Lyme Coninfection?

[mz25]

I'm concerned about an issue I've been having.  I was diagnosed with Lyme in August 2014.  Went on 2 months of Doxy (100mg 2x/day).  Most of my symptoms subsided.  

Recently, I have pain in lower stomach and when urinating, in addition to penile discharge that is white-ish.  Three weeks ago, I went to the doctors and was negative for STDs and they gave doxycycline for 7 days and it went away, within a few days.  They said it was urethritis. Today, similar symptoms have started back up.  Does anyone have any thoughts on what's going on/related to Lyme or a coninfection?  

[mojogal]

Lyme usually requires more than a few months of treatment unless you caught the bite right away.

Co-infections, I have 3, require different medications than Lyme, that is why seeing an Llmd is important. You can treat with ABX or a natural protocol.

[JackieCalifornia]

Welcome to MedHelp Lyme --

That 'most' of your symptoms went away would lead me back to the doc's office, but your doc may not be up to date on Lyme.  Doxycycline is often the first medication given for a Lyme infection, but it is not always effective, particularly if the Lyme infection has been in place for a while -- and many of us do not know when we were infected ... or if we saw a tick bite, it might not have been the first one, so some time may have gone by before diagnosis.  This matters because doxy is effective against Lyme only in the earliest stages of the infection.

Also, 'Lyme' ticks often (maybe half the time) will also carry other infections that are not susceptible to doxy and need separate diagnosis and treatment.  It's been five months now since your earliest symptoms, so I would find a Lyme specialist for a second look.  Lyme symptoms combined with other ailments can confuse docs who aren't familiar with Lyme -- and Lyme ticks often carry more than one ailment at a time, needing separate testing and treatment, depending on the specific diagnoses.

You don't say where you are located (what state, near what city or area ['southwest Missouri' for example), but if you email to
                         --- contact  [at]   ILADS   [dot]   org  ---
and tell them generally where you are and how far you can travel, they can send you names of docs nearby.

You can also post here a new message 'Need LLMD near Kansas City MO' or wherever you are or can get to and see what comes back.  We generally don't post names of Lyme specialists in the open here, because in some states, the medical boards crack down on docs who treat Lyme aggressively (meaning more than a couple weeks of doxy).  The medical profession is having a hard time figuring this out, so we patients just have to bob and weave in the meantime.

And btw, LLMD is not a title or degree:  it is patient slang for 'Lyme Literate Medical Doctor', meaning a doc who understands that Lyme ticks often carry other, separate infections that need separate testing and treatment, and that a couple weeks of doxy doesn't always work esp. when it's been more than a short time since infection.  Many of us never know when we were infected (I sure didn't -- never saw a tick or a rash on me), but so-called mainstream docs often won't treat without seeing a tick embedded in the skin or a circular red rash.  Those symptoms are very helpful, but their absence does not mean you do not have Lyme.  

Lyme can lurk in the background and make you feel moderately lousy for a long time, and it may not be diagnosed for quite a while ... I described how I felt before diagnosis as a combination of the flu and a hangover, 24/7, but not everyone feels that lousy:  I had Lyme and babesiosis, which is sometimes carried by the 'Lyme' ticks.  

The most important thing is to find a doc who has serious respect for Lyme and its co-infections, so that you are certain to get a full work up.  Lyme won't go away by itself.

Let us know how you do and how we can help -- go for it!  It's worth it to be well again.