Testing for Lyme (and Co-Infections) & Symptom Questionnaire - Many Clinicians Rely on Symptoms Not Tests

When people are told "you have symptoms that can be from Lyme", the Lyme literate newbie often thinks they'll go to the doctor and ask for a laboratory test for it as if it were strep throat or something. Those used to insurance-based, organized medicine might not be prepared for how difficult Lyme is to navigate as a patient.  Lyme's current tests are a disaster when you look at modern-day medicine's abilities and our expectations -- how can it be that the testing is this difficult of a subject within the overall Lyme / Borrelia subject?  So newbies just don't suspect that is the case going in.  But it is -- many false negatives.  

I like the nonprofit website LymeAware dot org's coverage of Lyme / Borrelia testing, and here's the link to their topic about testing.  lyme-aware.org/blogs/my-blog/1184-testing-a-forms-of-lyme-disease.html

Lydia Niederwerfer, who founded LymeAware, moved to Colorado after having been diagnosed and treated for Lyme / etcetera, and ironically moved to the area where I grew up, which I suspect has a massive number of people who do not know have Lyme lurking and causing the health symptoms they have.  Remember, from other topics here in this forum, we know that Lyme / Borrelia is called "the great new imitator"; syphilis was called 'the great imitator' because so many different symptoms could be caused in different people by the bacteria, which is very similar to borrelia. (We have topics which help YOUsers understand all that history and background on other topics, so please continue learning here beyond this topic if you wish.) 

As I often do in order to show people why I'm recommending a journey on links away from Lumigrate to investigate the information at a website, I provide what's at the link, or a portion of it, at Lumigrate. Here's an example of what you'll find at Lydia's organization's website, LymeAware dot org (except it looks really neat with the layout and font her website has so please go and see it there): 

Testing & Forms of Lyme Disease

Dr Horowitz' questionnaire about Lyme (and etcetera -- other factors') symptoms is a resource that I'd want EVERYONE to know about.  (It's also included at LymeAware dot org, Lydia said when we were commenting on something on my wall on Facebook as a FB friend had said he'd moved back north after 'retiring' to Florida, and he'd had lower body pains and suspected he got something from all the mosquitos. So I tagged her in and she gave him some good advise -- his response was he'd go ask for a test. We said 'oh, you'll do best to learn about that BEFORE you go...').  And I felt it was best to create a separate topic on Lumigrate about figuring out if you have Lyme / Borrelia or not. 

The previous version of this questionnaire was folded into the longer, comprehensive  topic(s) about Lyme at Lumigrate. But so many people are wanting to see "off the bat" a self-test / questionnaire AND there is a 2014 version from Dr. Horowtiz; again, please see the other topics about Lyme in this forum, they'll link a lot of information together for YOU / our YOUsers. I hope to impress upon people that these types of health issues are very complicated, and you have to put in a LOT of time to learn about them in order to be an effective medical consumer and be able to have your highest level of health possible.   

The other topics you'll find will include information about the reasons for the clinicians to often go by clinical symptoms and not laboratory results (you'll see info I weave in about Marty Ross, MD for instance).  And in the forum about political activism, social media, etc., there is a topic about Lyme activists which spells out the history of the 'fight' about Lyme which will help people understand why there are so many people who have no idea they have Lyme as part of their bodily (and brain) dysfunctions. And the increasing coverage of it in the media, which in some cases is voluntary (perhaps because a new vaccine is doing well in trials and will need a market of people to receive it when it's available), and in other cases is from pressure (such as the New York Times, so that gives you a Search word at Lumigrate for finding that thread).  Fall of 2014 was yielding a lot of protests with good results. The use of the creative arts in New York's protest made it particularly interesting from my standpoint and presumably translated into more people learning of it as a result.

The Questionnaire: 

www.bottomlinepublications.com/downloads/Horowitz_MISIDSLymeQuestionnaire.pdf

^ A pdf file... 

This is what you will see at the link before the items of the questionaire begins (which are multiple pages)

Horowitz Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire

The Horowitz Lyme-MSIDS Questionnaire is not intended to replace the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. You should consult a medical professional in matters relating to health, and individuals are solely responsible for their own health care decisions regardingthe use of this questionnaire. It is intended for informational purposes only and not for self-treatment or diagnosis. 

And then it launches into a very long list of symptoms which you check off and score and figure out if you might be wanting to seek the advise of a qualified provider about Lyme / Borrelia and the co-infections covered at the questionnaire.  

Live and learn. Learn and live better! ~ Mardy