He should be tested for Lyme’s–that’s what too many people I know have been befuddled about. I’m pretty sure it mimics RA, but I’m sure you’ve checked that out.
We lived in East Lyme, CT when it first arrived on the scene. I’ve hated deer ever since.
I second the Lyme disease testing. Nasty stuff; we’ve had way too much of it, and is awful when it goes long-term, as it did with 3rd Arrow, who got it before we knew what it was, and was quite advanced before she got treated. Prayers, Mumsee.
Our close friend’s granddaughter lives in Colorado. She apparently was bitten by a tick while visiting CT. Because there was no Lyme’s in CO, they didn’t test her for nine months–until the day she fell asleep taking her SAT. Confirmed. She’s on meds probably for the rest of her life.
We lived in the country an hour north of here for four years. The neighbors down the street, Jehovah’s Witnesses, all had Lyme’s disease. The little girl my daughter’s age already was showing signs of a ricketts-like effect on her at the age of 10. Nasty.
Two writers I know were ill for nearly five years before diagnosed (the first one insisted the second one be tested once they discussed their symptoms. First one lived in Montana, second one San Diego.) In the case of writer #2, she’d been tentatively diagnosed with chronic fatigue–because she lives in San Diego in a city environment, they had ruled out testing for Lyme’s..
Here in Sonoma County, all I have to do is take in a tick and they’ll test it for Lyme’s. It’s not clear to me, reading through the website, if I can appear at the county health department and request a test for myself.
On another note, a doc in Idaho missed parasites in one of our Navy friends until after 6 months he happened to ask if Dave might have been in a tropical spot in the last year.
He’d completed a trip showing the flag in nearly every port in South American two months before he arrived in Idaho. They just weren’t used to seeing problems like that and didn’t think to ask.
why wouldn’t they at lest test for Lyme disease? The onset of this seemed so sudden and dire that you’d think they’d be poking around a bit more for the cause …
You’d think, but sometimes you come across practitioners who, unfortunately, are dismissive of their patients’ (and their families) concerns. I once had a doctor tell me, after I’d mentioned the numerous cases of Lyme’s Disease we’ve had in our family and that I suspected one of us had it again, “Oh, that Lyme’s Disease is overrated.” This in a state that is a hotbed of Lyme’s!
It does look like RA so that is the first thought and he did test positive in the RA test but, as the Canada doctor mentioned, if he had any allergy tests done (which he did) he would also test positive. He has lived in New York when Lymes was just becoming an issue, and Vancouver as Kare mentions, and Toronto, and Egypt, and South Africa, and and and…lots of things to pick up.
Thank You for hearing our prayers for concerns near and far. Thank You for making us caring people who believe in Your power working through prayer. It would just be a waste of energy if we did not believe. I know others have already prayed over things mentioned on Friday and Saturday, but I want to add my prayers to their prayers. Please help Michelle’s daughter’s friend make a decision regarding her employment Help her to accurately assess the pros and cons of making the change. Please bring her into a stronger relationship with You so she can trust in what she thinks You are telling her to do.
I also lift up 6 Arrows as they struggle with budget issues. Help each person in the family to see how they can make little improvements in spending that will all add together to make the needed difference. Thank You for the additional students that 6 Arrows may be picking up to further supplement their income along with her enjoyment.
Lord, You are the origin of healing and provider of medicine and knowledge of diagnosis. For that reason I lift up Mike to You for You have abilities along those lines that we do not fully understand. You can do more than we can think or imagine. Please show Your power in a mighty way in the situation Mike is in. You know the internal and external details. Please, I pray with my Brothers and Sisters in Christ for Your healing touch to be on and in him. Please restore his health. Wear down that which has afflicted him so it is no longer a bother. Please take away the pain. May he know a great recovery and give glory to You. I ask not only for his and Mumsee’s sake, but for the sake of the children and potential children in their care. Please, help.
