Lyme Disease questions
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So, I got bit by a tick this past Sunday. It was in there for a good while before I got it out.
No ring (not like that matters much), but there was a pink area around the wound, so I had it looked at.
Doc said, we'll do a blood test in 4-6 weeks to see if it's Lyme Disease. If so we'll get you on doxy. But if you get symptoms between now and then, let me know and we'll just start you on it now.
Here's my question: why wait? Is there any good reason to? They gave me an initial dose, which I took yesterday, and the pink area around the wound has diminished to about half what it was. Doesn't that imply the pills are working? And so therefore I should just start taking them?
My guess is that they don’t want everyone who finds a tick on their body to take an antibiotic for 30 days.
You will likely know soon enough if you have Lyme’s. I did a long time ago. Started with joint pain, moved around my body and was often bi-lateral. Then high fever. Finally saw the ring. I believe the offending tick was one or two weeks before, I forget.
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My guess is that they don’t want everyone who finds a tick on their body to take an antibiotic for 30 days.
You will likely know soon enough if you have Lyme’s. I did a long time ago. Started with joint pain, moved around my body and was often bi-lateral. Then high fever. Finally saw the ring. I believe the offending tick was one or two weeks before, I forget.
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My guess is that they don’t want everyone who finds a tick on their body to take an antibiotic for 30 days.
That's my guess too. But because I usually take no antibiotics ever, I don't much care. Especially if it can speed things along. Any good reason not to besides what you mentioned?
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@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My guess is that they don’t want everyone who finds a tick on their body to take an antibiotic for 30 days.
That's my guess too. But because I usually take no antibiotics ever, I don't much care. Especially if it can speed things along. Any good reason not to besides what you mentioned?
@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My guess is that they don’t want everyone who finds a tick on their body to take an antibiotic for 30 days.
That's my guess too. But because I usually take no antibiotics ever, I don't much care. Especially if it can speed things along. Any good reason not to besides what you mentioned?
Doxy seems to be used for many things and appears to be well tolerated, that is my anecdotal experience with people I know well. If you do make sure you take whatever the full course is. Mine was 30 days and I didn’t notice feeling better for three full weeks.
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How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
The Brad
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Sorry to hear, Aqua.
It sounds like you already know the common facts about Lyme that are in this FAQ. https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/lyme-disease/
But it did say this: "The EM rash can appear from 3 to 30 days after tick exposure (usually by seven days); other symptoms begin to appear at the time of the rash."
That's different from what your doc told you.
Good luck. Hope your tick was harmless.
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How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Yeah, I know the things. It could very well have been but no way to know.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
It broke up into several pieces, so they couldn't identify it. I did bring it in.
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@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Yeah, I know the things. It could very well have been but no way to know.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
It broke up into several pieces, so they couldn't identify it. I did bring it in.
@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Yeah, I know the things. It could very well have been but no way to know.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
It broke up into several pieces, so they couldn't identify it. I did bring it in.
Then yeah, start the Doxy. Your doctor should be willing to do so. If not, go to an urgent care. They will put you on it ASAP.
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@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
How long was the tick on there? It generally needs to be attached 24 hours.
Yeah, I know the things. It could very well have been but no way to know.
Did you save the tick to have it tested and identified?
It broke up into several pieces, so they couldn't identify it. I did bring it in.
Then yeah, start the Doxy. Your doctor should be willing to do so. If not, go to an urgent care. They will put you on it ASAP.
@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
Your doctor should be willing to do so. If not, go to an urgent care. They will put you on it ASAP.
Better have an appointment. Otherwise they'll sit around smoking cigarettes and watch you die in the parking lot.
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@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
Your doctor should be willing to do so. If not, go to an urgent care. They will put you on it ASAP.
Better have an appointment. Otherwise they'll sit around smoking cigarettes and watch you die in the parking lot.
@catseye3 said in Lyme Disease questions:
@lufins-dad said in Lyme Disease questions:
Your doctor should be willing to do so. If not, go to an urgent care. They will put you on it ASAP.
