Do you know anyone who has contracted a tick borne illness such as Lyme?

[Digit]

I just wonder because one of the guys in my old metal detecting club was finally diagnosed correctly after being tested SIX times for Lyme Disease. This was in Northern Virginia at the time.

If you know someone, tell me about it.

[truedelphi]

1. I just got bitten by a tick, and not even the little deer tick that normally is responsible

But a larger "dog tick."

The bite was very painful and I had to go to the doctors and get antibiotics to prevent Lyme's disease. By the day of my appt, I had the traditional bull's eyes with a clear circle around it, and a hot pink circle around that.

I have had several friends who claim to have it. Of them, my friend, J, definitely has it.

It took her years to get any doctors to take her seriously. She self medicated with booze.

What convinced her to remain committed to the task of finding someone who would do the blood tests and find out that she had it was overhearing her vet one day. He was proclaiming to a client who brought their dog in that Lyme disease was getting to be rather common among dogs in the SF Bay area.

She figured, if dogs are really getting it, why won't people doctors realize that people can get it too. In the end, it took her going to a rather pricey specialist to get it handled.

The veterinarians in this country are ahead of the doctors in some cases.

[Digit]

2. Do you really think they "got" it?

The things I have been reading on Lymes suggested that sometimes after several courses of various antibiotics, it came back. You just don't know what you can believe reading things on the net.

Certainly, doctors are way behind the curve on this one.

I am just trying to get some actual experiences on this forum.

[TZ]

4. Not all doctors

The spirochete that causes Lyme, once in your system never goes away. The antibiotics control active infection but once you have it, you can have bouts throughout your life. My best friend has Lyme disease and has had some *SERIOUS* symptoms including meningitis which caused him to have to go see specialists.(he had headaches, dizziness and memory loss)
The problem is that Lyme is hard to diagnose. The blood test for Lyme is only about 50% accurate..Sometimes the Lyme is not active so no antibodies can be detected to it. I understand the vet diagnositic test is more accurate than the human at this point.
Also Lyme mimics other autoimmune diseases like Lupus, that it can be hard to distinguish.
Almost all the doctors I know are very aware of Lyme disease here in the N.E where its common..but Lyme is from DEER TICKS not Dog Ticks which is why I am puzzled by the OP's experience. However dog ticks carry other diseases.
Unless the doctors see the tell tale rash, its hard for them to dx. Believe me they are NOT behind the curve, despite what people think

[truedelphi]

9. So would you say then the Lyme's is like malaria in the way

That the antibiotics can knock it out but then it can come back?

I know with malaria that the "repeats" are never as severe, but getting treatment is still a good idea.

Are the repeats with Lyme as serious as the first bout or are they lesser bouts?

The doctor who treated me said that dog ticks are known to have the disease, although human transmission has not been reported up to now.

But he was rather convinced by the bull's eye.

And he said that anyone who gets the prophylactic for the disease (In this case the ten days of antibiotics) will not have to worry about the more scary aspects. He likened it to syphillis, saying that just as in syph, if treated early there are little consequences for the patient.

My husband was unhappy with the syphillis comoparison, but to me it made things clearer.

[opiate69]

3. My Mom.. back in the mid 80s. Eastern Connecticut.

It was kinda weird.. she had apparently been bitten over the summer, but had no idea since it was a tiny deer tick. later that winter, she slipped on some ice and bruised her hip.. after about a month of her hip not feeling any better, she went to the doctor, who referred her to a rheumatoid arthritis specialist. The R.A Spec. suspected Lyme, so they tested her and it came back positive. Luckily for her, at the time some doctors up in Boston were doing a nationwide study on Lyme for the New England Journal of Medicine, so she was able to get free care from them. If I understand correctly, she still goes up to Boston once a year for a follow-up with the docs there. Aside from the hip problems, she was also having some serious mood problems.. she'd get intensly angry or sad about nothing, etc.. seems the little bugs enter the bloodstream and go to work on the brain as well as the joints. I know that Lyme is fatal if untreated, but the way it was explained to us was, it responds very well to treatment.. I think the doc said a person can be literally days away from death, and with a goo course of antibiotics, recover fully. I think she has some residual problems from it though.. she's told me that she has fibromyalgia, and that her doctors attribute it to the Lyme.

