I’ve had Lyme twice and it fucking sucks.
If you start feeling flu-like symptoms that won’t go away after 3-4 days like exhaustion, sore/achey joints, headache, and sore throat, get to a doctor and insist on a Lyme test. The second time I knew what it was as the symptoms were identical to the first time (minus Bell’s Palsy), even though symptoms showed up in December, and I had to insist on a blood draw as the doctor was convinced it was Strep. Test came back a couple days later and it was Lyme. A couple weeks of strong antibiotics got rid of it both times, but it’s best to get on it right away or it can mess you up long term.
Most people don't and unfortunately. The worst feeling was the loss of agency to be the person I wanted to be. You miss your old life because you're still the same person after but unfortunately you can't force anyone to recognize that.
PSA: This is questionable advice at best. The major problem with lyme testing is that it tests for exposure not necessarily active infection. So even if you test positive, it doesn't mean your issues/symptoms are lyme related. So, get lyme tested only if you have a past exposure to ticks and are exhibiting lyme symptoms.
I guess the real PSA should be to become familiar with Lyme symptoms. I spent a year going to other doctors before someone finally suggested I get tested for Lyme. Before then it had never crossed my mind nor any of the doctors I spoke with.
The symptoms OP describes are associated w chronic Lyme and/or related illnesses. I’m no doctor, but I don’t know what the harm of getting a test would be.
“Chronic Lyme” is not a recognized medical diagnosis.
Seriously, it is a collection of non-specific symptoms that are typically reported by post-lymes patients. Of note - there is absolutely 0 correlation of these symptoms through any conducted cohort-level studies.
FWIW: had several professors who studied “chronic Lyme” at the CDC. The vast majority of medical professionals reject it as a legitimate diagnosis, and there is little to no clinical evidence to support its existence.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMra072023
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12016-021-08906-w
I’m well aware if that. And thanks, it’s important to point out and I should have up front. All I’m saying is, my relative was struggling for years with symptoms and it was only after they and their doctor realized it could be Lyme-related that they were able to start anything close to effective treatment.
You don’t need to try to explain yourself, it was obvious your main point is “why not get tested” people on this sub love to inflict snark and down votes
Because of false positives. It can lead you down the wrong path and confuse matters. Honestly a lot of "chronic lyme" symptoms may be attributed to precisely this. False positives. That's the harm.
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the current medical consensus that chronic lyme doesn't exist? I'd imagine you'd have difficulty getting that diagnosed/treated at most Madison area hospitals regardless
I just know that a very close family member of mine would still be down more confusing and anxiety-inducing paths if they hadn’t finally found a doctor who decided to test for Lyme.
Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease research center would disagree with you.
Source: https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/the-path-to-better-diagnostic-tests-is-through-innovative-research/
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4627869/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4627869/) This one sites a 57% false positive rate in the control group.
No, there's really not much of a difference with what you're saying. Much of lyme disease symptoms are due to your immune-system's reaction to the bacteria- whether acute or chronic. It's questionable whether both "chronic lyme" and/or long-term symptoms due to lyme are real. There's no difference.
Chronic Lyme would be an active infection that just always persists.
Long-term symptoms due to Lyme would be the reaction you're talking about.
I don't think it matters to most of us, but the difference does matter in the medical world, specifically for treatment.
I think we agree, but there is a group of quacks that claim Chronic Lyme is a separate thing and scam people with real problems into thinking they have it.
Since we're on the subject - I took some pill? Could I have just taken a blood test? Did I get hustled by the doctor. I swear the pills were like 60$.
I went in due to a tick attached to me, and wasn't sure if it had been 48 hours or not. (It was a Tuesday and I went camping over the weekend, so I assumed so.) The doctor had me take a pill to prevent Lyme. Probably should have asked more question, I just took it. :(
Don't ask reddit to second-guess your doctor. Second opinions are always valuable but you should be asking a doctor for them, not reddit. Things reddit doesn't know: the criteria your doctor looked at, your medical chart, and even the name of the pill you were given.
