School me on Lyme Disease

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I found this pimple-like mark on my stomach area and am now paranoid about having Lyme. The last week or so I've had a crazy headache which seems to come on at night, flu-like symptoms, feeling tired and weak. I might just be overreacting, and I really don't want to go to the doctor and waste money if there's nothing wrong. I also decided to be lazy on Saturday and slept literally 24 hours straight, which is probably why I am sore and tired now.

Does anyone here actually have Lyme? How did you know you had it? Did you actually find the tick and have the typical bulls-eye rash? My friend has it and he said he both found the tick and knew he got bit because it was extremely painful.

Thanks in advance.
 
I just heard on the radio that a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. So I think you would notice it during that time.
 
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I really don't want to go to the doctor and waste money if there's nothing wrong.

You are not wasting money. Even if it turns out to be nothing, you'll be buying yourself peace of mind so that you can sleep better at night without worrying about it anymore. Go see a doctor.
 
Originally Posted By: Warstud
I just heard on the radio that a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. So I think you would notice it during that time.


Yet there is case after case where people don't know how they got Lyme, and/or the tick was immediately removed upon discovery at the end of the day.

rish-tick-bite-graph1-300x212.jpg


Looking at the graph, there is roughly a 5% chance of infection if the tick is removed at the end of the day. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to have more than one tick bite. I've had 4 on me at once.

Quote: "According to some experts, only 14-32 % of patients who have Lyme disease recall a tick bite"
 
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Originally Posted By: Warstud
I just heard on the radio that a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. So I think you would notice it during that time.


There are too many variables to say for certain about time attached being required for transmitting a disease. Removal methods are known to affect transmission. A rash is only present in 40 to 60 percent of cases.

Get tested, don't let your doctor use the Western Blot test. That test depends on the opinion of the test reader. PCR and other tests will provide more accurate diagnosis.

There are many other tick borne illnesses that resemble Lyme. Be sure to be tested for those as well.

Hope you're feeling better soon.
 
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Originally Posted By: Warstud
I just heard on the radio that a tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. So I think you would notice it during that time.


Many people who have gotten Lyme never noticed the bulls-eye rash, let alone the tick. He needs to be aware the your average doctor probably knows little about how to identify, test for, or treat Lyme, especially if it isn't that common in his area. Also, there is the "conventional" medical view, which is that it is rare and easy to treat (30 days of antibiotics and done, which couldn't be farther from the truth).

Then you have the real world view of doctors with ILADS (Int Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) who are actual Lyme specialists and are known as LLMDs (Lyme Literate). They know which tests to order from which labs in order to have the lowest chance of false results, when to to ignore the lab tests and give a confirmation based on observation only (called a clinical diagnosis), and how to treat the disease as the various bacteria mutate

The symptoms of the OP strongly suggest a Lyme situation, particularly the headache. Muscle and joint stiffness are also typical early signs. I would be running for an LLMD, and Googling "Lyme Symptoms". And if you think you have it, don't settle for a medical person blowing you off, or saying it doesn't happen there.
 
The thing that had me worried the most is that I live in an area prone to ticks. Plenty of woods and tall grass in my area, and I always see deer in the yard during the evening and at night. Also finding mice indoors, in my [censored] bed of all places recently, doesn't make me feel any better.
 
One of the many problems in treating Lyme is that it is best treated early. If you start treating within thirty days you have an excellent chance of knocking it out with just a short course of antibiotics. However, the sooner you are tested the less likely you are to find it, as the test detects antibodies, which your body may not have produced yet. The Lyme world is full of people who were only diagnosed after trips to multiple doctors over a period of years, by which time they had Chronic Lyme (old and hard to treat) as opposed to Acute (newly gotten).
 
Lyme is pale compared to Powassan; which is very rare; but a much more deadly tick-borne virus. a Dr might simply prescribe anti-biotics instead of relying on test results
 
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Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
The thing that had me worried the most is that I live in an area prone to ticks. Plenty of woods and tall grass in my area, and I always see deer in the yard during the evening and at night. Also finding mice indoors, in my [censored] bed of all places recently, doesn't make me feel any better.


You are a prime candidate. Also, it isn't just ticks, but also fleas and mosquitos. They are also mentioning it can be passed through unprotected sex with an infected person.
 
I went to my doc with a funky roundish rash with what appeared to be a bite in the middle and he just gave me a week's worth of antibiotics, no testing. Lots o Lyme around here, knew a family in which the wife and both kids had it all at once.
 
Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
Get to your doctor and gladly spend the money. Do it today.
It sure beats dealing with untreated & advancing Lyme Disease.


YES, immediate treatment is your friend; Lyme's damage is progressive and cannot be reversed - but it's easily treatable.
 
+1 on all the advice given; you probably don't need more encouragement at this point.

I got sent to the emergency room by the on call Dr. after my pulse was 160 and I endured 24 hours of a zombie feverish state.

On a side note, Lyme CT is about 1/4 mile from my house and one of the nicest towns in which you could hope to live.
 
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My wife tested positive at the hospital for Lyme disease during the blood work they had done. I had to take her to a specialist that treats infectious diseases. They did their test, and it came back negative. The county still lists her on their Lyme disease map even though we have called them multiple times, and told them she did not have Lyme disease.
 
Originally Posted By: TooManyWheels
Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
The thing that had me worried the most is that I live in an area prone to ticks. Plenty of woods and tall grass in my area, and I always see deer in the yard during the evening and at night. Also finding mice indoors, in my [censored] bed of all places recently, doesn't make me feel any better.


You are a prime candidate. Also, it isn't just ticks, but also fleas and mosquitos. They are also mentioning it can be passed through unprotected sex with an infected person.


Absolutely. I have had it for eight months! Mosquitoes gave it to me. You get a tick bite now and then but tons of mosquito bites. I had it three years ago and couldn't even walk. You talk about pain,this is brutal. I live in the second worst state for it and the worst state is a mile away. All the men in my area have it. Only one woman who works outside daily.

The tests are a joke. You can go through three and come up negative. In my area there are more deer than people. Keep after it.
 
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