[tekisui]

5. A friend on the Appalachian Trail got Lyme's Disease

It was a miserable experience for him. He didn't know he had it, and got very weak, and had muscle spasms before he sought medical attention. Once they got him on treatment, he recovered. It can be very nasty if not treated, and can stay with you forever.

[LibertyLover]

6. Unfortunately yes,

I live with one. My husband has had Lyme's several times. We live in central Maryland (Annapolis) and the area around our community is one of the worst deer tick infected areas in Anne Arundel County because of the county park next door, although the first tick that bit him was when he was on an archery range in Montgomery County.

Actually, he just finished a course of antibiotics that the doctor put him on because he had a tick bite a few weeks ago. He had some of the symptoms of Lyme's this time as well. The problem is that once you've had Lyme's the spirochete is in your blood so doing the blood work is inconclusive, so most doctors, his included, if you report a tick bite, will just put you on the antibiotics.

My goddaughter had the same problem as your friend from the club - she was about 14 or 15 and living in upstate New York in Putnam County. She had been bitten by a tick but had not caught it. She began having problems and her mom took her to their family doctor who tested her for Lyme's since Lyme, Connecticut is not far away and people were aware of Lyme's Disease. The tests back then were not great and the first couple came back negative. But her symptoms persisted and finally a friend of the family, a dermatologist, suggested they see a rheumatologist. They did and he ordered a different test which came back positive for Lyme's. She had 3 courses of antibiotics, the last course being 3 weeks of inter venous injections through an implanted shunt in her arm four times a day, before she got better. She is now having some mental health issues which her mother believes are related to the Lyme's, although my goddaughter believes that they are related to sexual and satanic (yes, she actually said that) abuse she was subjected to as a child (do I need to explain that no such abuse ever occurred?) that she has remembered thanks to her Christian therapist. Um, yeah, 'kay.

[Deep13]

7. Two people I know.

The first saw the signature mark and was treated early. The other thought he had the flu and suffered greatly until the docs figured it out.

[livetohike]

8. My cousin's wife had Lyme disease and transmitted it to their

newborn baby (this was ten years ago). She didn't know she had it and the baby wasn't diagnosed until he was two years old. He had slight seizures and some other neurological problems. They live in CT and I guess that ten years ago Lyme disease was just being researched.

They are fine now.

Edit: for poor grammar

[Digit]

10. Very enlightening, thank you all for your posts

It is frightening what damage can be done to a human body.

I hope they eventually find a permanent "cure".

[XemaSab]

11. Lemme tell ya

If I don't feel better in a week or so, I'm thinking about getting tested.

[mainegreen]

12. Yup. It put her down for two months.

Ugly shit.

[Magrittes Pipe]

13. I got Lyme in the summer of '05.

It sucked bad.

[LynzM]

14. Yes, several

I work in Old Lyme, CT, home of Lyme disease. I know two people personally and many others secondhand who've had it. The tests are often inconclusive - what he went through isn't unusual, especially if it's not prevalent in your area.

[Midlodemocrat]

15. My MD had it.

Caused congestive heart failure. It's a nasty little fucker, that's for sure. If caught right away, three weeks of antibiotics rid you of it, but if not, it can have life long consequences.

