Multiple opinions...

     A friend of mine, a medical professional with a pacemaker actually, recently assured me that mine is not an isolated case, that medicine is extremely difficult and available information is often incomplete and sometimes open to interpretation even amongst trained and experienced medical professionals. This disparity could occur not just in the diagnosis, but also the uncertainty of the diagnosis.
     I think back to Dr Lyme #1's diagnosis of irreparably bad wiring - either due to genetics or cured Lyme Disease (LD). His diagnosis was based on his certain, but mistaken, belief that heart block always resolves quickly and completely with the antibiotic treatment I had taken. And though Dr Lyme #1 actively avoided direct discussion with me thereafter, in March he did discuss with my GP my continued poor health and more specifically the bullseye rash and increase in IgG results. Dr Lyme #1 made no change in diagnosis or treatment; he stuck to his diagnosis of irreparably bad wiring and no extended treatment.
     Dr Lyme #2 considered my history as Dr Lyme #1 had, including the continued poor health, EM rash and increase in IgG results. Dr Lyme #2 acknowledged that heart block due to LD, more specifically referred to as Lyme Carditis, resolves completely with antibiotics, but sometimes not so quickly - that additional treatment is necessary for some rare cases. Cases like mine. Dr Lyme #2 diagnosed tick borne disease impacting multiple systems, not just my heart. Dr Lyme #1 and Dr Lyme #2 had the same information, but made significantly different diagnoses and different recommended treatments: none vs continued antibiotics for perhaps another four weeks or so.
     By the time I had met with Dr Lyme #3, it became known that my heart block had resolved - clearly indicating LD, as nothing else presents like that. Dr Lyme #3 came to a similar diagnosis as Dr Lyme #2 - tick borne disease impacting multiple systems, but his recommended treatment was overwhelming in comparison to that of Dr Lyme #2: one type of antibiotic for perhaps another four weeks vs multiple types of antibiotics and other medications to kill germs, plus practices and remedies to clear toxins from my body - all for a much longer period.

     So, you see what I mean, the same information - test results, history and symptoms and whatever else - can be interpreted differently in terms of the diagnosis and uncertainty. That's just the way it is, but it is up to the patient to evaluate the diagnosis and uncertainty and ensure that all makes sense. If it doesn't, the patient needs to speak up and keep moving, otherwise things might not turn out well at all.

Actively working...

     Over more than three months, I had been actively working to understand why my health continued to fail.

     I worked with my medical team - literally dozens, perhaps over a hundred, professionals with countless years of experience and a vast array of knowledge. They ran several types of diagnostic tests, blood work and imaging. They monitored me closely for nearly two weeks solid at rest and under exertion. They performed surgery to place a pacemaker and rushed me to the ER during a blizzard. They administered medicine: serious antibiotics via IV over four weeks and shortly thereafter, blood thinners and additional medicine. They tried very hard, no doubt.

     I gathered information from CDC, Wikipedia, online medical journals and books to learn about potential causes, risks and realized, drastic outcomes.

     I connected with my family and friends for support. Aside from the emotional support in and out of the hospital and the physical support to pick up where I was unable, they provided mental support to help me evaluate facts, probabilities and next steps as my mind floated through the haze of my condition.

     Overall, I was actively working to solve this problem. And yet, it took over three months. And I'm not going to tally the prior years of effort in dealing with growing symptoms that remained misdiagnosed until March 2016.

     Anyway, I believe that actively working on my health condition was key to my diagnosis, however delayed it may have been. If you are working through a similar situation, you should consider picking up some of the same approaches. And if you have any other recommendations that may help me or someone else, please leave a comment. That'd be real nice.