Welcome to MedHelp Lyme -- I'm sorry to hear what you are going through, and glad that you are continuing to figure things out. When I had Lyme, I had trouble remembering things that I wanted to tell my doc at the next appointment, so I used a notebook (either paper or on computer) saying (for example) how I felt on waking and throughout the day, what I ate, what meds I took, and so on. It didn't take much time to do, and it helped me AND my doc figure out what was up, what to test for (based on my symptoms) and (once I was on meds) how I reacted to the medicines, how well I slept, and so on. Everyone has different symptoms, partly because the ticks can carry a variety of infections and also that our individual immune systems act differently ... and one common effect of Lyme is poor memory, making it hard to related to the doc how you have been feeling -- and my daily notes were very helpful to my doc, partly because I was so forgetful and also I was not always aware that I was having a feeling that was actually a symptom of Lyme or its co-infections often carried by the Lyme bacteria. Lots of moving pieces.
(I kept my 'how I feel' notes on my computer and then printed out the notes to take them to the doc at my next appointment.)
Lyme is a new illness and spreading fast. As a result, many docs don't know much about Lyme and the other infections the ticks carry about half the time, results in confusion for everyone. The medical profession is so complex and specialized in various areas now, and science itself is still figuring things out, making the whole situation more confusing. A doc who doesn't understand Lyme particularly well can misunderstand and misdiagnose your symptoms, and as a result may not run the appropriate tests to get an accurate diagnosis. Without an accurate diagnosis, treatment is something of a guessing game.
It looks from the map that you are about half way across the Florida panhandle, so you may want to look for a Lyme specialist in Florida if you are not finding good docs in Georgia. Three suggestions:
-- Go to the ILADS [dot] org website. It is a well known and respected voluntary organization for MDs and other medical personnel who take a thoughtful and learned approach to diagnosing and treating Lyme disease and other infections also often carried by the Lyme ticks. As with any group, the MD members of ILADS are only human, so if you don't get a good feeling about one doc, then move on to another ILADS MD.
-- Look online or by word of mouth for patient-oriented Lyme groups near you -- other Lyme patients are often well tuned in to who the best local docs are.
-- Come back here and post a new comment like "Need LLMD near [Pensacola, Florida]." As an unwritten rule, we do NOT put the names of our Lyme docs in public here -- in some states, the medical establishment tries put Lyme docs out of business, so we keep the names OUT of this website. It is easy to use 'private messages' on this site to communicate confidentially between us without spilling the beans on recommended Lyme docs.
If you have Lyme, you may well also have other infections that about half the 'Lyme' ticks also carry other infections that need different testing and treatment. For example, I had Lyme and also babesiosis. A good Lyme doc will take a careful history of your symptoms, and based on that would order tests to confirm the presence of any such co-infections (like my babesiosis was) to determine what appropriate medication should be given going forward (usually antibiotics). My Lyme doc treated my co-infection first, and when that was gone, then Lyme was treated -- each infection was treated with antibiotics, but different antibiotics are usually needed to target each of the infections present. Some people prefer herbal or other treatments, but I personally would take antibiotics again.
If you are interested in reading more about the Lyme situation in the medicine and health arena, at some time you may want to read a book called 'Cure Unknown', which explains the mess the medical profession over all has fumbled the whole Lyme disease situation. (Now in paperback.)
Treatment for Lyme and any co-infections usually takes perhaps 4 to 6 months or a bit more, depending on several variables, and it may be some more months getting back to feeling less fatigue and being back to your old self. It is however *definitely* worth getting well. If you are not aware through friends or media which Lyme-savvy MDs may be near you, let us know and we'll brainstorm some more.
Best wishes! Keep us posted.