I pray for others here who struggle in various ways with either their own, their family member’s or friend’s need. I lift up R. Kessler, Kathaleena, Karen and Lee, and Donna for needed blessings. Annms and Kbells, too. And my brother with a difficult work situation and my friend, Karen, with possible tumor. Please help my husband to not feel still so far behind in work. And it would be nice to sell the article I submitted.
And please, if possible, cut the red tape that keeps AJ from getting help he deserves.
Beyond us, our neighbors in Nepal have great suffering and need. Please help them to receive needed supplies and loving assistance. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Mumsee, I’m no authority on arthritis, but I have heard of Lyme arthritis, which can develop when Lyme has gone untreated for too long. I don’t know if that form is similar to RA in its symptoms? And I don’t know whether RA is treated with antibiotics, but if it isn’t, and Mike’s actually got Lyme arthritis, then he would need antibiotic treatment.
Can his doctors consult with practitioners in Lyme-endemic areas who are much more familiar (generally speaking; obviously not the doctor I mentioned above in my 1:39) with Lyme symptoms, testing and treatment?
I don’t know of any very effective way to wipe out the Lyme spirochetes without antibiotic treatment. Would his medical team be averse to treating him with antibiotics along with whatever the usual RA protocol is?
How definitive is the test for Lyme disease? If it’s something that gives a clear “yay or nay,” seems like it would be worth doing (unless it’s one of those weird things insurance won’t cover and it costs like a gazillion dollars).
Oh, my dear brothers & sisters, please pray for us. Lee just opened the bill he got for the Lupron shot (to battle his metastatic prostate cancer, a shot he should get every three months or so), & it was $9800. Nearly ten-thousand dollars for one stinkin’ shot.
We feel we are going under. There is so much on our shoulders right now, & it is sometimes hard to bear up under it, & just keep doing the next right thing. We know that Jesus is our Burden-Bearer, but we really need to really know that more than we ever have before. My husband is so very weary, & so am I.
(Lee is not going to get another Lupron shot unless or until we have some insurance to cover it. Not sure if it is “covered” by Christian Healthcare Ministries (the cost-sharing ministry we are a part of.)
The ELISA test isn’t very expensive, but isn’t as helpful as the Western Blot test, which is more costly — I think it was a few hundred dollars several years ago in our area when 3rd Arrow got one.
There aren’t any great Lyme tests on the market — they have their problems. There’s also a lot of controversy about how long to treat patients (and with which antibiotics). Some say the standard 2- or 3-week regimen doesn’t cut it.
Then there’s oral vs. intravenous treatment. Amoxicillin vs. doxycycline vs. Rocephin vs. …you name it.
Lyme vs. disseminated Lyme…
I could go on with all the variations and controversies in the field of Lyme treatment. That’s what makes it really tough.
Oh, Karen, I’m so sorry. I am praying. We are here for you. And most importantly, as you know, the Lord is on your side. May you feel His powerful hand sustaining you at this difficult time as He always has. He is faithful.
oh, Karen, praying for you. I received a bill like that once. It brought me to tears as I had nothing and no way to pay. I went into my room and got down on my knees next to my bed and laid the bill before the Lord. I wept as I gave it to Him and asked Him to take care of it. It did not
happen immediately, but He did take care of it through anonymous gifts.
Karen, how can they not tell you “It is very expensive”? I would call CHM immediately, tell them what happened, and ask what they suggest you do. Probably you can negotiate for a much lower “cash” rate, and if it is something they cover, the lower price may well cover your deductible (it worked that way for one or two of my brothers). Try not to panic; talk to them. They will have encountered things like this before.
Wandering Views 
Still trying to figure out what is wrong with husband. If it is not rheumatoid arthritis, what is it? I go back to tick or insect bite, farm runoff….
LikeLiked by 4 people
He should be tested for Lyme’s–that’s what too many people I know have been befuddled about. I’m pretty sure it mimics RA, but I’m sure you’ve checked that out.
We lived in East Lyme, CT when it first arrived on the scene. I’ve hated deer ever since.
