Now, that I knew I had Lyme’s, I didn’t know whether to continue physical therapy or not.  The physical therapist recommended that I speak to my doctor first. So, I stopped.  I didn’t want to make things worse.

I went to my primary care physician to follow up on my laboratory findings. I said, “Well, it looks like I have Lyme’s.”

She said, “I guess that’s no surprise.”

It was an odd thing for her to say, but I think she was referring to all the symptoms that I gave them to justify getting tested.  This doctor is by-the-book, and you need a boatload of symptoms for her to prescribe a possibly unnecessary laboratory test.   I don’t know how long I’ll keep her.

The doctor put me on doxycycline twice a day for three weeks.  When I asked if that would be enough, she said it was the established treatment. I had read that people with chronic lyme’s needed more. In her defense, most doctors don’t like their decisions questioned, but she was talking to a medical laboratory scientist, and I knew more about laboratory tests than most folks. So, I asked if it would be possible to get a CBC, a CMC, a CRP, a magnesium, and a vitamin D.  She said, “Why do you want all that?”

I said, “Because I’m curious to see what they are.  I mean, I’m having symptoms.”

“Well, we have a good explanation for those symptoms.  Your CRP  (C-reactive protein, a measurement of inflammation) will be sky high and so will your white blood cell count.”

I was thinking that we could monitor my progress by watching my blood levels, especially my CRP, but I guess the cost isn’t justified.  I wanted to know if my vitamin D and magnesium levels were low, because low levels can cause fatigue and other symptoms.  She said, “I don’t even know my own vitamin D and magnesium levels!”

A complete blood count (CBC) and a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) would let me know how my body systems were functioning overall.  Oh, well, so much for preventive medicine.

I told her that both of my knees still hurt when I crouch and that they swelled after exercise.  She examined them and found no swelling.  She had me get them x-rayed to make sure nothing else was going on.  I asked if the pain would go away with the antibiotics. She said it would if the pain was because of the Lyme’s.  She thought it was arthritis, though.  I told her that I didn’t think it was arthritis. She said that you usually only have one joint affected when you get Lyme’s.  Yeah, I thought that, too, because I read it online, but the physical therapist explained to me that that wasn’t true…and I trust the physical therapist more.

The x-rays showed no signs of arthritis or fluid build-up.  Good news!  And…I was right.