Question 1

what are the common symptoms of lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

See below: Red, expanding rash called erythema migrans (EM)
Fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes.Bell's Palsy or facial paralysis, neck stiffness,  Heart palpitations and dizziness, Late stage Lyme has  bouts of arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling

Question 2

what can be done to treat lyme disease that has gone undiagnosed for several years?

Accepted Answer

Antibiotic: Treatment is based on the stage of disease and tve severity.  If Lyme disease is confirmed ( do not rely on a blood test alone) the treatment is usually either doxycycline (oral antibiotic) or rocephin (ceftriaxone) ( given IM or IV).  Even late Lyme disease is treatable.

Question 3

is lyme disease common specifically in the state of utah? if so, how many have have contracted it in the state this year?

Accepted Answer

Lyme in Utah: The most current incidence of Lyme disease is not available from the Utah Department of Health. As per the CDC, compared to other states in 2017 Utah was at the very low end of the number of cases of Lyme, at 10 confirmed cases and 15 probable cases.  Lyme disease is very often over self-diagnosed. See your doctor if you have questions specific to yourself.

Question 4

what is being done with lyme disease? i am making a website to aware people of lyme disease and need to know what is being done with lyme disease.

Accepted Answer

There : There is a lot of heated controversy surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of lyme disease. Two organizations, the infectious disease society of america and the international lyme and associated diseases society have published treatment guidelines that are quite different in their view of this illness. Ilads supports the validity of chronic lyme disease as a real and common occurred that should be treated with antibiotics and supportive therapies until symptoms resolve, and that other tick born infections should be considered and tested for in the patient who does not recover with adequate treatment of the lyme infection. Idsa does not acknowledge the existence of chronic lyme disease and proposes a treatment of 3-4 weeks with doxycycline. If the patient continues to have symptoms following this treatment, ongoing antibiotics are not recommended and the symptoms are attributed to a newly proposed "syndrome" called "post lyme disease syndrome" which is basically a psychosomatic or inflammatory response and should be treated with antidepressants, anti-inflammatory drugs or pain medications, but not antibiotics.  www.ilads.org can give you more information on this from the perspective of treating chronic lyme disease and  this website will give you the idsa perspective: www.Idsociety.Org/lyme/  some good patient and family oriented information can be found at www.Lymedisease.Org.  Good luck with your endeavor.

Dr. Tedde rinker
los altos, ca.

Question 5

if i have had lyme disease for over 9 months undiagnosed,& i get bloodtests done now, will it detect it? are the tests accurate? what's best test? tks

Accepted Answer

Blood tests good: Too many to list. Just check with lab for the statistics on that particular test

Question 6

what labs are done to see if you have lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

Thorough WesternBlot: The screen many doctors use, the elisa, only detects about half of those with lyme. A much more sensitive and specific test is the western blot, but i strongly advise doing this through ignenex in palo alto, a specialty lab, as the test offered by most other labs does not include tests for antibodies to the 31 ; 34 kda antigens, which are the most specific antigens for lyme! please see my comment.

Question 7

what are the most common side effects of lyme disease say 5-10 years later?

Accepted Answer

See details: Neurologic, cardiac and arthritic issues are possible.

Question 8

what can be done for a lyme disease rash when it's painful?

Accepted Answer

Lyme rash: A bull-s eye rash typical of lyme disease can beome infected. The bacterial cause is usually staph or strep which the usual antibiotic, doxycycline, does not cover. An additional antibiotic maybe needed. Please consult your doctor.

Question 9

i got a lyme disease test done.& igg 66 came positive out of the other 10 bands. what does this mean? do i have lyme or had it? should i worry? thanks

Accepted Answer

If only one band, no: If only one band, no.  A positive not only requires more than one band, but they have to be specific bands.

Question 10

i was diagnosed with lyme disease a year ago and took antibiotics.  no problems since.  my question is do the symptoms ever return?  and if so what should be done?

Accepted Answer

Unlikely: If you were treated early in the course of the illness and the therapy was successful the chances of your having long-term problems is almost non-existent.

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What are the common symptoms of lyme disease?

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What can be done to treat lyme disease that has gone undiagnosed for several years?

A member asked:

Is lyme disease common specifically in the state of utah? if so, how many have have contracted it in the state this year?

A member asked:

What is being done with lyme disease? i am making a website to aware people of lyme disease and need to know what is being done with lyme disease.

A member asked:

If i have had lyme disease for over 9 months undiagnosed,& i get bloodtests done now, will it detect it? are the tests accurate? what's best test? tks

A member asked:

What labs are done to see if you have lyme disease?

A member asked:

What are the most common side effects of lyme disease say 5-10 years later?

A member asked:

What can be done for a lyme disease rash when it's painful?

A member asked:

I got a lyme disease test done.& igg 66 came positive out of the other 10 bands. what does this mean? do i have lyme or had it? should i worry? thanks

A member asked:

I was diagnosed with lyme disease a year ago and took antibiotics. no problems since. my question is do the symptoms ever return? and if so what should be done?

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