LikeLiked by 4 people
I have been suggesting Lymes from the start, or something similar, but they have not tested for it. I will pass your words on….thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I second the Lyme disease testing. Nasty stuff; we’ve had way too much of it, and is awful when it goes long-term, as it did with 3rd Arrow, who got it before we knew what it was, and was quite advanced before she got treated. Prayers, Mumsee.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I suggest that everyone listen to Mumsee’s suggestions. 🙂
LikeLiked by 4 people
Here’s the map indicating where it’s found. You note Idaho is not on this list, but if he’s passed through an area, who knows? http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4807a2.htm
Our close friend’s granddaughter lives in Colorado. She apparently was bitten by a tick while visiting CT. Because there was no Lyme’s in CO, they didn’t test her for nine months–until the day she fell asleep taking her SAT. Confirmed. She’s on meds probably for the rest of her life.
We lived in the country an hour north of here for four years. The neighbors down the street, Jehovah’s Witnesses, all had Lyme’s disease. The little girl my daughter’s age already was showing signs of a ricketts-like effect on her at the age of 10. Nasty.
Two writers I know were ill for nearly five years before diagnosed (the first one insisted the second one be tested once they discussed their symptoms. First one lived in Montana, second one San Diego.) In the case of writer #2, she’d been tentatively diagnosed with chronic fatigue–because she lives in San Diego in a city environment, they had ruled out testing for Lyme’s..
Here in Sonoma County, all I have to do is take in a tick and they’ll test it for Lyme’s. It’s not clear to me, reading through the website, if I can appear at the county health department and request a test for myself.
On another note, a doc in Idaho missed parasites in one of our Navy friends until after 6 months he happened to ask if Dave might have been in a tropical spot in the last year.
He’d completed a trip showing the flag in nearly every port in South American two months before he arrived in Idaho. They just weren’t used to seeing problems like that and didn’t think to ask.
I won’t lecture anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Mumsee, southern BC has Lyme disease as well – that would likely include Vancouver area…
LikeLike
why wouldn’t they at lest test for Lyme disease? The onset of this seemed so sudden and dire that you’d think they’d be poking around a bit more for the cause …
LikeLike
You’d think, but sometimes you come across practitioners who, unfortunately, are dismissive of their patients’ (and their families) concerns. I once had a doctor tell me, after I’d mentioned the numerous cases of Lyme’s Disease we’ve had in our family and that I suspected one of us had it again, “Oh, that Lyme’s Disease is overrated.” This in a state that is a hotbed of Lyme’s!
Needless to say, he is no longer our doctor.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It does look like RA so that is the first thought and he did test positive in the RA test but, as the Canada doctor mentioned, if he had any allergy tests done (which he did) he would also test positive. He has lived in New York when Lymes was just becoming an issue, and Vancouver as Kare mentions, and Toronto, and Egypt, and South Africa, and and and…lots of things to pick up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And, with RA, they want to work quickly to stop it as soon as they can, so it makes sense if they think that is it, they would get right on it.
LikeLike
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for hearing our prayers for concerns near and far. Thank You for making us caring people who believe in Your power working through prayer. It would just be a waste of energy if we did not believe. I know others have already prayed over things mentioned on Friday and Saturday, but I want to add my prayers to their prayers. Please help Michelle’s daughter’s friend make a decision regarding her employment Help her to accurately assess the pros and cons of making the change. Please bring her into a stronger relationship with You so she can trust in what she thinks You are telling her to do.
I also lift up 6 Arrows as they struggle with budget issues. Help each person in the family to see how they can make little improvements in spending that will all add together to make the needed difference. Thank You for the additional students that 6 Arrows may be picking up to further supplement their income along with her enjoyment.
Lord, You are the origin of healing and provider of medicine and knowledge of diagnosis. For that reason I lift up Mike to You for You have abilities along those lines that we do not fully understand. You can do more than we can think or imagine. Please show Your power in a mighty way in the situation Mike is in. You know the internal and external details. Please, I pray with my Brothers and Sisters in Christ for Your healing touch to be on and in him. Please restore his health. Wear down that which has afflicted him so it is no longer a bother. Please take away the pain. May he know a great recovery and give glory to You. I ask not only for his and Mumsee’s sake, but for the sake of the children and potential children in their care. Please, help.