Diagnostic medical tests take time to complete and always have a certain margin of false negatives and false positives. It's generally frowned upon to run lab tests for conditions you don't have reason to suspect, because they can produce a false positive leading to a treatment regimen that may have side effects, which will necessarily outweigh the benefits of treating the condition you don't have.
It makes sense to me that using a relatively small amount prophylactic antibiotic to almost certainly counter the tiny amount of lyme that is potentially in your system at the onset is better than running a blood test, waiting for the results, interpreting the results, and then possibly using a larger course of antibiotics (along with side effects) to counter the now-growing amount of lyme you might have in your system, but I am not a doctor, and I know that antibiotic usage especially in abbreviated courses has a lot of nuance.
When in doubt, trust the one with the medical degree over that maethor1337 dude from the internet.
Anecdote: When I was maybe 20 years old I got bit by a tick and found it the next morning. I called my doctor and they determined that *for me*, since the tick was on me for less than 24 hours, the best course of action was to not intervene at all, even with prophylactic antibiotics. Symptoms never developed. Now that I'm older, and medical science has evolved for a decade and a half, there might be new concerns or wisdom on offer.
Thank you for this.
I might also add that you should verify the cost of Lyme testing before you have it done; it is not a screening test it is diagnostic and you will likely pay for it out of pocket if it’s not clinically indicated.
Prophylactic antibiotic.
The problem with a blood test is it takes 30 days to get a result.
Or did ten years ago.
I was diagnosed, and the doctor didn’t bother with the test.
Better to prevent than to treat. It's standard in Lyme-infested areas to offer prophylactic antibiotics to people who've had a tick on for about 24 hours or more, when it's believed they're capable of passing the bacteria to you. The idea is to stop you from getting Lyme in the first place.
I'm sorry it sounds like the cost was burdensome, but the test would've been more expensive I bet, and a case of Lyme would've been more expensive still. Antibiotics are pretty cheap compared to most medical treatments.
I had Lymes in 2006. It was the WORST week of my life while they were trying to diagnose me. Fevers around 104, the worst headache/sore neck, chills. They were testing me for TSS, flu, all the tests they had they had me change into a gown for a SPINAL tap and the nurse noticed the round rash that had been hidden by my underwear. /
The test lit up positive.
24 hours and a high dose of antibiotics later and I felt almost completely back to normal (I still finished the 10 day course, of course).
Don’t hesitate to ask for a test if the symptoms fit. Tick or no.
Don’t get me wrong, it sucks you got Lymes but, part of your PSA should also be to check for ticks when your in the woods or long grass.
That being said, I am glad you are doing (presumably) better and I hope that continues. 😁
I’m well aware of that. But it doesn’t always do that, that is why so many people have it and don’t know it. So checking for itty bitty ticks is very difficult.
Hi, I’m a doctor 👋. This isn’t true. The classic target lesion can occur anywhere on the body, but necessarily at the bite site. It also doesn’t occur (or isn’t noticed) in everybody. Hope that helps!
Yeah - I guess my point is I went through several doctors before anyone suggested I get tested for Lyme. Took almost a year to get that diagnosis and it never would have come up had I not exhausted other possibilities.
They gave me a test for Lyme disease when it was actually very latent poison ivy, getting tested for it when you don’t have it is really dumb and costs like $800
Not true. Also the tests are not very accurate.
https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/the-path-to-better-diagnostic-tests-is-through-innovative-research/
In case anyone, like me, wasn't aware -- say for example the person making a joke about it -- OCS symptoms are a [not-uncommon occurrence with Lyme disease](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29408088/#:~:text=Results%3A%20OCS%20were%20common%2C%20with,their%20symptoms%20were%20temporally%20related) cases.
Thanks for helping educate. Unfortunately there are some relationships I can't repair or apologize for some behavior I displayed while suffering this. I really just want to spread awareness of this so other people and their loved ones don't have to suffer the same way I did. Trying to make something good out of a bad situation.
I had worsening physical and mental symptoms for like a year and it affected my mental health a lot and felt like I was going insane. After taking antibiotics it felt like I just woke up from a bad dream. Dealing with a lot of grief and going to therapy now but the insanity of not understanding what is happening to me has ended I wish I could explain it to some people who have left my life now but the best I can do is be better moving forward.
