Lyme Disease and Hunters

[JTracyII]

So, it appears I may have a tickborne illness. I found a tick on me June 28th that had likely been there for a couple of days, and the day after I had swollen lymphnodes in my neck. I thought about going to doc then, but I have seen that happen before with no ill effects in the long run. Plus, I was packing for a trip and decided to not go to doc and monitor the situation. I read up on tickborne illnesses to educate myself, in case. Anyway, yesterday, 13 days or so after the tick was pulled off, I felt very tired going to work. I took 3 naps yesterday between clients. I noticed feeling slightly chilled as well, but had no fever at the time. My throat also felt a bit swollen and it was kind of hard to drink water yesterday morning when I woke. Needless to so I got myself to the doc ASAP after work. They drew blood and sent off to determine if I have a tickborne illness, which I am guessing I do. They also put me on Doxicycline, 14 days (2 X's/day). I am posting this here because I live in OK where few doctors really even know much about Lyme and I know many on this forum live in the NE and other places where it is much more prevalent. Some doctors and vets here will tell you it does not exist here. I had one client with it who lived in OK and by looking at the stats sent out by MissK over 400 dogs have been diagnosed with Lymes in OK, so I know it is here. Anyway, what should I look out for? What do you know? Is 14 days of meds enough? I read that with only 14 days relapse rate is 40 percent and that 20 days is better. I think I caught it early enough I'll be fine and I am not too worried at this point, but I know that some of these tickborne illness are life changing if not caught early and treated properly. Thanks for your input and help, JT

[flitecontrol]

Sure hope you don't have it, but here is the CDC's treatment protocol: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/index.html

[orhunter]

If you have Lyme, which the blood test should determine if they check for it, your treatment is half as long as it should be. When the Dr. gets the test results back and it shows you do indeed have Lyme, he should adjust the treatment. One question. Did you identify the tick species involved? This would go a long way in determining what you have. If it wasn't a Deer Tick, you don't have Lyme.

[JTracyII]

Thanks Flitecontrol.
Or, I did look at it pretty closely, but should have kept it. It was either the deer tick or American Dog tick for sure based upon comparing what I remember to images online. I will also be talking to my doctor about a more lengthy duration of treatment than 14 days if it comes back positive. The problem is, based upon what I've read, there is a strong possibility of a false negative result on the lab results as there are several strains of Lyme's Disease. Is this what you all have heard?

[orhunter]

Yes, not all Lyme is the same. Just like what causes dogs to get sick from eating salmon and the like, more than one strain so building up a resistance can take several infections to get them all covered.

[JTracyII]

more than one strain so building up a resistance can take several infections to get them all covered.

Please elaborate as it pertains to Lyme's? Does one build a resistance to Lyme's once properly treated?

By the way, I did run a fever last night and shivered quite a bit throughout. I actually noticed a foul odor from all of the sweat on my sheets this morning when I woke. My sheets under me were pretty wet.

[orhunter]

No, was only relating the different strains thing, not building up resistance. I don't know if humans can develop resistance?

What you have doesn't sound like Lyme to me. May not be related to the tick? Might be nothing more than coincidence?

[JTracyII]

Could be a coincidence. I hope so. The other possibility that is more prevelant around here is Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever.

[SwitchGrassWPG]

Hopefully your Dr. tested for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever as well.

[AverageGuy]

A few years back the Wife got something from a Tick. Severe Headache, body aches, extreme fatigue and fever. I told her those symptoms were likely tick related and she went to the Doctor who started her on some strong antibiotics immediately. She started getting better in just a couple of days, recovered fully over the course of the antibiotics which was only a couple of weeks and suffered no problems since. Hopefully the same outcome for you.

[JTracyII]

Jay,
My understanding is they did test for that as well.

AG, thanks.

Side note: Started having to blow my nose pretty often today. Not sure what that means, but it’s another symptom.

[mastercaster]

I emailed a buddy whose daughter got Lyme disease a couple of hunting seasons ago. She got it bad and is still not fully recovered but she is considerably better than she was a year ago. She read through the thread, and looked at what symptoms you were having and this is what my buddy sent back. BTW, she is practical nurse now and was able to find almost everything written about the disease. She was very fortunate to get hooked up with the leading authority up here in Canada who helped her deal with the disease.

Elyse read the thread and says that night sweats and fever aren't common with Lyme, but it could be another tick born illness. They spread many different ones. He should go see a Lyme specialist, NOT a regular Doc! Even in the States, I think, only some test labs are accurate. The one in Germany is good for sure.

Because my buddy's daughter had such a resistant case, blood work was done at that lab in Germany, as well as in Canada.

[JTracyII]

Thanks for the time and effort you put into this. I got a tip on a infectious disease specialist recently that I may visit if need be. I may wait to see what the lab results show first and then determine what to do from there. I will be on Doxi for a bit, which it seems is the first step for most Tickborne illnesses. Glad to here she is recovering some. How long did she wait before she got treatment once symptoms showed? I know many will wait too long as they assume it is something different.

[Misskiwi67]

If you don’t feel 100% after 2 weeks, go straight to an infectious disease doctor. I’ve seen too many people brushed off and debilitated by Lyme.

[mastercaster]

Thanks for the time and effort you put into this. I got a tip on a infectious disease specialist recently that I may visit if need be. I may wait to see what the lab results show first and then determine what to do from there. I will be on Doxi for a bit, which it seems is the first step for most Tickborne illnesses. Glad to here she is recovering some. How long did she wait before she got treatment once symptoms showed? I know many will wait too long as they assume it is something different.

She went to the doctor or emergency the first day they discovered the tick bite because she had a sore neck and wasn't feeling all that well. The problem is a lot of doctors up here in BC don't know squat about Lyme Disease, many of them thinking it's an incredible rare disease that extremely few people come down with,,,,if ever. IIRC, I think her first blood work done at the general hospital didn't show Lyme disease at all but she clearly had it. I think they put her on some kind of medications. It just didn't help.