I pray for others here who struggle in various ways with either their own, their family member’s or friend’s need. I lift up R. Kessler, Kathaleena, Karen and Lee, and Donna for needed blessings. Annms and Kbells, too. And my brother with a difficult work situation and my friend, Karen, with possible tumor. Please help my husband to not feel still so far behind in work. And it would be nice to sell the article I submitted.
And please, if possible, cut the red tape that keeps AJ from getting help he deserves.
Beyond us, our neighbors in Nepal have great suffering and need. Please help them to receive needed supplies and loving assistance. In Jesus’ name, Amen
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Janice.
Mumsee, I’m no authority on arthritis, but I have heard of Lyme arthritis, which can develop when Lyme has gone untreated for too long. I don’t know if that form is similar to RA in its symptoms? And I don’t know whether RA is treated with antibiotics, but if it isn’t, and Mike’s actually got Lyme arthritis, then he would need antibiotic treatment.
Can his doctors consult with practitioners in Lyme-endemic areas who are much more familiar (generally speaking; obviously not the doctor I mentioned above in my 1:39) with Lyme symptoms, testing and treatment?
I don’t know of any very effective way to wipe out the Lyme spirochetes without antibiotic treatment. Would his medical team be averse to treating him with antibiotics along with whatever the usual RA protocol is?
Just brainstorming here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How definitive is the test for Lyme disease? If it’s something that gives a clear “yay or nay,” seems like it would be worth doing (unless it’s one of those weird things insurance won’t cover and it costs like a gazillion dollars).
LikeLike
Oh, my dear brothers & sisters, please pray for us. Lee just opened the bill he got for the Lupron shot (to battle his metastatic prostate cancer, a shot he should get every three months or so), & it was $9800. Nearly ten-thousand dollars for one stinkin’ shot.
We feel we are going under. There is so much on our shoulders right now, & it is sometimes hard to bear up under it, & just keep doing the next right thing. We know that Jesus is our Burden-Bearer, but we really need to really know that more than we ever have before. My husband is so very weary, & so am I.
(Lee is not going to get another Lupron shot unless or until we have some insurance to cover it. Not sure if it is “covered” by Christian Healthcare Ministries (the cost-sharing ministry we are a part of.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
The ELISA test isn’t very expensive, but isn’t as helpful as the Western Blot test, which is more costly — I think it was a few hundred dollars several years ago in our area when 3rd Arrow got one.
There aren’t any great Lyme tests on the market — they have their problems. There’s also a lot of controversy about how long to treat patients (and with which antibiotics). Some say the standard 2- or 3-week regimen doesn’t cut it.
Then there’s oral vs. intravenous treatment. Amoxicillin vs. doxycycline vs. Rocephin vs. …you name it.
Lyme vs. disseminated Lyme…
I could go on with all the variations and controversies in the field of Lyme treatment. That’s what makes it really tough.
LikeLike
Oh, Karen, I’m so sorry. I am praying. We are here for you. And most importantly, as you know, the Lord is on your side. May you feel His powerful hand sustaining you at this difficult time as He always has. He is faithful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
(My 5:57 was in response to Donna’s 5:45.)
LikeLike
Karen – no words. Praying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
Even more than for us, I pray for the sake of our currently-unbelieving daughters that they will see God’s mighty hand moving on our behalf.
LikeLike
Very sorry.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Praying …
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh, Karen, praying for you. I received a bill like that once. It brought me to tears as I had nothing and no way to pay. I went into my room and got down on my knees next to my bed and laid the bill before the Lord. I wept as I gave it to Him and asked Him to take care of it. It did not
happen immediately, but He did take care of it through anonymous gifts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Karen, how can they not tell you “It is very expensive”? I would call CHM immediately, tell them what happened, and ask what they suggest you do. Probably you can negotiate for a much lower “cash” rate, and if it is something they cover, the lower price may well cover your deductible (it worked that way for one or two of my brothers). Try not to panic; talk to them. They will have encountered things like this before.
LikeLike