Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Causes Lyme Disease?
Question: are you familliar with lyme
Brief Answer:
please post a question
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
In order to provide any information, I need a question!
please post a question
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
In order to provide any information, I need a question!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
i posted . Ire you familiar with Lyme disease
Brief Answer:
of course
Detailed Answer:
I'm an internist. Of course I'm familiar with it.
of course
Detailed Answer:
I'm an internist. Of course I'm familiar with it.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Why " of coarse " ? I'm pretty sure I have it badly
Brief Answer:
and the question is...?
Detailed Answer:
I won't be able to help you if you don't ask the actual question! If you're willing to ask then please do, otherwise please ask for a refund.
and the question is...?
Detailed Answer:
I won't be able to help you if you don't ask the actual question! If you're willing to ask then please do, otherwise please ask for a refund.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I have seen 14 doctors at great expense to be told there is no such thing as Lyme disease here and they know nothing about it , this is why I ask in you are familiar to save both our time . I have paid for a blood test in Germany and it has come back positive . Blot igg p41 positive
Blot igm ospc positive
Blot igm ospc Bg positive
Blot igm ospc ba borderline
Blot igm p41 positive
Wat do I do
Have you received my message ?
Blot igm ospc positive
Blot igm ospc Bg positive
Blot igm ospc ba borderline
Blot igm p41 positive
Wat do I do
Have you received my message ?
Brief Answer:
I'll present the diagnostic criteria
Detailed Answer:
I did receive your message. I'm at work answering using my smartphone right now. I've reviewed the US diagnostic criteria regarding blot tests. In Europe there are no such criteria with sufficient sensitivity and specificity.
In order to diagnose Lyme's disease you at least two of the following to be positive: IgM 23, 39, 41 (but not the combination of 23 and 41). For IgG 5 out of 10 are needed: 18, 23, 28, 30, 39, 41, 45, 48, 66 and 93. In the normal (not diseased) population almost 50% may be positive for IgG 41 so it's positivity cannot be considered diagnostic.
I don't know if you've consulted an infectious disease specialist among the 14 doctors you've visited. An infectious disease specialist would be more capable than me, so I guess that's what you meant in your first question. Of course I can answer questions about Lyme disease...
I doubt though that 14 colleagues could be wrong.
Anyway, if you'd like to continue this discussion, I would consider very helpful a more detailed presentation of your situation, including your symptoms (the timeline) and all the test reports.
I hope you find my comments helpful.
Kind regards!
I'll present the diagnostic criteria
Detailed Answer:
I did receive your message. I'm at work answering using my smartphone right now. I've reviewed the US diagnostic criteria regarding blot tests. In Europe there are no such criteria with sufficient sensitivity and specificity.
In order to diagnose Lyme's disease you at least two of the following to be positive: IgM 23, 39, 41 (but not the combination of 23 and 41). For IgG 5 out of 10 are needed: 18, 23, 28, 30, 39, 41, 45, 48, 66 and 93. In the normal (not diseased) population almost 50% may be positive for IgG 41 so it's positivity cannot be considered diagnostic.
I don't know if you've consulted an infectious disease specialist among the 14 doctors you've visited. An infectious disease specialist would be more capable than me, so I guess that's what you meant in your first question. Of course I can answer questions about Lyme disease...
I doubt though that 14 colleagues could be wrong.
Anyway, if you'd like to continue this discussion, I would consider very helpful a more detailed presentation of your situation, including your symptoms (the timeline) and all the test reports.
I hope you find my comments helpful.
Kind regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
as you can probably tell i am anxious to find help .i live in australia infectious diseases states that lyme disease does not exist in australia .for the last five years i have been told i have a psyciciaric disorder ,depression anxiety, i have been on all major anti depressants ,30 rounds of ect most antipsycotics ,you name it.yes i was depressed because of the intense anxiety an severe cognitive decline now i can barely walk or breathe at times and have only found relief in Oxycontin so i can work pain is getting worse .Your collegues here never considered lyme or lyme like disease. this is probably fair as "it dosent exist here" .granted i did Dr google and i found i have most symptoms .this led me to infectolab in germany and their serum diagnosis suggested Lyme.this is not recognized here in australia. i have no idea what to do next ,sure the internet has many varied suggestion but i fell i need some medical advice from a doctor that is informed on this disease. i dont mean to sound clinical about your colleagues but bi am frustrated and feeling worse day by day with no idea what to do . my gp wants to treat me for fibromyalgia but what if it is lyme ,Thankyou for your time
regards XXXXXXX
regards XXXXXXX
Brief Answer:
let me help you
Detailed Answer:
I understand your frustration and concerns. I'm afraid "Dr Google" is not a good doctor though! Doctors need a lot of knowledge, practice and experience to achieve a good performance. Nobody can just google something and find the answer just like that.
