dc410
Well-known member
Yep! I couldn't agree more.
Yep! I couldn't agree more.
S
Spiral
Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 40
Funny story.
Friend of mine ended up with a bullseye rash one evening, freaked him out. Next morning, gone.
The next night before bed, checked again. Bullseye rash. Went to bed with intention of calling doctor next morning. Woke up next morning and bullseye rash gone.
Still went in to see doctor, got tested, came back negative, took the medicine just to be sure.
Kept checking area, nothing until the evenings before bed where bullseye rash would keep reappearing. Then it hit him......wait a minute.
Just so happens he was a big fan of a bowl of ice cream before bed. Set the bowl down on his stomach, chest area and duh.....red ring from the cold would appear.
As a side note, flavor of ice cream didn't seem to matter......same result lol.
.
Friend of mine ended up with a bullseye rash one evening, freaked him out. Next morning, gone.
The next night before bed, checked again. Bullseye rash. Went to bed with intention of calling doctor next morning. Woke up next morning and bullseye rash gone.
Still went in to see doctor, got tested, came back negative, took the medicine just to be sure.
Kept checking area, nothing until the evenings before bed where bullseye rash would keep reappearing. Then it hit him......wait a minute.
Just so happens he was a big fan of a bowl of ice cream before bed. Set the bowl down on his stomach, chest area and duh.....red ring from the cold would appear.
As a side note, flavor of ice cream didn't seem to matter......same result lol.
.
FarmerDave
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- Dec 13, 2006
- Messages
- 14,185
That would narrow down your tick search...
So many comebacks for that one, Pat.
A
AFISHN
Member
Tip to get rid of/controll ticks on your property:
1)save the card board center form the TP
2)fill it with cotton or yarn
3)soak the material with permethrin
4)place around your property,especially where hedge rows meet grass
5)do this in the spring and again in the early Fall
I've significantly reduced tick infestation on my place doing this the past 5 years
1)save the card board center form the TP
2)fill it with cotton or yarn
3)soak the material with permethrin
4)place around your property,especially where hedge rows meet grass
5)do this in the spring and again in the early Fall
I've significantly reduced tick infestation on my place doing this the past 5 years
A
AkDan76
Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2014
- Messages
- 219
I'm sure some of you are very familiar with the test.
basically its the elisa and western blot. You get the elisa and if you score high enough (my understanding was 1.0 on it), you move on to the WB test. This in theory helps with false positives or false negatives......
There's a newer test by a company called Igenix out in CA that test for more than just lymes.
When I was sick I had a .9 on the elisa The doc said it can take years to go neuro and threw that hole deal out of the window. hell I went for a 2nd opinion and she said I was fine with a temp just short of 100 and a high bp....not to mention the palpitations. They're too afraid of lawsuits and calling another doc out for some reason.
Problem is its been 21 years now doing these trips, MN NE WI MO KS PA and MD since moving to Alaska. The east coast is still fairly new for me, this spring will be year 5.
In order to take a test, you have to have doctors that believe in it first..without that, you're screwed! Without a rash up here, you're not likely going to get the western blot or the Igenix testing done (which also covers many other tick born illness's). It reminds me pilots who don't believe in instruments and end up crashing into the ground. Forget the term..... Anyways the doc said in his time as a doc he's seen it once...I said SO! lol come to find out my buddies daughter after my prompting found out she had stage 3 lymes. They came back and said I should get retested...our symptoms are dang near spot on.
So getting tested (again) here is a waste of time. Tried getting tested while I was down south and got refused because I don't live in the area by a family doc I was recommened to see. I haven't had any real bad bouts lately but over all fell like crap in general, so going in again is a waste of time here. I've had tests head to toe and so far no smoking gun other than....yup, somethings not right!
Some days I wish I would have ate the front end of the bike, almost passed out coming in from the garage doing some wood working, walking around the scooter one day, felt like I had just had a bad tilt o whirl ride thankfully I grabbed the windshield, dang near laid the bike over.
a number of days trying to do dishes (for one person), couldn't complete them, sweating profusely and exhausted.
