now I have to wait till tomorrow!! argh!!

[Erin]

Went to the doctor's office for that WB test for Lyme (and get a follow up for why I've had vertigo off and on for the past two weeks)

well, it didnt get done. ARGH!!!

Now I have an appointment for tomorrow for the blood draw, and there's two reasons why.

Their centrifuge broke down and they're supposed to get a new one today. So, they want me to come back tomorrow for the blood draw. (we checked the directions for the WB test, I can have the blood drawn on a wednesday)

The other reason was because I had a vertigo spell while the doctor was examining me. He'd stepped out of the room for a minute, came back and my head was spinning. I'd been reading one of the early Harry Potter books while waiting for him to come back and I think the reading might have triggered the vertigo. So, the doctor didnt want to draw blood from me when I was already dizzy.

argh!! I really wanted to do this today!

Of course, I could wait two weeks till I'm done with the antibiotics and prednisone taper that he Rx for my vertigo and a couple of other problems (antibiotics for the possible ear infection and UTI, and the prednisone for the vertigo) and maybe if I have Lyme spirochetes in me, they'll be out partying in my bloodstream and found on the Western blot.

I just feel like crap now because I'm all hopped up on Dramamine and the vertigo hasnt totally gone away yet. (driving to the pharmacy and then home was not very fun...now I know how drunk drivers feel)

[lymebytes]

Hi Erin. I am sorry you could not get the blood drawn. I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow.

I don't know if you are aware, but people who have Lyme should not take steroids because they can make symptoms much worse.

Good luck!

[Erin]

I know people with Lyme should not have steroids, but that hasnt been confirmed that I have it yet. So, I'm reluctantly going to take them in the hopes it helps the vertigo I have.

If the steroids make my symptoms worse, then maybe that will help them confirm a Lyme diagnosis and hopefully take away the MS diagnosis.

I'm starting the steroid taper tomorrow...I guess I'll find out sooner or later if this is really MS or if it's Lyme. If anything, maybe the steroids and antibiotics will draw the little spirochetes out and we'll have some proof of Lyme.

[RuthHinWV]

Hi Erin, Even though you have been diagnosed with Lyme, I thought I'd pass this on just in case. I don't remember how long it's been now, maybe a couple of years, about a year in to the Lyme; I had vertigo so badly I couldn't roll over in bed at night; it was so bad it would wake me up. I had it all day & during the night. It lasted for several weeks then went away as quickly as it came on.

Also, if they can't do the draw tomorrow, you might wanna look in to putting it off this early next week. You don't want your samples sitting in a post office somewhere over the weekend. Of course, depending on where you live, that may not be a problem. I read that somewhere!!

Just a thought!! Ruth

[uvamomb]

Erin, I hope you feel better soon. Please get someone to take you to the drugstore next time! You really shouldn't drive feeling like that - I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself or someone else.
Love,
kathy:)

[Erin]

There was no one else to take me. My mom cant drive anymore...especially not a stick shift like my car. I was on my way home already, and actually standing around for a half hour waiting for them to get done with the Rx helped a little bit. The Dramamine had a bit more time to work on slowing down the spinny dizzies.

[Erin]

Went to the doctor this morning, and the nurse helped me figure out all the paper work and then we got my blood drawn. They were giving it a spin in the centrifuge when I left, and the nurse was calling FedEx for the pick up.

Yippie! Hopefully this blood test will help me figure out if this is Lyme or MS. Trying not to get my hopes up for a positive result (that sounds weird...wanting a postive Lyme test, but it sounds better than an MS diagnosis) but at least I got someone (the adorable Dr. C) to listen to me and to sign off on the blood test. The nurse who yelled at me a few weeks ago that I didnt need to have the test done was actually the one who drew the blood. She apologized for getting snippy with me and the blood draw didnt even hurt.

Now I just hope FedEx gets the test sent off quickly so the blood doesnt go bad in transit.

[Buttons2]

Good for you Erin! About the vertigo,I also had that a few years ago,like most of my weird symptoms it just happened one day & after a few weeks went away. Just call me the come & go gal! And you might try ginger the next time,it's supposed to help with seasickness so might help vertigo. I'm guessing it comes in a capsule @ health food stores.

Good luck on a positive test!
Buttons

[Erin]

I think my dad has some ginger pills upstairs. (my sister left them here, she likes holistic medicines)

I was a little ookey (sick feeling) this morning, but that seemed to go away once I got up and moved around.

I'm about to go downtown for my infectious disease doctor's appointment. I'm not going to tell him that I had a blood draw this morning for a Western Blot. I'm thinking this guy is either going to laugh me out of his office, or put notes on my chart that I'm a hypochondriac. Or he'll give me a referral to a neuro-psychiatrist because of my MS diagnosis...he'll probably think a brain lesion has fried my brain or something.

Hopefully I'll get a doctor who's not going to be a butthead about not believing in chronic lyme.