Had Bulls eye rash- now have vertigo- Lyme?

I found a bulls eye rash the size of a pencil eraser behind my knee in the beginning of June 09. There was no tick present. I went to the Dr. He said it looked like I was only bit and the tick prob didn't attach itself. He said not to be concerned unless the rash grew in size and he gave me one antibiotic pill. I did notice around that time that I did have a circular rash on my lower back. It was pink and looked like ringworm. I'm not quite sure, but I think I did have the rash before I found the tick bite. Other than that I didn't experience the typical symptoms of lyme. Four months later I got sick with what seemed like the flu with a lot of pressure in my head and right ear. That's when the severe vertigo began. After several days of the vertigo, I went to the Dr and he gave me Prednisone. After a few days on that, the vertigo went away, but the pressure in my ear hasn't gone away since. My ear has never opened up since Oct. I hear my heart pounding in it most times. This week, my vertigo came back and I'm trying to figure out if these symptoms could be related to lyme. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[renschwa]

I'm not a docotor, but what you describe sounds highly suspicious of lyme to me! And you have what many of us here lack, a known rash.

I would recommend finding yourself a doctor that knows lyme, they are called LLMD's. I found mine by googling for a lyme disease support group in my area. I emailed the leader and she emailed me a list of docs.

I'm sure others on here will chime in with their recommendations as well. Welcome to the group!

Some websites I found helpful are:

http://www.canlyme.com/

http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/about_lyme.html

[colebech]

Thanks so much for the help renschwa. Those websites were really informative. I'm definitely going to make an appointment to get blood work done.

[renschwa]

Good luck! Please let us know what happens! And just FYI- the basic Elisa test that most docs use for lyme is not accurate- make sure whatever doc you go to does a western blot by a reputable lab. There are people on here more knowledgeable about the testing than I, so hopefully they will chime in as well. Also, be sure to get copies of your lab reports! You should also start keeping a log of your symptoms on a daily basis... it helps the docs a lot- when and where things happen, etc. Note even things that you think might not be important either. Note it all- it can't hurt...You might also want to gather records from previous docs and perhaps type of a time line of events that led you to this point along with list of doctors seen diagnoses/symptoms as much as you can remember. Good luck!