Lyme...bulls eye rash...spider bites?

[Dugan]

It really is ridiculous. My dogs get tested every year as part of the heartworm test. I get much the same exposure they do, should I not be tested as well? Even after I explained this to my old doc, along with telling him that my dog had been diagnosed with lyme, he STILL fought me on testing for lyme. I mentioned my dog's diagnosis to my new doc, and explained that he doesn't go anywhere without me, and she instantly agreed to a lyme test as a precaution.

 

[charlos]

My wife showed me me what she believed to be a rub burn on her inside waist from wearing jeans she hasn't been able to fit into since giving birth eight weeks ago.......bulls eye!
Off to the doc an hour later......no blood test necessary, prescription written for breastfeeding safe antibiotic.
Its strange to say but i feel she was lucky to get the rash....doc says we caught it really early, my wife says this explains the recent headaches and joint pains she though were due to child birth and being a mommy.
Guess now she will join me in my nerd fashion movement(all tucked in and light colors!!!!!!)
Think i may spray the perimeter of my property with pyrethrin just for peace of mind.

 

[spider solo]

well 1st of all...congratulations on the new baby!

wow, you sure have had a tough run of it with the Lyme and all. Good thing your keeping a close eye on things.

This year was the 1st time in a few years that I stayed in the States later than usual before heading up here to Quebec.
Seemed to me my reward was the tick bite.

I haven't researched it yet, but would be curious to know how far north the range is for Lyme Disease carrying ticks.

 

[charlos]

well 1st of all...congratulations on the new baby!

thanks.....shes infatuated with oak trees, a great start!
gonna bronze the first pair of climbing slippers.
hope you are feeling well.
los

 

[spider solo]

update...

While it might be a bit too early to be sure...it does appear that just taking the intial treatment does not mean it will not advance to stage 2.

Just a little.... heads up.... in case folks notice any "funny stuff' after they already think it's a done deal

 

[LittleBear]

Bull's Eye

I had Lyme disease two summers ago. I had a couple of days of not feeling quite right - low grade fever - but nothing to keep me down, although I was very tired. Two weeks later I had full blown flu-like symptons. Fever of 103.5 and severe headaches. I was miserable for four days - then I got better - fast - like within a couple of hours.

I was lucky - four days later - bull's eye on my stomach. Called the doc and she put me on doxy for 21 days. I've had no problems since.

I did some research on Lyme after that and discovered that originally it was thought that the bull's eye showed in approx. 80% of all cases. Now it may be that it appears in only 40% of the cases.

Last Thursday at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, they showed the film "Under Our Skin." The movie "investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than AIDS. Each year thousands go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, often told that their symptoms are "all in their head." Following the stories of patients and physicians fighting the disease, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of the health care system and a medical establishment all too willing to put profits ahead of patients."

Unfortunately is was a one-time showing at the Music Hall and I could not attend, but it is being shown at other theaters. Here is a listing of upcoming shows:

Museum of Fine Arts Boston MA 08/06/09 to 08/13/09 Special event 8/9: bostonlyme.org
Newburyport Screening Room Newburyport MA 08/07/09 to 08/13/09 (978)462-3456
Regal Nickelodeon North Falmouth MA 08/07/09 to 08/13/09 (508)563-6510
Time and Space Limited Hudson NY 08/13/09 to 08/22/09 (518)822-8448
Pocono Community Theater East Stroudsburg PA 08/22/09 - 1 Day Only (570)421-3456
Strand Theatre Rockland ME 08/23/09 - 1 Day Only (207)594-0070
Red River Theatres Concord NH 08/27/09 to 08/31/09 (603)224-4600

The DVD becomes available to the public sometime in September. Here's a link to the film's website: http://www.underourskin.com/index.html

 

[spider solo]

Thanks nice info . I'll make a point of seeing the film.
Probably Newburyport on the 7th.