Your tests do not necessarily indicate Lyme disease. I've mentioned some criteria regarding the Western Blot test. Since you're from Australia perhaps you should also take a look at: http://www.lymedisease.org.au
Alternatively you could try to use my help, by providing more data. Your clinical details (your symptoms and how they evolved over time), the test reports you've got so far and anything else you may consider relevant.
If all else fails, you could try (after first consulting your doctor) antibiotic treatment like if you had Lyme disease.
Kind Regards!
let me help you
Detailed Answer:
I understand your frustration and concerns. I'm afraid "Dr Google" is not a good doctor though! Doctors need a lot of knowledge, practice and experience to achieve a good performance. Nobody can just google something and find the answer just like that.
Your tests do not necessarily indicate Lyme disease. I've mentioned some criteria regarding the Western Blot test. Since you're from Australia perhaps you should also take a look at: http://www.lymedisease.org.au
Alternatively you could try to use my help, by providing more data. Your clinical details (your symptoms and how they evolved over time), the test reports you've got so far and anything else you may consider relevant.
If all else fails, you could try (after first consulting your doctor) antibiotic treatment like if you had Lyme disease.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
thankyou fo ryour reply.
as brief as possible
2011 sudden anxiety and confusion poor memory
saw doctor .diagnosis depression anxiety
mirtazapine prescribed .4 weeks later no improvement now with chronic insomnia
heart rate consistant 140 to 160 bpm
given valium no change
given aropax. 6 weeks no change ,insomnia heart rate still bad
sen to hospital given nortriptaline lithium zyprexa and benzos
no impovement and at this point 1 whole week no sleep starting to get a bit concerened.
added 2 mg ativan 4 times a day feeling nausea aswell now
about 3-4 months in now added lamotrogine
more lithium
now ect .10 rounds uniateral .no change but the sleep from general anesthetic and mirdazalam well recieved , this is not bullshit.
sent home to parents for care given 1600 mg seroqel for sleep.suprisingly there was no psycosis,managed to sleep 2 -4 hours per night now
little improvement but now suicidal
about 10 months in now various med changes valdoxan,zoloft cymbalta pristiqe
varied antipsycotics for sleep and anxiety heart rate stil over 120 average
more ect not sure why i agreed but at this point i didnt care. More hospital,a four month stretch lots of usless therapy and more med changes. more atvan lyrica for sleep .on and on.prescribe me a bullet.
now 2014 leave hospital little to no change and told i have add .they give me RITALIN. desperate i stop taking everything slowly at home ,decided i couldnt get much worse .head clears a little and with persistance and will go back to working but still no real inprove ment from day 1.
then my eyes are increasingly blurry and have double vision
chest starts being tight and breathing is hard .exept for heart rate now around 90-100 my heart is fine.pain slowly starts in shoulders thnen back of legs,
a few weeks later my hips, feet .fingers,back become increasingly painfull . knees joints are excruciating . Given Oxycontin which helps.see another doc neurologist and have first mri and spect scan to rule out MS .spect scan shows poor frontal lobe function and told i have posibly early dementia Alzheimer,but this does not match my clinicle presentation, .now march 2015 i am still working but the joint pain is hell now all along my spine with muscle spasms. Also getting sudden shooting pains in legs feet arms .These are brief but intensly painful and random. So this is fibromialga then? Talk to physiotherapist and she mentioned Lyme,which i had never heard of so i checked it out and it sort of made good sense . doctors told me it is not in australia so i cant have it .got tested by infectolab in germany which i will attatch.no doctor understands it here so not sure. Iguess ths may be out of your scope possibly but im looking wherever i can
ive had many many blood work ups ant according to my blood im in good shape.
i know its long but its a brief history. Truly not afraid of death at this point but the pain is my biggest problem .Not sure how to add borrelia test results yet.