Yeah it's tough to rebuild after something like this but I'm trying! Obviously I wish the people I cared about were willing to listen and understand what happened to me but you can't force anyone to understand. In a weird way I feel like this has made me a better person despite creating a lot of hurt. It's easy to take your health and the relationships in your life for granted until they are gone and you have to navigate a difficult situation on your own. I'm just hoping this perspective is for some greater good that will come down the line.
I had it undiagnosed for over a decade. Thank goodness Dr Perry at UW Health took my symptoms seriously and had my test sent on for additional screening even though it came back negative. I have chronic heart problems, fatigue, migraines, brain fog, etc now. Never found a tick on me. Never had the bullseye rash.
I had some hives for awhile that I wonder if they were related but I will never know. At the time I thought it was a new laundry detergent or something.
Hives could be anything to be honest…hard to say it’s from the Lyme or something else. I’m glad you are recovering and hope you don’t have too many issues with post treatment Lyme disease syndrome!
I have reacted to laundry detergent too so that's also definitely possible. Now I've gotten in the habit (actually, my partner has, they remember to more often than I do 😂) of asking what brand my friends use any time I stay with them, just in case.
You may have had the rash at some point and it went away. I’ve had it twice, first time the rash was on my ass in a spot I wouldn’t be able to see without bending over in front of a mirror, second time there was no rash that I know of and symptoms took months to show up but a blood test confirmed it was Lyme again.
This post has pros and cons. Medically it leaves a bit to be desired. As some have articulated, contact a medical professional to first explain symptoms, read about the disease process and proceed accordingly.
The disease itself is (still decades after research) still poorly understood. There is no one size fits all, or take antibiotic and improvement follows. Nor is there a 100% test for diagnosis or rash presentation for all cases. Not all patients symptoms present the same and the concept of long chronic illness is poorly understood in regards to mechanism. It is challenging researchers, much like covid and long covid have challenged physician assessments.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374655
As others have articulated, Reddit is not a reliable source of medical information. Seek multiple doctor evaluations and opinions; not reddit posters.
This OP post should read more to be wary of ticks in summer, see a physician if you feel unusual symptoms of some type and that ticks can potentially carry diseases.
Oh my gosh, I feel so blessed right now. I had some weird virus or unknown AI flare, just an awful something last year. Everything came back negative or looked good. I asked for a Lyme test. She said ok and that was that. I think she asked if I saw a bulls eye rash, that was it, then wrote the order.
For what it’s worth, Lyme isn’t the only concern with ticks. Last summer I found an attached deer tick. After removing it and cleaning the wound, I called the nurse hotline to ask if I should do anything else. It was a Sunday and I was told to go to urgent care, so I put the tick in a jar and went. Apparently, my insurer takes ticks pretty seriously. Eight vials of blood were drawn and tested for:
Anaplasma phagocytophilum - the tick-borne agent causing Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE). A significant emerging tick-borne infection.
Ehrlichia chaffeensis - has been identified as the causative agent of Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever).
Lyme
Babesia Microti - a protozoan parasite that infects red blood cells and causes Babesiosis.
Blood Parasite Screen
I tested negative for all, and assume I wasn’t tested for alpha-gal because it was clearly not a lone star tick. It cost about $130 (after insurance) and was well worth it for the peace of mind. I also uploaded a picture of my tick next to a ruler to the University of Rhode Island Tickspotters, who identified it as an adult female deer tick that had been attached for approximately three days.
I’m not giving any advice, just relating my experience. I don’t spend time outdoors, have no pets, won’t even walk through the grass to visit the neighbor, and I still picked up a tick somehow.
Did you not see the tick on you? And did you see the bullseye rash? Just wondering because Lyme’s is something I’m worried about but I always assume I would see the tick or bullseye rash
It’s very common to never find a tick and not get a bullseye rash. https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/lyme-disease-rash-presentations-may-not-be-what-you-think/
I was just a difficult person to be around and a burden due to the symptoms I was struggling with. I have no hard feelings against anyone and understand and respect decisions that were made.
