Lyme Disease

“I woke up Monday with a weird rash on my side. I get poison ivy by just driving by a timber with my window down so didn't think much about it. It didn't swell or itch like poision ivy. This morning I looked at it at it was the perfect shape of a bullseye. I have been feeling sick the last couple of days and have had bad headaches. I looked on the internet and found pictures of the rashes from Lyme disease. I printed one off and held it by my rash. My son says it looks just like the picture. So I made an appointment with the Doc. He looked at it scraped it, poked at it, and said its not poision ivy and it could very well be Lyme disease. He prescribed me 2 weeks of antibiotics and sent me home. I said is that it, you don't need to do any other test? He said take this for 2 weeks and if you have it this will cure it. After all I have read about this disease I didn't think it was that simple. I read Hikin Mikes experiance as well as others. What should I do?”

“This is exactly what happened to my son. The antibiotics cured him. The Doctor had him come in weeks after the cure for a test to see if he was cured, and he was. This was the first case of Lyme disease this Pediatrician had ever seen.”

“Take the antibiotics like the doc says then go back for a recheck. You are lucky you caught it early.”

“Outmatches, TAKE THE MEDICINE! Yes, that is precisely what needed to be done. But, insist on being re-tested. I was tested 3X before the diagnosis was positive. I have been re-tested even after I finished the anti-biotics. Yes, it should cure it. No, it's not carved in stone. That's the only point I see your doc being a little potentially careless with. My doc is extremely thorough. If it weren't for his insistence, I may not have been diagnosed properly, as my first two were false negatives (very common). Make sure it is no longer acute before you rest easy. This is serious stuff! I'm not kidding and I am sure Hikin Mike will back that up! Best of luck! Please let me know how you do.

One other note. I am "over it" as far as my blood test readings go. But, I am hardly out of pain. There can be many months of residual achiness in the joints. Again, hope yours goes easy on you...”

“Once you have Lyme disease you always have it..the drugs do not kill it completely but only reduce it to a size where your body can cope with it...after you take the antibiotics your doctor should take a blood test to find out just what level will be your base line from now on...Polk County in Wisconsin, where I live, was once considered the deer tick capital of the US...I know quite a few people who have contracted it...”

“If Lyme disease is caught early, you do not ALWAYS have it. The spirchete responsible for Lyme is succeptible to the antibiotics mentioned. The side effects are as a result of multi-organ system involvement. Once it reaches Stage II or III, then you may have neurologic, joint or cardiac involvement due to the inflammatory response associated with the chroic infection. Despite, this does not mean that you have active Lyme disease.

Rob”

“My information comes from my supervisor at work who has it...it took her 2 months to get diagnosed...she never saw a tick nor had a rash...she's not the outdoorsy type...so, if you are right, and you sound like you know what you are talking about, finding a rash and reacting to it quickly can obviously stop years of grief...”

“My sister and two of her kids had Lymes. Lots of antibiotics.

Just a caution: Sometimes other bacteria can accompany Lymes requiring treatment as well. That can be something to consider if the first treatment doesn't work 100%.
last edited: 11/06/05 1:02:23 AM”

“I went to the doc last week because whatever I contracted in Maine, almost a month, ago still lingers. They got blood, pee and poop from me. The tests should be back midweek. I do have achiness of joints, but not constant. Major lethargy. A not "quite" settled stomach and diarrhea every few days. I don't feel especially sick, but definitely do not feel well.”

“Thanks for all the input. I plan on taking the antibiotics. I just felt he should have done more. He said blood test are not very accurate so he didn't want to do it. I think I shoul'd check with another doctor after I take the antibiotics. I want to know that the medicine took care of things. I had the Lyme disease vaccination about 12 years ago before they quit giving it to humans. I always thought I was immune to it because of that. Maybe not.”

“your doc was right about the blood test...here's some info from the CDC...
These tests (blood tests) may be falsely negative in patients with early disease, but they are quite reliable for diagnosing later stages of disease.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm
last edited: 11/06/05 9:53:52 AM”

“Don't believe eveything the CDC says.

Good thing you were diagnosed early...I'm sure you will recover fine. Lyme is one of those diseases that needs to be diagnosed based on your symptoms...not on a blood test, which is very hard to test for.”

“Ditto what Hikin Mike said. Should your symptoms resolve on the antibiotic, don't go pushing for more and more tests. I work in clinical medicine. Tests are used as an adjunct to history and clinical examination. To many docs rely on tests. Unfortunately, lab tests are much like antibiotics - the public demands them and therefore clinicians provide them to keep the patients happy.

It doesn't take a clinician to understand Lyme disease. Do a google search or yahoo search, spend 30-45 minutes reading, then come back if you have any questions. You'll probably know as much as your doc at that point.

Rob”

“"You'll probably know as much as your doc at that point."

If not more.”

