text: Find a *qualified Doctor
  FIND A LYME LITERATE DOCTOR
  IN YOUR AREA:
  Through the collaboration of three other Lyme non-profits, we put together a master list of patient recommended Lyme literate/aware providers- of all types! We are proud to be part of a powerful and active network, for patients to get the VERY BEST care they deserve!
  Most up to date and patient approved:
  One of the original lists shared by other non-profits and advocates:
  This list is not exhaustive and may be outdated. Call the doctor to see if they are taking new patients. Contact ILADS for further help or Kristina for an LLMD prescribing Disulfiram in your area. The drug is very tricky and requires a very responsive and experienced physician to manage.
  Lyme is known as the "great imitator" because it mimics diseases like MS, Lupus, ALS, Alzheimer's, CFS, ADD, learning difference, Dementia and epilepsy. Left untreated it can cause other diseases including certain cancers to develop as well. Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt studied 237 women with breast cancer and 100% of them tested positive for Lyme disease. Not all Lyme patients studied had breast cancer. (Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, Lyme Summit 2018) Dr. Neil Spector, Duke researcher and famous Cardiologist discovered that a high number of breast cancer patients had bartonella.
  It takes an average of at least 2 years and 5 doctors to get correctly diagnosed. Some patients like me report it's taken decades and dozens of doctors across multiple states to get the right help for Lyme. The longer infection lingers the more expensive it is to treat and the harder it is to reach remission. Don't ignore a patients' report of pain, flu-like symptoms and things like neck stiffness, cognitive difficulties, mental illness, IBD and fatigue. Treating symptoms furthers the spread and damage from Tick-borne illness. The worst thing to tell a patient that I've heard in my own experiences are, "I don't know how to help you" or "you are the healthiest sick person I know". All these things can cause "medical PTSD" when a patient is told their illness is psychosomatic, in their head, or they just want attention. Patients are left to not trust medical authorities that can lead to self treating, lose hope, feel helpless and potentially lead to suicide.
  Questions to research reviews and social media groups on Lyme for about your potential care provider are, ask them if they have experience with:
  -knowing which specialty labs are sensitive enough to pick up Lyme and coinfections/Lyme complex
  -making a clinical diagnosis based off a thorough and multigenerational health history
  -scheduling ample time to take your history and treat you
  -congenital Lyme, gestational Lyme, and or pediatric Lyme
  -referring out to Lyme Literate specialists like neurology, physical therapy, psychology
  -low dose immunotherapy
  -staying up to date on latest research and clinical findings.
  "There is a higher rate of suicide in patients whose brains have higher inflammation, Dr. Robert Bransfield." Leading psychiatrist in treating the neuropsychiatric cases in Lyme patients. See here for more information.