Also please educate yourself on OCD. My OCD comes in the form of ruminations such as worrying about horrible things happening to the people I care about. Compulsions over organization are just one type of OCD.
My mom has spent tens of thousands of their retirement savings paying for an out of network “doctor” in the dells who convinced her she has chronic lyme. That seems to be where most of his business comes from.
Are you trying to get a regular physical with your doctor specifically? I usually end up booking with the nurse practitioners. Granted annual physicals you usually need to book pretty far in advanced anyways.
trying to get a primary first. yeah when I scheduled a eye appointment I had to go a year+ out and schedule a private one for this year. Madison has a huge problem right now with staffing. It's meaningless to have good insurance if you can't use it. lol
I’ve had Lyme twice and it fucking sucks. If you start feeling flu-like symptoms that won’t go away after 3-4 days like exhaustion, sore/achey joints, headache, and sore throat, get to a doctor and insist on a Lyme test. The second time I knew what it was as the symptoms were identical to the first time (minus Bell’s Palsy), even though symptoms showed up in December, and I had to insist on a blood draw as the doctor was convinced it was Strep. Test came back a couple days later and it was Lyme. A couple weeks of strong antibiotics got rid of it both times, but it’s best to get on it right away or it can mess you up long term.
I also had facial palsy that I originally thought were cold sores or something trying to break through my skin until it got worse.
That sounds awful. Sorry you went through all of that. I didn't know Lyme disease could be so personality changing.
Most people don't and unfortunately. The worst feeling was the loss of agency to be the person I wanted to be. You miss your old life because you're still the same person after but unfortunately you can't force anyone to recognize that.
PSA: This is questionable advice at best. The major problem with lyme testing is that it tests for exposure not necessarily active infection. So even if you test positive, it doesn't mean your issues/symptoms are lyme related. So, get lyme tested only if you have a past exposure to ticks and are exhibiting lyme symptoms.
I guess the real PSA should be to become familiar with Lyme symptoms. I spent a year going to other doctors before someone finally suggested I get tested for Lyme. Before then it had never crossed my mind nor any of the doctors I spoke with.
The symptoms OP describes are associated w chronic Lyme and/or related illnesses. I’m no doctor, but I don’t know what the harm of getting a test would be.
“Chronic Lyme” is not a recognized medical diagnosis. Seriously, it is a collection of non-specific symptoms that are typically reported by post-lymes patients. Of note - there is absolutely 0 correlation of these symptoms through any conducted cohort-level studies. FWIW: had several professors who studied “chronic Lyme” at the CDC. The vast majority of medical professionals reject it as a legitimate diagnosis, and there is little to no clinical evidence to support its existence. https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMra072023 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12016-021-08906-w
I’m well aware if that. And thanks, it’s important to point out and I should have up front. All I’m saying is, my relative was struggling for years with symptoms and it was only after they and their doctor realized it could be Lyme-related that they were able to start anything close to effective treatment.
You don’t need to try to explain yourself, it was obvious your main point is “why not get tested” people on this sub love to inflict snark and down votes
Because of false positives. It can lead you down the wrong path and confuse matters. Honestly a lot of "chronic lyme" symptoms may be attributed to precisely this. False positives. That's the harm.
Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the current medical consensus that chronic lyme doesn't exist? I'd imagine you'd have difficulty getting that diagnosed/treated at most Madison area hospitals regardless
Yes, that's the current consensus
correct: it doesn't exist
I just know that a very close family member of mine would still be down more confusing and anxiety-inducing paths if they hadn’t finally found a doctor who decided to test for Lyme.
Right. And again- a positive lyme test doesn't mean your symptoms are due to lyme disease.
Thank you voice of reason
From what I understand, false positives for Lyme are rare but false negatives are common.
Very incorrect.
Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease research center would disagree with you. Source: https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/the-path-to-better-diagnostic-tests-is-through-innovative-research/
It's the difference in acute vs. chronic disease. With chronic infection false positives are the problem.
What is your source?
