There are lots of ways to find a Lyme specialist MD ... word of mouth is certainly a good one, but another way is through ILADS, the main voluntary group for docs who 'believe' in Lyme as a serious ailment, unlike much of the medical world. ILADS stands for the Internation Lyme and Associated Disease Society. Their website is at ILADS [dot] org.
--->>> To ask for the name of a Lyme specialist (LLMD) near you, EMAIL to ILADS at:
contact [at] ILADS [dot] org
and tell them your city/state, nearest big city, and how far you can travel. They will, I understand, send you back names of MDs who are ILADS members.
There is no test to pass to become an ILADS member; it is instead a state of mind and approach to practice, so there is no guarantee the doc whose name you get will be a good one ... Lyme is a fast-developing area of medicine, and there are some oddball docs with oddball ideas out there. So if you see a doc that makes you feel uneasy or seems to be very intent on selling you a truckload of their own very very special and expensive vitamins, I'd go to the next name on the list, or email ILADS back and tell them Dr X didn't work out, please send another name.
I know, it shouldn't be so hard, but for now, that's Lyme life. But truly, getting rid of the ailment is worth the hassle. Hang on! We've all been there.