will understand if you cant help
regards
as brief as possible
2011 sudden anxiety and confusion poor memory
saw doctor .diagnosis depression anxiety
mirtazapine prescribed .4 weeks later no improvement now with chronic insomnia
heart rate consistant 140 to 160 bpm
given valium no change
given aropax. 6 weeks no change ,insomnia heart rate still bad
sen to hospital given nortriptaline lithium zyprexa and benzos
no impovement and at this point 1 whole week no sleep starting to get a bit concerened.
added 2 mg ativan 4 times a day feeling nausea aswell now
about 3-4 months in now added lamotrogine
more lithium
now ect .10 rounds uniateral .no change but the sleep from general anesthetic and mirdazalam well recieved , this is not bullshit.
sent home to parents for care given 1600 mg seroqel for sleep.suprisingly there was no psycosis,managed to sleep 2 -4 hours per night now
little improvement but now suicidal
about 10 months in now various med changes valdoxan,zoloft cymbalta pristiqe
varied antipsycotics for sleep and anxiety heart rate stil over 120 average
more ect not sure why i agreed but at this point i didnt care. More hospital,a four month stretch lots of usless therapy and more med changes. more atvan lyrica for sleep .on and on.prescribe me a bullet.
now 2014 leave hospital little to no change and told i have add .they give me RITALIN. desperate i stop taking everything slowly at home ,decided i couldnt get much worse .head clears a little and with persistance and will go back to working but still no real inprove ment from day 1.
then my eyes are increasingly blurry and have double vision
chest starts being tight and breathing is hard .exept for heart rate now around 90-100 my heart is fine.pain slowly starts in shoulders thnen back of legs,
a few weeks later my hips, feet .fingers,back become increasingly painfull . knees joints are excruciating . Given Oxycontin which helps.see another doc neurologist and have first mri and spect scan to rule out MS .spect scan shows poor frontal lobe function and told i have posibly early dementia Alzheimer,but this does not match my clinicle presentation, .now march 2015 i am still working but the joint pain is hell now all along my spine with muscle spasms. Also getting sudden shooting pains in legs feet arms .These are brief but intensly painful and random. So this is fibromialga then? Talk to physiotherapist and she mentioned Lyme,which i had never heard of so i checked it out and it sort of made good sense . doctors told me it is not in australia so i cant have it .got tested by infectolab in germany which i will attatch.no doctor understands it here so not sure. Iguess ths may be out of your scope possibly but im looking wherever i can
ive had many many blood work ups ant according to my blood im in good shape.
i know its long but its a brief history. Truly not afraid of death at this point but the pain is my biggest problem .Not sure how to add borrelia test results yet.
will understand if you cant help
regards
Brief Answer:
Doesn't seem like Lyme to me...
Detailed Answer:
Although I couldn't completely rule out Lyme disease, it doesn't seem very likely to me, based on your test reports and description of the symptoms. Regarding the heart related symptoms: an electrocardiogram should have shown deviation from the normal pattern and sometimes the CPK in the blood may rise. Regarding the joints: joint effusion could be the presenting symptom for the joint involvement although it may present with arthralgias alone.
The test reports are not conclusive but they are not indicative of Lyme disease despite the positive results for the reasons that I have presented in my first answer.
Since you don't seem to find relief with current symptomatic treatment, why don't you ask your doctor to provide empirical treatment with antibiotics? If it works you would have solved the problem. If it doesn't work then you could become more committed to other treatment options that you doubt they'll work at this time.
I really hope you find a working solution to your problem.
I'll be glad to help, if you need anything more.
Best wishes!
Doesn't seem like Lyme to me...
Detailed Answer:
Although I couldn't completely rule out Lyme disease, it doesn't seem very likely to me, based on your test reports and description of the symptoms. Regarding the heart related symptoms: an electrocardiogram should have shown deviation from the normal pattern and sometimes the CPK in the blood may rise. Regarding the joints: joint effusion could be the presenting symptom for the joint involvement although it may present with arthralgias alone.
The test reports are not conclusive but they are not indicative of Lyme disease despite the positive results for the reasons that I have presented in my first answer.
Since you don't seem to find relief with current symptomatic treatment, why don't you ask your doctor to provide empirical treatment with antibiotics? If it works you would have solved the problem. If it doesn't work then you could become more committed to other treatment options that you doubt they'll work at this time.
I really hope you find a working solution to your problem.
I'll be glad to help, if you need anything more.
Best wishes!
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