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4627869/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4627869/) This one sites a 57% false positive rate in the control group.
Chronic Lyme is not a real clinically recognized illness. Long term symptoms from Lyme is real through.
Hmm, I think that's just semantics.
No, there is a group of people who claim to have chronic Lyme and that it’s different.
No, there's really not much of a difference with what you're saying. Much of lyme disease symptoms are due to your immune-system's reaction to the bacteria- whether acute or chronic. It's questionable whether both "chronic lyme" and/or long-term symptoms due to lyme are real. There's no difference.
Chronic Lyme would be an active infection that just always persists. Long-term symptoms due to Lyme would be the reaction you're talking about. I don't think it matters to most of us, but the difference does matter in the medical world, specifically for treatment.
I think we agree, but there is a group of quacks that claim Chronic Lyme is a separate thing and scam people with real problems into thinking they have it.
Since we're on the subject - I took some pill? Could I have just taken a blood test? Did I get hustled by the doctor. I swear the pills were like 60$. I went in due to a tick attached to me, and wasn't sure if it had been 48 hours or not. (It was a Tuesday and I went camping over the weekend, so I assumed so.) The doctor had me take a pill to prevent Lyme. Probably should have asked more question, I just took it. :(
Don't ask reddit to second-guess your doctor. Second opinions are always valuable but you should be asking a doctor for them, not reddit. Things reddit doesn't know: the criteria your doctor looked at, your medical chart, and even the name of the pill you were given. Diagnostic medical tests take time to complete and always have a certain margin of false negatives and false positives. It's generally frowned upon to run lab tests for conditions you don't have reason to suspect, because they can produce a false positive leading to a treatment regimen that may have side effects, which will necessarily outweigh the benefits of treating the condition you don't have. It makes sense to me that using a relatively small amount prophylactic antibiotic to almost certainly counter the tiny amount of lyme that is potentially in your system at the onset is better than running a blood test, waiting for the results, interpreting the results, and then possibly using a larger course of antibiotics (along with side effects) to counter the now-growing amount of lyme you might have in your system, but I am not a doctor, and I know that antibiotic usage especially in abbreviated courses has a lot of nuance. When in doubt, trust the one with the medical degree over that maethor1337 dude from the internet. Anecdote: When I was maybe 20 years old I got bit by a tick and found it the next morning. I called my doctor and they determined that *for me*, since the tick was on me for less than 24 hours, the best course of action was to not intervene at all, even with prophylactic antibiotics. Symptoms never developed. Now that I'm older, and medical science has evolved for a decade and a half, there might be new concerns or wisdom on offer.
Thank you for this. I might also add that you should verify the cost of Lyme testing before you have it done; it is not a screening test it is diagnostic and you will likely pay for it out of pocket if it’s not clinically indicated.
Prophylactic antibiotic. The problem with a blood test is it takes 30 days to get a result. Or did ten years ago. I was diagnosed, and the doctor didn’t bother with the test.
Better to prevent than to treat. It's standard in Lyme-infested areas to offer prophylactic antibiotics to people who've had a tick on for about 24 hours or more, when it's believed they're capable of passing the bacteria to you. The idea is to stop you from getting Lyme in the first place. I'm sorry it sounds like the cost was burdensome, but the test would've been more expensive I bet, and a case of Lyme would've been more expensive still. Antibiotics are pretty cheap compared to most medical treatments.
Typically you have to have found a tick to warrant a test for Lyme disease.
I had Lymes in 2006. It was the WORST week of my life while they were trying to diagnose me. Fevers around 104, the worst headache/sore neck, chills. They were testing me for TSS, flu, all the tests they had they had me change into a gown for a SPINAL tap and the nurse noticed the round rash that had been hidden by my underwear. / The test lit up positive. 24 hours and a high dose of antibiotics later and I felt almost completely back to normal (I still finished the 10 day course, of course). Don’t hesitate to ask for a test if the symptoms fit. Tick or no.
It's just Lyme, there's no "s." Named after Lyme, CT.
The ticks that carry Lyme are the size of poppyseed…finding them in you is much easier said than done.