Better have an appointment. Otherwise they'll sit around smoking cigarettes and watch you die in the parking lot.
Nah, urgent care is great for mild stuff like this. For serious problems, hell no.
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I hope you don’t have Lyme. Good for you to be proactive about all that. How does one see a doctor in such short order?
@horace said in Lyme Disease questions:
I hope you don’t have Lyme. Good for you to be proactive about all that. How does one see a doctor in such short order?
It's funky here. I got a next-day appointment, and there was no one in the waiting room.
My ophthalmologist requires 3-4 months advance scheduling. Used to be 3-4 weeks.
My doc sent the one-dose doxy to the wrong CVS, though, so I was trying to transfer it.
CVS 1 basically refused to fill it. They said it would take days. Everyone was working the clinic.
CVS 2 never answered their phone.
CVS 3 in the next county over could do it, no problem. There was nobody in there. -
My Lyme disease hit me very hard, mostly utter exhaustion. Scary that the doxy didn’t seem to be working the first couple of weeks. In the end I have not experienced anything since, it seems like a lifetime ago.
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My Lyme disease hit me very hard, mostly utter exhaustion. Scary that the doxy didn’t seem to be working the first couple of weeks. In the end I have not experienced anything since, it seems like a lifetime ago.
Did it ever come back?
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@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My Lyme disease hit me very hard, mostly utter exhaustion. Scary that the doxy didn’t seem to be working the first couple of weeks. In the end I have not experienced anything since, it seems like a lifetime ago.
Did it ever come back?
@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My Lyme disease hit me very hard, mostly utter exhaustion. Scary that the doxy didn’t seem to be working the first couple of weeks. In the end I have not experienced anything since, it seems like a lifetime ago.
Did it ever come back?
No. My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine, by phase 3 it was in you forever. I think phase 1 is many months so you are well within a safe period if all that still holds.
In fact I haven’t thought about it in years until you mentioned it.
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@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My Lyme disease hit me very hard, mostly utter exhaustion. Scary that the doxy didn’t seem to be working the first couple of weeks. In the end I have not experienced anything since, it seems like a lifetime ago.
Did it ever come back?
No. My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine, by phase 3 it was in you forever. I think phase 1 is many months so you are well within a safe period if all that still holds.
In fact I haven’t thought about it in years until you mentioned it.
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine
Sorry? I'm not getting this. What do you mean by 'phases'? Phases the bug is in when it bites you, or something?
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@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine
Sorry? I'm not getting this. What do you mean by 'phases'? Phases the bug is in when it bites you, or something?
@catseye3 said in Lyme Disease questions:
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine
Sorry? I'm not getting this. What do you mean by 'phases'? Phases the bug is in when it bites you, or something?
No, a timeline from when you got bit to when you do something about it.
You may or may not get acute Lyme. But wait too long, and you can get chronic Lyme, which is not so much an infection as it is a permanent autoimmune disorder.
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@catseye3 said in Lyme Disease questions:
@loki said in Lyme Disease questions:
My recollection at the time was that there were three phases and if you got it in phase 1 you were absolutely fine
Sorry? I'm not getting this. What do you mean by 'phases'? Phases the bug is in when it bites you, or something?
No, a timeline from when you got bit to when you do something about it.
You may or may not get acute Lyme. But wait too long, and you can get chronic Lyme, which is not so much an infection as it is a permanent autoimmune disorder.
@aqua-letifer said in Lyme Disease questions:
You may or may not get acute Lyme. But wait too long, and you can get chronic Lyme, which is not so much an infection as it is a permanent autoimmune disorder.
Ah . . . like malaria.
Bummer.
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I have a good friend who's daughter got the chronic version as they didn't catch it in time, and it's pretty awful. It's basically stopped her from being able to have a reasonable career.
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Sorry to hear this. I hope you don't get it. We used to have a vaccine for Lyme. We might get one again in a couple of years.
h/t Quirt @ wtf
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Getting a prescription was a serious pain in the ass, but I got one. Starting today.