Shaking like a bout with hypothermia. typically chilled, but not always.
Fainting but not hitting the ground.
Lymph node in pit and neck were swollen along with chest. smart thing would have been gone to the ER (was in pa at the time) but didn't....it left after a couple of days. I still have some in the chest from time to time. Had a mammogram as my doc felt them as well, by the time the apt happened they were gone again. talk about embarrassed!
Bouts with high bp which was odd....giant swings. Buddys wife was the er nurse said don't believe the numbers... First noticed it when I took the gal to the hotsprings...I touched the water and my bp went through the roof, sat on the rocks and put my toes in was all I could handle. That's when all this crap started 2 years ago.
tired, tired tired....on these fishing trips I'll just pull over lay the seat back and sleep for 6 hours...not normal for me to be this tired all the time. The hole driving like I ran out of gas deal. Sitting down not to catch my breath but just because I'm beat.
driving to town catching myself doing 40mph...like I was dazzed or in some form of trance. I laughed at it when I realized it....didn't associate it with anything, looking back I should have with all the other crap.
chest pain... docs saying heart burn like you wouldn't believe.....had my heart looked at every which way but scoped things are fine from that testing. Still waiting to get a ride for an endo to check my uppger guts.
Face would twitch randomly, checks felt like they were slightly numb (think wind burn) but never went. The twitching was odd.
Weird sharp pains in joints....had some odd right hand crap going on doc said carprel, now I'm fine again. Too much fly tying? ha!
some brutal headaches....I'm not sure if its from my work schedule, dehydrated or what...but its much worse than its ever been.
Over all these are the bigger ones...there are others that haven't repeated in awhile...and neither have a lot of these.
Docs are saying palps are normal.....I can tell you they're not normal for me.
Its beyond frustrating as hell! I've had a stress test, echo, holter, cat scan, another test where they insert die into my blood, colonoscopy, waiting on the endo (schedules not lining up), multiple blood work for basic stuff mostly, I think they tested me for MS and another biggie and came back negative as well, at this point I don't remember what all the blood work was for.....with all this testing they're saying I'm ok, I'm calling bs too it! but good luck convincing them of it. I hate taking aspirin, yet the family doc wants me on heart meds for my headaches and prescribes it for people doing seminars and is proud of that fact...I wont take it unless its needed! The hole damn thing ticks me off and has cost me a small fortune!
There were a few things outside the ticks that I raised concern on.
One was the ticks obviously.
next was the water contamination from the refinery. now they're giving everyone water. At the time they put in a holding tank, the landlord was filling from the neighbor well. I don't know if it was before or after the filter that was put in due to the contamination. The refinery started paying for the water, and things symptoms wise slowed to a stop...however no one else has these symptoms from it supposedly....considering the area it covers there would be a LOT of people in with similar issues. I don't remember how long I was drinking the pumped in water but it was a good 6-8 months before the refinery started putting water in. They cleaned the tank and shortly afterwards is when it all came to a head.
I know theirs more I'm missing......I'd like to get tested when I'm down south again for lymes, if I can find someone with the igeneix testing or who will do it...but so far 0.
Hate airing dirty laundry but after just over 2 years with this crap I'm tired of it....
that and getting pretty flabbergasted with the medical profession. Here not so long ago they sent my buddies wife home with heartburn, 2 weeks later she died from a massive heart attack! I believe less and less what comes out of their mouths since my last family doc retired, trusting a new one is beyond impossible!
basically its the elisa and western blot. You get the elisa and if you score high enough (my understanding was 1.0 on it), you move on to the WB test. This in theory helps with false positives or false negatives......
There's a newer test by a company called Igenix out in CA that test for more than just lymes.
When I was sick I had a .9 on the elisa The doc said it can take years to go neuro and threw that hole deal out of the window. hell I went for a 2nd opinion and she said I was fine with a temp just short of 100 and a high bp....not to mention the palpitations. They're too afraid of lawsuits and calling another doc out for some reason.