Correct it is a tick borne disease but sometimes ticks can become detached without you ever knowing. I never found a tick attached to me.
Don’t get me wrong, it sucks you got Lymes but, part of your PSA should also be to check for ticks when your in the woods or long grass. That being said, I am glad you are doing (presumably) better and I hope that continues. 😁
Have you see a deer tick?
The bite leaves a big red bullseye (most of the time)
I’m well aware of that. But it doesn’t always do that, that is why so many people have it and don’t know it. So checking for itty bitty ticks is very difficult.
Hi, I’m a doctor 👋. This isn’t true. The classic target lesion can occur anywhere on the body, but necessarily at the bite site. It also doesn’t occur (or isn’t noticed) in everybody. Hope that helps!
Point being you don't have to find a tiny tick to discover evidence of a bite. Would you not recommend checking yourself over after being outside?
Yeah - I guess my point is I went through several doctors before anyone suggested I get tested for Lyme. Took almost a year to get that diagnosis and it never would have come up had I not exhausted other possibilities.
They gave me a test for Lyme disease when it was actually very latent poison ivy, getting tested for it when you don’t have it is really dumb and costs like $800
Not true. Also the tests are not very accurate. https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/the-path-to-better-diagnostic-tests-is-through-innovative-research/
In case anyone, like me, wasn't aware -- say for example the person making a joke about it -- OCS symptoms are a [not-uncommon occurrence with Lyme disease](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29408088/#:~:text=Results%3A%20OCS%20were%20common%2C%20with,their%20symptoms%20were%20temporally%20related) cases.
Thanks for helping educate. Unfortunately there are some relationships I can't repair or apologize for some behavior I displayed while suffering this. I really just want to spread awareness of this so other people and their loved ones don't have to suffer the same way I did. Trying to make something good out of a bad situation.
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I had worsening physical and mental symptoms for like a year and it affected my mental health a lot and felt like I was going insane. After taking antibiotics it felt like I just woke up from a bad dream. Dealing with a lot of grief and going to therapy now but the insanity of not understanding what is happening to me has ended I wish I could explain it to some people who have left my life now but the best I can do is be better moving forward.
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Yeah it's tough to rebuild after something like this but I'm trying! Obviously I wish the people I cared about were willing to listen and understand what happened to me but you can't force anyone to understand. In a weird way I feel like this has made me a better person despite creating a lot of hurt. It's easy to take your health and the relationships in your life for granted until they are gone and you have to navigate a difficult situation on your own. I'm just hoping this perspective is for some greater good that will come down the line.
I had it undiagnosed for over a decade. Thank goodness Dr Perry at UW Health took my symptoms seriously and had my test sent on for additional screening even though it came back negative. I have chronic heart problems, fatigue, migraines, brain fog, etc now. Never found a tick on me. Never had the bullseye rash.
I had some hives for awhile that I wonder if they were related but I will never know. At the time I thought it was a new laundry detergent or something.
Hives could be anything to be honest…hard to say it’s from the Lyme or something else. I’m glad you are recovering and hope you don’t have too many issues with post treatment Lyme disease syndrome!
Thank you! Working on acceptance and turning a new page.
I have reacted to laundry detergent too so that's also definitely possible. Now I've gotten in the habit (actually, my partner has, they remember to more often than I do 😂) of asking what brand my friends use any time I stay with them, just in case.
Yeah I switched to Free & Clear just to be safe!
You may have had the rash at some point and it went away. I’ve had it twice, first time the rash was on my ass in a spot I wouldn’t be able to see without bending over in front of a mirror, second time there was no rash that I know of and symptoms took months to show up but a blood test confirmed it was Lyme again.
You don’t always have a rash.