 

[erugs]

I've seen the film and it is an eye opener. At first I thought it was a lot of scare tactic information, but the more I'm learning from many directions the more I'm scared that enough truth isn't getting out. I'm in the process of switching from a physician I really like a lot to one who is Lyme "literate" to help me in recovery. It's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head. I'm not a hyporchondriac, I'm not a weakling, I'm not lazy, crazy or stupid.

 

[LittleBear]

I was lucky when I got Lyme. My doc had it at the same time! When I went to see her, we showed each other our bull's eyes! She said that she was concerned that she might be missing this diagnosis in many of her patients and now that she had it, she was going to try to be more aware of the symptoms and the possibility of the diagnosis. She also said that the blood test they do for Lyme can often come back as false negative.

 

[Chip]

I've seen the film and it is an eye opener. At first I thought it was a lot of scare tactic information, but the more I'm learning from many directions the more I'm scared that enough truth isn't getting out. I'm in the process of switching from a physician I really like a lot to one who is Lyme "literate" to help me in recovery. It's not in my head, it's not in my head, it's not in my head. I'm not a hyporchondriac, I'm not a weakling, I'm not lazy, crazy or stupid.

Good for you. I don't know what some doctors problem is with treating Lyme. I know many HATE to prescribe antibiotics and that (as Doug Paul mentioned earlier) antibiotics are not completely risk free, BUT advanced Lyme is a potentially debilitating disease. I'd take my chances with a Doc who prefers aggressive treatment vs the risks associated with not being cured.

 

[DrewKnight]

I have mentioned before, I have a good friend who is a pediatrician on Boston's South Shore (second only to southern Connecticut for Lyme infections, I understand). It sounds like her practice's policy is treat first, ask questions later -- they seem to espouse a rather extreme (in a good way) wellness orientation, and have found that waiting for test results is almost never a good idea: you get a lot of false negatives, it takes time, etc.

They seldom see the patient with the tick still attached, so testing the offending critter isn't an option in most cases. IIRC, she said they treat if there is a) a tell-tale rash, or b) likely symptoms absent the rash and a high probability of exposure. I am not a doctor, nor have I recently played one on TV, but this seems like a common sense approach to me, given that the side-effects of the antibiotics are negligible.

This same practice has a similar approach to flu: they try to give EVERYONE a flu shot... because much of their patient population is HMO-based, they only get a certain amount per patient per year, inclusive of hospitalizations, etc. They have done the numbers and figured out that the cost of the flu shot is a tiny fraction of the cost of hospitalizations for patients. Managed care at its best (not to start a thread-drift on healthcare...), because everyone wins.

 

[bogorchis]

Recent diagnosis of Lyme and husband has Babesiosis

I'm jumping in to tell you that I did not have a rash or the bulls eye! I had a fever, achey joints, stiff neck and a headache for about 36 hours. I thought that I had a sinus infection or a summer type of flu. Went to the walk in clinic, and they prescribed Amoxicillin, but said that they would do a Lyme blood test in a month. Don't know why they had to wait that long!

In the meantime, hubby started running high fevers with chills, achey joints and no appetite. It took two weeks to get the clinic to recognize that they needed to do more then just a Lyme and white blood cell count. They checked his red blood cells and he has another deer tick disease known as Babesiosis. Info at this site: http://www.cdc.gov/babesiosis/ This is also carried by the deer tick. The doc- a well known Infectious disease guy told us that this was very serious for him, because he doesn't have a spleen. He is on two drugs, and may be taking them for six weeks or longer. He is taking Mepron and Azithromycin. This disease is actually a protozoa parasite that is in the red blood cells. He is slowly making progress; the fevers are gone, and the level of the parasite in his blood is less.

Then, I went to have the Lyme test, and sure enough I was positive! No rash, so if you have flu-like symptoms, aches, etc. go to a doc and get tested. I am on doxy for 21 days.

We were down in Westport, MA which has a lot of deer tick disease, but there are more and more cases of all three disease caused by deer ticks - Lyme, Babesiosis and Erhlichiosis. You can find them all on the CDC web site.

A local hematologist in our local hospital told me that they have diagnosed at least 20 cases of deer tick disease in just the past month, and it is not all Lyme, but some of the other!!