Problem is its been 21 years now doing these trips, MN NE WI MO KS PA and MD since moving to Alaska. The east coast is still fairly new for me, this spring will be year 5.
In order to take a test, you have to have doctors that believe in it first..without that, you're screwed! Without a rash up here, you're not likely going to get the western blot or the Igenix testing done (which also covers many other tick born illness's). It reminds me pilots who don't believe in instruments and end up crashing into the ground. Forget the term..... Anyways the doc said in his time as a doc he's seen it once...I said SO! lol come to find out my buddies daughter after my prompting found out she had stage 3 lymes. They came back and said I should get retested...our symptoms are dang near spot on.
So getting tested (again) here is a waste of time. Tried getting tested while I was down south and got refused because I don't live in the area by a family doc I was recommened to see. I haven't had any real bad bouts lately but over all fell like crap in general, so going in again is a waste of time here. I've had tests head to toe and so far no smoking gun other than....yup, somethings not right!
Some days I wish I would have ate the front end of the bike, almost passed out coming in from the garage doing some wood working, walking around the scooter one day, felt like I had just had a bad tilt o whirl ride thankfully I grabbed the windshield, dang near laid the bike over.
a number of days trying to do dishes (for one person), couldn't complete them, sweating profusely and exhausted.
Shaking like a bout with hypothermia. typically chilled, but not always.
Fainting but not hitting the ground.
Lymph node in pit and neck were swollen along with chest. smart thing would have been gone to the ER (was in pa at the time) but didn't....it left after a couple of days. I still have some in the chest from time to time. Had a mammogram as my doc felt them as well, by the time the apt happened they were gone again. talk about embarrassed!
Bouts with high bp which was odd....giant swings. Buddys wife was the er nurse said don't believe the numbers... First noticed it when I took the gal to the hotsprings...I touched the water and my bp went through the roof, sat on the rocks and put my toes in was all I could handle. That's when all this crap started 2 years ago.
tired, tired tired....on these fishing trips I'll just pull over lay the seat back and sleep for 6 hours...not normal for me to be this tired all the time. The hole driving like I ran out of gas deal. Sitting down not to catch my breath but just because I'm beat.
driving to town catching myself doing 40mph...like I was dazzed or in some form of trance. I laughed at it when I realized it....didn't associate it with anything, looking back I should have with all the other crap.
chest pain... docs saying heart burn like you wouldn't believe.....had my heart looked at every which way but scoped things are fine from that testing. Still waiting to get a ride for an endo to check my uppger guts.
Face would twitch randomly, checks felt like they were slightly numb (think wind burn) but never went. The twitching was odd.
Weird sharp pains in joints....had some odd right hand crap going on doc said carprel, now I'm fine again. Too much fly tying? ha!
some brutal headaches....I'm not sure if its from my work schedule, dehydrated or what...but its much worse than its ever been.
Over all these are the bigger ones...there are others that haven't repeated in awhile...and neither have a lot of these.
Docs are saying palps are normal.....I can tell you they're not normal for me.
Its beyond frustrating as hell! I've had a stress test, echo, holter, cat scan, another test where they insert die into my blood, colonoscopy, waiting on the endo (schedules not lining up), multiple blood work for basic stuff mostly, I think they tested me for MS and another biggie and came back negative as well, at this point I don't remember what all the blood work was for.....with all this testing they're saying I'm ok, I'm calling bs too it! but good luck convincing them of it. I hate taking aspirin, yet the family doc wants me on heart meds for my headaches and prescribes it for people doing seminars and is proud of that fact...I wont take it unless its needed! The hole damn thing ticks me off and has cost me a small fortune!
There were a few things outside the ticks that I raised concern on.
One was the ticks obviously.
next was the water contamination from the refinery. now they're giving everyone water. At the time they put in a holding tank, the landlord was filling from the neighbor well. I don't know if it was before or after the filter that was put in due to the contamination. The refinery started paying for the water, and things symptoms wise slowed to a stop...however no one else has these symptoms from it supposedly....considering the area it covers there would be a LOT of people in with similar issues. I don't remember how long I was drinking the pumped in water but it was a good 6-8 months before the refinery started putting water in. They cleaned the tank and shortly afterwards is when it all came to a head.