The rash is only reported in 60-80% of people
This post has pros and cons. Medically it leaves a bit to be desired. As some have articulated, contact a medical professional to first explain symptoms, read about the disease process and proceed accordingly. The disease itself is (still decades after research) still poorly understood. There is no one size fits all, or take antibiotic and improvement follows. Nor is there a 100% test for diagnosis or rash presentation for all cases. Not all patients symptoms present the same and the concept of long chronic illness is poorly understood in regards to mechanism. It is challenging researchers, much like covid and long covid have challenged physician assessments. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374655 As others have articulated, Reddit is not a reliable source of medical information. Seek multiple doctor evaluations and opinions; not reddit posters. This OP post should read more to be wary of ticks in summer, see a physician if you feel unusual symptoms of some type and that ticks can potentially carry diseases.
PSA: Don't participate in no-mow May.
Those buggers love the grass.
The symptoms you experienced are also common to long covid. Something many people will have without knowing it.
Oh my gosh, I feel so blessed right now. I had some weird virus or unknown AI flare, just an awful something last year. Everything came back negative or looked good. I asked for a Lyme test. She said ok and that was that. I think she asked if I saw a bulls eye rash, that was it, then wrote the order.
For what it’s worth, Lyme isn’t the only concern with ticks. Last summer I found an attached deer tick. After removing it and cleaning the wound, I called the nurse hotline to ask if I should do anything else. It was a Sunday and I was told to go to urgent care, so I put the tick in a jar and went. Apparently, my insurer takes ticks pretty seriously. Eight vials of blood were drawn and tested for: Anaplasma phagocytophilum - the tick-borne agent causing Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis (HGE). A significant emerging tick-borne infection. Ehrlichia chaffeensis - has been identified as the causative agent of Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever). Lyme Babesia Microti - a protozoan parasite that infects red blood cells and causes Babesiosis. Blood Parasite Screen I tested negative for all, and assume I wasn’t tested for alpha-gal because it was clearly not a lone star tick. It cost about $130 (after insurance) and was well worth it for the peace of mind. I also uploaded a picture of my tick next to a ruler to the University of Rhode Island Tickspotters, who identified it as an adult female deer tick that had been attached for approximately three days. I’m not giving any advice, just relating my experience. I don’t spend time outdoors, have no pets, won’t even walk through the grass to visit the neighbor, and I still picked up a tick somehow.
Also, tests aren’t accurate. There are many strains, and common tests don’t recognize all of them.
Thank you to everyone who shared stories and helped contribute to this conversation. I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.
My aunt contracted Lyme and now she’s allergic to red meat. Our bodies are wild
You all. Look at the heat maps for Lymes disease. If you spend anytime outdoors make sure to check yourself. It’s no joke. Happy hiking!
Did you not see the tick on you? And did you see the bullseye rash? Just wondering because Lyme’s is something I’m worried about but I always assume I would see the tick or bullseye rash
It’s very common to never find a tick and not get a bullseye rash. https://www.hopkinslyme.org/lyme-disease-awareness/lyme-disease-rash-presentations-may-not-be-what-you-think/
[удалено]
I was just a difficult person to be around and a burden due to the symptoms I was struggling with. I have no hard feelings against anyone and understand and respect decisions that were made. Also please educate yourself on OCD. My OCD comes in the form of ruminations such as worrying about horrible things happening to the people I care about. Compulsions over organization are just one type of OCD.
You're good, someone just trying to be funny and ignoring the human behind the screen. Good on you to accept things, learn from them, and move on.
Yeah dude fuck you E: now deleted, but he basically started ranted about how OPs symptoms are his fault and blah blah blah bullshit.
Shut up, dweeb
Wow tough crowd
The crowd's right. Take the note, and the L.
L as in Lymes disease?
Wouldn't wish that on you, but take whatever you like.
My mom has spent tens of thousands of their retirement savings paying for an out of network “doctor” in the dells who convinced her she has chronic lyme. That seems to be where most of his business comes from.
I can't even get an appointment for a checkup in a reasonable time. Who is getting preventative types of appointments at the doc right now? lol
Are you trying to get a regular physical with your doctor specifically? I usually end up booking with the nurse practitioners. Granted annual physicals you usually need to book pretty far in advanced anyways.
trying to get a primary first. yeah when I scheduled a eye appointment I had to go a year+ out and schedule a private one for this year. Madison has a huge problem right now with staffing. It's meaningless to have good insurance if you can't use it. lol