a canadian pharmacy without a prescription?

Sometimes. The real concern is theft by customs.