I know theirs more I'm missing......I'd like to get tested when I'm down south again for lymes, if I can find someone with the igeneix testing or who will do it...but so far 0.
Hate airing dirty laundry but after just over 2 years with this crap I'm tired of it....
that and getting pretty flabbergasted with the medical profession. Here not so long ago they sent my buddies wife home with heartburn, 2 weeks later she died from a massive heart attack! I believe less and less what comes out of their mouths since my last family doc retired, trusting a new one is beyond impossible!
FarmerDave
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2006
- Messages
- 14,185
Good advice. They were doing that in Lyme, CT 30 years ago right after Lyme disease was fist identified. I lived in East Lyme at the time. BTW, Yinzers would likely pronounce that E slime.
A
AFISHN
Member
Just discovered a website that gives lyme disease advice through a series of free articles.I thught I knew a lot about lyme having had numerous bouts with it,but just read somethingg i wasn't aware of:that lyme can be sexually transmitted
http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book-brain-nerves
http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book-brain-nerves
mr7183
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2012
- Messages
- 121
Was camping Poe this weekend and found an adult tick embedded in my arm (my first experience with ticks). It wasn't engorged and the longest it could have been attached was ~12 hours. There is a red circle (wouldn't describe it as a "bullseye") around the bite about the size of a half dollar -- no other Lyme symptoms or illnesses yet.
I called a doctor and she prescribed a 10-day run of doxy as a preventive measure. Hopefully this works out.
I am going to start dousing my fishing gear in Permethrin from now on...
I called a doctor and she prescribed a 10-day run of doxy as a preventive measure. Hopefully this works out.
I am going to start dousing my fishing gear in Permethrin from now on...
Swattie87
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,830
The red circle you see now is likely just the local skin reaction to the bite itself (like any other insect or arachnid bite) and not necessarily indicative of Lyme. It probably would go away in a couple days on its own, then the bullseye would begin to appear later if Lyme. That's what happened to me. Initial redness went away within a few days of pulling the little POS, then the bullseye (fortunately for me as not everyone gets a bullseye rash) started to show along with a constant mild headache about 2 weeks post bite. Went to the doc then and got the script for doxy and all was good.
In your case, either way the course of doxy should knock out any chance of getting Lyme. Found one on me this year, same as you, couldn't have been attached for more than 12 hours, and I took a one day double dose of doxy to be safe anyway. Not worth messing with. Just crawling on me is different but if I find one attached at any stage now, I'm calling the doc and demanding a dose of doxy.
In your case, either way the course of doxy should knock out any chance of getting Lyme. Found one on me this year, same as you, couldn't have been attached for more than 12 hours, and I took a one day double dose of doxy to be safe anyway. Not worth messing with. Just crawling on me is different but if I find one attached at any stage now, I'm calling the doc and demanding a dose of doxy.
mr7183
Active member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2012
- Messages
- 121
Thanks for your reply and prior posts. This thread was really helpful in figuring out what to do.
That little effer was a huge buzzkill on an overall great weekend. Spring fished great on Saturday -- sulfurs were coming off heavy. Caught 70 fish between four of us.
Swattie87
Well-known member
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- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,830
Yeah, I hear ya. I was freaked out by my experience, and still am to a degree. I'd rather see a bear, rattler, mountain lion, Squatch, whatever in the woods than a darn deer tick. But I love fishing, hiking, camping, and being in the woods and it's a risk associated with those activities.
The main thing I learned from it was to be clear with your doctor. Mine initially wanted to test me, which I was fine with, but I was clear that he was still writing me an rx for the doxy now, regardless of what the test showed. And he agreed.
I'm still hyper diligent...permethrin, deet, long sleeve baselayer even when it's hot out, but I've better accepted it a little bit. I explained to my Dr. the last go around that I probably am a very high risk individual for Lyme given my hobbies...If I find one attached now (as I did this Spring), he agreed for me to call in and he'd write the single day dose to knock out the chance of transmission. Other than my tick encounters I haven't been on antibiotics in over 15 years (I'm 33), so I feel pretty safe taking them on occasion in this instance.