So, RUN, DON'T WALK, IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE SYMPTOMS. These diseases aren't fun!!

 

[SAR-EMT40]

but said that they would do a Lyme blood test in a month. Don't know why they had to wait that long!

It is not unusual for an early Lyme test to determine nothing because it is actually not a test for Lyme disease, not directly. It is a test that indicates that your body has built antibodies to Lyme disease and because of this your body needs time to develop the antibodies. In the early days they use to do an immediate test which often was negative and then they use to do a second one which might be positive. I wouldn't bother with the first one personally and most doctors have wised up to the fact that the first test is probably not required or actually useful.

Keith

 

[spider solo]

bogorchis...thanks for the link I wasn't aware there were other tick diseases. I see the Doc tommorow.
Last year I went through 21 days of Doxy, it raised hell with my stomach, huge heartburn till after about a week they told me I could take an over the counter product to help with that.

This year I am worse off with symptoms...don't know if last years didn't work or I got another bite this year.
Anybody know if you can get Lyme again and again or if you've had it once you can't get it again...??

I read that anti biotics fix most people so don't know if I'm just "s--- outa luck" or what..but it sure isn't any fun that's the truth....

Good luck to you both.

 

[DougPaul]

This year I am worse off with symptoms...don't know if last years didn't work or I got another bite this year.
Anybody know if you can get Lyme again and again or if you've had it once you can't get it again...??

Yes you can get it multiple times.

I read that anti biotics fix most people so don't know if I'm just "s--- outa luck" or what..but it sure isn't any fun that's the truth....

Unfortunately most is not all. IIRC, it is harder to kill in the later stages and can ultimately require IV antibiotics in some cases. And if it isn't resistant to some antibiotics already, it is likely to become resistant to the more common ones at some point.

Doug

 

[bogorchis]

Spider solo - I didn't know about Babesiosis until my hubby was diagnosed. The doc had another patient from our town that had it, and then the Animal Planet channel did a program called, "The Monster within Me". The last person that they interviewed was a runner from Ipswich, MA who got Babesiosis in 2006, so it is becoming more common. He got over it alright, but he didn't have the problem of not having a spleen.

A landscaper friend of mine has had Lyme disease twice; she had different symptoms both times, so you can get bitten again and get it, which is discouraging to know.

I hope that the doxy doesn't do a number on me. So far, so good, but I have only taken it for 3 days out of 21. I hate having to be careful about being out in the sun. My friend used #70 sunscreen, and she still got sun poisoning.

I have decided that I will still hike and walk or I will lose my sanity.

 

[bogorchis]

Spider solo - Is it possible that you have one of the other deer tick disease. Check out the CDC web site and look at the symptoms for the other two. Or you might just have been bitten again. What a pain!! Good luck, and I hope that you feel better.

 

[bogorchis]

SAR-EMT40
Thanks for the info about the tests for Lyme. That is probably why they waited for a month, and I had been on the amoxicillin, too.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

IIRC, it is harder to kill in the later stages and can ultimately require IV antibiotics in some cases. And if it isn't resistant to some antibiotics already, it is likely to become resistant to the more common ones at some point.

Doug

My understanding and that is all it is, is that the spirochetes in later stages can get into the tendons and ligament, causing the arthritic symptoms. Whats worse is that the tendons and ligaments have poor blood supply which makes it very difficult for antibiotics to actually get to them to kill them. That is when the long term use of antibiotics by IV seems to be indicated but even with that, it seems very difficult to eradicate all the little buggers.

Keith

 

[SAR-EMT40]

SAR-EMT40
Thanks for the info about the tests for Lyme. That is probably why they waited for a month, and I had been on the amoxicillin, too.

No problem. In my opinion, that is exactly what should be done if Lyme is suspected. Give the antibiotic if there is strong suspicion and test later if confirmation is even required. As mentioned antibiotics are not without risks, actually the majority of anaphylactic reactions reported each year are caused by antibiotics more than any other reason and the other problems associated with them. As with any medication it is a cost vs. benefit type of equation.

Keith