[pitohui]

16. yes and it led to permanent neurological problems including chronic fatigue

this individual became severely disabled and was unable to work for years, she will never have a high level high paying job again, her entire life was devastasted as a result -- and this in connecticut, home of the disease

i do not understand why docs wait for the test to come back "perfect" for lyme when EARLY treatment is a cheap antibiotic and the consequences of allowing lyme disease go untreated for months and years can be permanent

it is well known that tests are not very good, seems like if you have the symptoms, you have the history of being outdoors in the affected areas, then docs need to err on the side of treating the lyme

we don't have a problem w. taking antibiotics (doxycycline) as a prophylactic for malaria but for some reason we kid ourselves about lyme disease

this can be serious and life altering

i hope your friend's doc did not wait for SIX tests to be completed before prescribing treatment, that the SIX tests were done more to confirm what common sense and observation had already told the doctor

[Digit]

17. Unfortunately, it somehow attacked his heart, probably from having it too long

Anyway, it is as I suspected....too many cases going undetected for too long causing irreparable damage.

I think they need better and more accurate tests for this, and medical professionals willing to have their patients tested.

[pitohui]

22. well the current tests are not any good

you can have it and the test come back inconclusive, as you saw, if you wait to get a conclusive result, you may have waited long enough to destroy your future and your ability to work

i don't think people can wait for better tests to be developed

we have the antibiotics, if you are a doctor and have reason to believe the person was exposed, you must err on the side of providing the antibiotic NOW because early treatment is the key to preventing long term problems

my friend's entire future would still be there, if instead of listening to doctors doing repeated tests, she had simply thrown up her hands, gone to mexico, and bought her own damn antibiotic -- she knew where she lived and what she almost certainly had -- they refused to treat it until too late because of "inconclusive" tests

in an ideal world, yes, there would be better tests, but we only live in this world, and nobody waits to go outdoors until one day pie in the sky a better test might be developed

[TZ]

18. Here's the reason

You don't take anti-biotics for malaria (its a protist not a bacteria) you take anti-malarials which have one bad thing..increased drug resistance. Malaria parasites evolve resistance QUICK.
Doctors are really reluctant to just prescribe antibiotics in this day and age of super-bugs. And some of these cases of Lyme need more potent antibiotics. My friend knew he had Lyme got treated but still came down with a severe case and had to have some IV antibiotics.

[pitohui]

21. i did take antibiotic (doxycycline) to prevent malaria, as do many people

you are just wrong about that, in fact, the cheapest malaria preventative i have taken and the one with the fewest side effects for me is doxycycline, a pretty old antibiotic

doctors who are reluctant to prescribe antibiotics in the case of suspected lyme disease are destroying lives -- the harm done by lyme disease is real and often permanent, the harm done by over-use of antibiotic is theoretical and of little comfort to the person who can no longer work or earn a living because of permanent neurological damage


i'm not saying give antibiotics for the sniffles, but lyme disease is not the sniffles, it destroys futures

the doctor who is unwilling to prescribe antibiotic in the case of suspected lyme disease is not a doctor who should be practicing on live human patients in my humble opinion

[mtowngman]

19. I had Lyme disease two years ago

got it from what I can best id as a lone star tick. fortunately I got the distinctive bullseye rash on my upper arm right where I pulled the tick off. My doc didn't even bother with blood tests, put me on antibiotics immediately. Been ok since, I guess I was lucky.

[pitohui]

23. you are lucky, you had a good doctor

the blood tests are worthless and often give inconclusive results, he or she did what was needed (gave early treatment) instead of dithering around, bravo!

[mtowngman]

25. I wish that I could convince my wife and in-laws that follow up

blood work is equally as useless as the ab could stay in your blood for years. I'm a medical laboratory technician and they don't believe me:shrug:

[graywarrior]

20. Friend of mine has had it bad for the past 5 years.

Finally went to a doctor in NY who specializes in treatment and she is getting better now. He put her on different anti-biotics.

[Andrea]

24. My brother

He was bitten by a tick in Geneva, Switzerland while on his honeymoon. When he was back home in NJ, he got the distinctive bullseye and went to the doc. I don't know if he got tested or not, but they put him on the antibiotics right away. It's been 14 years now and he's never had any problem from it. He was very lucky.