The main thing I learned from it was to be clear with your doctor. Mine initially wanted to test me, which I was fine with, but I was clear that he was still writing me an rx for the doxy now, regardless of what the test showed. And he agreed.
I'm still hyper diligent...permethrin, deet, long sleeve baselayer even when it's hot out, but I've better accepted it a little bit. I explained to my Dr. the last go around that I probably am a very high risk individual for Lyme given my hobbies...If I find one attached now (as I did this Spring), he agreed for me to call in and he'd write the single day dose to knock out the chance of transmission. Other than my tick encounters I haven't been on antibiotics in over 15 years (I'm 33), so I feel pretty safe taking them on occasion in this instance.
Hook_Jaw
Active member
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- Jun 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,339
Ticks are bad the last few years hearing a lot of people that have had them on them. I've never saw one on me but I wear long sleeves and a gator most of the time don't know if that has helped or not.
Swattie87
Well-known member
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- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,830
Not a fun thread to dig up, and I'm not thrilled to be doing it, but figured I should share, and keep the awareness about this kind of stuff up as much as possible.
Just got diagnosed for the second time. Essentially the same progression of symptoms as in 2015, except this time I did not identify a tick. Been in the woods fishing to some degree nearly every weekend since early May...Trying to take advantage of those good small stream flows we've had.
Was fishing a remote small stream two Saturdays ago in the morning, and then went back to my FIL's camp in Tioga Co. and mowed in the late afternoon/evening. He was on the tractor, I was on the push mower cutting in and mowing around the buildings. Mowed for maybe an hour and felt absolutely exhausted. It was a rough hike and stream we fished, but still, I felt wayyyy too exhausted. Came home on Sunday with a headache, stiff neck, and aches/pains all over. 100-ish degree fever. I immediately thought of and was concerned about Lyme, but since I didn't find a tick, I decided to wait a few days. All last week I had intermittent headache, aches and pains, and a constant VERY stiff/sore neck. Consistent low grade fever too. On Wednesday the EM rashes started showing up, maybe a half dozen all over my body in various places. Went to the doc Thursday and took the first dose of the meds Thursday night. Felt horrible all day Friday, by far the worst day, same as last time...Google "Lyme Herxeimer reaction" to learn what happens when you start the antibiotic treatment for it. Woke up Saturday feeling a good bit better, and feel largely normal today. No fever, no aches, no headaches, neck feels better. Rashes fading to almost non-existent. Will finish off the full 3 weeks of meds. I hate ticks. Given my previous course, no symptoms since, and essentially early stage symptoms again this time, the doctor suspected reinfection via a new tick, versus a recurrence from 4 years ago. To be clear, you CAN get LYME more than once.
Backtracking timeline wise, I suspect the vector incident was one of two overnight backpacking trips I took on back to back weekends in late June/early July. My first Lyme experience also stemmed from an overnight backpacking trip. I think showering after a day in the woods fishing is very important...May look into rigging up and carrying some type of shower device for backpacking moving forward. On normal day trips...SHOWER AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME! If you experience the above symptoms, especially in the Summer, and don't have the other symptoms typically associated with the flu...sore throat, cough, congestion, gastro issues, etc...get to the doc ASAP.
Just got diagnosed for the second time. Essentially the same progression of symptoms as in 2015, except this time I did not identify a tick. Been in the woods fishing to some degree nearly every weekend since early May...Trying to take advantage of those good small stream flows we've had.