“Hey... careful now Mike ;)”

“MataHariHiker, do you live near Highway 8? I've driven it many times to visit my relatives in Barron and Rusk counties. Email me and I'll tell you what town near you I was born in. If you live in St Croix Falls or Turtle Lake, well that explains a lot why you are such a nice person.”

“when I was diagnosed with it, it was not due to any sort of suspect rash, nor any positive test results...

I had been having chronic migraines(with light sensitivity and nausea) with chills and "feelings of weirdness." Finally, I ended up in the ER with a fever 102.9 and delerium. They ran all sorts of tests and ruled our meningitis, encephalitis and a bunch of other stuff...
I had all sorts of tests including a brain MRI, before Lymes was diagnosed. I never had a positive test.

antibiotics solved the problem though.”

“102.9??

That sounds like a radio station.”

“False negatives are very common, Amy. Didn't know you got hit with it, also. When was that?”

“False negatives are very common, Amy. Didn't know you got hit with it, also. When was that?”

“who you callin' Oldie, pops?! :p

I had Lymes this past Summer, before I went to Ecuador...it almost cancelled my trip. Almost.”

“I've had Lyme too. I got the rash and everthing though. Never saw the tick. I am fairly certain I got it up in the Adirondacks, near JBL. I got tested 2x, both came out negative. I was given the antibiotics anyway, and I felt much better after a month. I was glad I caught it early. So yes, the tests can often give a false negative.

-percious
www.percious.com”

“Talked to my clinic today and they said all lab work is negative. I'm going in tomorrow for a sit down and will discuss the false negative thing. I'd sure hate to die of nothing...”

“Nimblefoot. That's kind of how I feel.If it is going to get me I want to see it comming. I am very stressed out about this but I am thankfull for all your input. I feel better knowing that some of you caught this early as I did and overcame it. Thanks all!!!”

“Do any of you guys with lyme disease have any problems with your eyes? I have developed uveitis and it's only getting worse. The doctor told me to get tested for lyme disease, among other things.”

“No, CD. It hasn't hit me there. But, I would get it checked, like they say. Best of luck. Hope you don't have this nasty thing...”

“Thanks Treebeard. Are you still suffering the from the disease?”

“I have some pretty uncomfortable residual pains in the joints and in my hands, mostly. It comes and goes and moves around. Gets downright painful, sometimes...”

“Sorry to hear about that Tree. I have shoulder and neck pain, but nothing really terrible. My osteopath did some therapy a couple of months ago, but the pain never went away completely. This eye problem is really bothering me though.

Hope you feel better.”

“Thanks, CD. I think they are being precautious about the Lyme disease, which is a good thing. Get checked out and I hope for the best. Keep me posted, ok?”

“Claims of 100% effectiveness just do not cut it with me. I just can't can't get behind it. I call it a false sense of security. Does that mean we no longer have to check for ticks? It is already established that the tick has to be attached for some length of time before infection is probable. I am not minimizing the rigors of Lyme Disease. I know people who have suffered greatly because of it. But I am saying that claiming 100% effectiveness may be minimizing the need for other precautions.”

“he red circle does NOT always show up”

“I had the old vaccination 12 years ago, they stopped giving it I think because it cause arthridise like problems. They then stopped doing reaserch on the vacine. I got Lyme desease 3 years ago.”

“Speaking of things like lyme disease, I woke up at my parents' house in FLorida this morning with a big tick attached to my neck. I ulled it off and a good sized chunk of skin went with it. The darn spot still itched and prickles like mad, but hell, at leat it's not head lice.”

“I had several people tell me to get checked for lyme disease after I completed the AT. I did remove three ticks during the course of the hike, but never had a rash or any symptoms outside of the usual aches and pains from such an extended hike. When I went in for my yearly physical in February I talked to my doctor about it and he said it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and take the test . . . especially considering the tick bites. I did test positive and went on antibiotics for two weeks. If I hadn't listened to what others were recommending I still wouldn't know about it.”

“Ughh!

I think I have lyme disease. Tired, achy neck, headache, feverish, even my eyes hurt. Just made dr. appt.

Pulled a tick off of me about a week and a half ago.

How soon after starting on antibiotics do people usually start getting their energy back?”

“You should be feeling better as the treatment starts working. But, the residuals can linger for quite some time. I don't think I was quite right for close to a year afterward. I mean, I was able to function for the most part, But the pain and achiness reared its ugly head all too often. Take this thing seriously! And best of luck to you...”

“Thanks Treebeard.

Got my meds this morning. Still doing my section this weekend. It's all good.”

“if you are taking doxy watch out for sun exposure - the stuff can make you very prone to sunburn”

“Blond hair and blue eyes, im already susceptible to sunburn. I got the section done and just a little pinker. Saw the tip a bit too late. :)”

“Best of luck, HM”