Was fishing a remote small stream two Saturdays ago in the morning, and then went back to my FIL's camp in Tioga Co. and mowed in the late afternoon/evening. He was on the tractor, I was on the push mower cutting in and mowing around the buildings. Mowed for maybe an hour and felt absolutely exhausted. It was a rough hike and stream we fished, but still, I felt wayyyy too exhausted. Came home on Sunday with a headache, stiff neck, and aches/pains all over. 100-ish degree fever. I immediately thought of and was concerned about Lyme, but since I didn't find a tick, I decided to wait a few days. All last week I had intermittent headache, aches and pains, and a constant VERY stiff/sore neck. Consistent low grade fever too. On Wednesday the EM rashes started showing up, maybe a half dozen all over my body in various places. Went to the doc Thursday and took the first dose of the meds Thursday night. Felt horrible all day Friday, by far the worst day, same as last time...Google "Lyme Herxeimer reaction" to learn what happens when you start the antibiotic treatment for it. Woke up Saturday feeling a good bit better, and feel largely normal today. No fever, no aches, no headaches, neck feels better. Rashes fading to almost non-existent. Will finish off the full 3 weeks of meds. I hate ticks. Given my previous course, no symptoms since, and essentially early stage symptoms again this time, the doctor suspected reinfection via a new tick, versus a recurrence from 4 years ago. To be clear, you CAN get LYME more than once.
Backtracking timeline wise, I suspect the vector incident was one of two overnight backpacking trips I took on back to back weekends in late June/early July. My first Lyme experience also stemmed from an overnight backpacking trip. I think showering after a day in the woods fishing is very important...May look into rigging up and carrying some type of shower device for backpacking moving forward. On normal day trips...SHOWER AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME! If you experience the above symptoms, especially in the Summer, and don't have the other symptoms typically associated with the flu...sore throat, cough, congestion, gastro issues, etc...get to the doc ASAP.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
Wow!....get well soon, Swattie. And thanks for the reminder to everyone on here.
pcray1231
Well-known member
I'm a little worried right now, actually.
Didn't find a tick or rash. But general malaise, stiff neck and joints, sore muscles seemingly everywhere, headache. I mean, symptoms not unusual given the weather and I've been fairly active outdoors the last few weeks. But I know myself and it's more than it should be.
Feels like the flu, without any stomach or respiratory contingent. Plan to just rest an evening or two and see what's up.
Didn't find a tick or rash. But general malaise, stiff neck and joints, sore muscles seemingly everywhere, headache. I mean, symptoms not unusual given the weather and I've been fairly active outdoors the last few weeks. But I know myself and it's more than it should be.
Feels like the flu, without any stomach or respiratory contingent. Plan to just rest an evening or two and see what's up.
gulfgreyhound
Well-known member
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- Oct 17, 2007
- Messages
- 6,198
GO TO THE DOCTOR!!! Better safe than sorry. Dr. GG
L
Lkyboots
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- Apr 5, 2017
- Messages
- 147
Just went through this in Turkey season. Had one dug in my leg, went to Emerge care and they dug it out, just the head left, and two antibiotics and was good to go. Easy Peasy. Still have a scar from the bite.
A female tick lays between 2000 and 18,000 eggs. You got a 50-50 chance the tick is carrying Lyme disease according to a Pa Game Com study.
A female tick lays between 2000 and 18,000 eggs. You got a 50-50 chance the tick is carrying Lyme disease according to a Pa Game Com study.
Swattie87
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 5,830
^This is something to be very wary of IMO. Another thing for me, I get the occasional late afternoon headache...blame it on work, commute, eye strain, whatever. But when I get them several days in a row, and they're present in the morning when I wake up (and I'm not hungover) that's a red flag too.
Check your temp Pat. Monitor it throughout the day for a day, every couple of hours. "Normal" for me is a wake up temp of high 96's/low 97's, and a peak temp of low to mid 98's in the evening...I typically run a little cool. I was waking up at mid 98's and peaking at 100ish last week...not normal for me. Low grade fever is one of the hallmarks too. Keep an eye out for the rashes...should be easy to see on you. Hope it's nothing, but keep a sharp eye.
Dave_W
Moderator
Staff member
Good call and thanks for doing this (heck, we ought make it a stickie). A good description of the symptoms and problems.
Anyway, good luck and see the doc soon.
FarmerDave
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- Dec 13, 2006
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- 14,185
Pat, Get it checked, ASAP.
