Anyone ever contract and have to deal with it before????

Symptoms etc....

Please post up!

My brother got it (works backwoods in western MA), but was lucky enough to recognize the bulls-eye around bite, and got the antibiotics right away. Unfortunately, most victims don't get a clear bulls-eye.

Symptoms are highly varied, depending on stage -- even Bell's Palsy (incl. facial paralysis). It's a long list -- check
http://www.medicinenet.com/lyme_disease/article.htm

If it goes really far, folks can be on an antibiotic drip for months. I've known 2 who got that far (2nd-hand).

Out west, the vectors seem more varied than back east.

Good info here:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lyme-disease/DS00116

Are you thinking that you have it?

Sonoma Valley is like the haven for that. My mother-in-law was very much at the center of tick born diseases and the studying of them a few years back. I have a call to her and I'll get you some info as soon as I here from her. Troy

I may have had a bout of it this past summer. Had fever and chills that lasted about a week and had a bug bite and red area about 4 inches in diameter at the inside of the knee. The doc gave me an antibiotic (doxycycline, I think), but didn't test for it (the test is not very accurate).

Thanks Troy!

BUZ, did yur bones and joints aches something fierce??

How big was the red area when you initially noticed it?

Beside the bulls-eye (which often is just a red area), FLU-like symptoms -- and in every flu I've had, my body ached, seemingly around the joints.

If you have a chronology of suspicious bites, and the "flu" within a couple weeks, go to the doctor. At worst, you will get strong antibiotics.

Back in 2003, I got a case of Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, caused by the Borrelia hermsii bug. Was very difficult to diagnose, as there are only about 20 cases per year in the US. Or, as my doctor said, “Wow, who ever heard of that?” Pretty sure I got bit while camping on the ground at the Mather campground on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. The disease is pretty well described in this brochure:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Documents/TBRFbrochureFINAL.pdf

Got two small 5-6mm cylinder indications on my inner rt thigh. Know all about that symptom.

Nurse at the MMLH Family Clinic saw em this morning and scheduled me to see the Doc tomorrow along with a blood test. The only other physical symptom that I have noticed is some profound aches within my joints and bones. Specifically my hips and shoulders

As I figured, the nurse let me know that this a very common deal around these neck of the woods and shouldn't be a major deal if taken care of early as I am doing.

Too many folks ignore the obvious symptoms and get really really sick.

Rusty Gregory's Wife, the MMSA CEO, contracted it, waited too long and got really sick. She had to have both her hips replaced as it got into the joints and dissolved em. OUCH!

Well, I pulled a tick off my daughter last summer. I squeezed the dickens out of it and then put in a tupperware container. I kept it for about a month and then threw it out.

I got a chest rash, but thought it was from the lake water. Then I felt sick, feverish, tired, sore throat. Then my wrist hurt. The next day it REALLY hurt. The next day my other wrist started hurting. Then I noticed I couldn't open a diet coke bottle anymore, because it hurt so bad. When my ankle started hurting.....

I went straight to the ER. Antibiotics for a month. No questions asked. All symptoms went away. Was wishing I had kept the little bugger a bit longer!

Fletch wrote:

The Chief wrote:Got two small 5-6mm cylinder indications on my inner rt thigh.

Yeah... ummm Chief... that might not be Lyme Disease...

Antibiotics will work for that as well.

Seriously, the bulls-eye (or just red area) is usually a lot larger than 6mm.

MoapaPk wrote:

Fletch wrote:

The Chief wrote:Got two small 5-6mm cylinder indications on my inner rt thigh.

Yeah... ummm Chief... that might not be Lyme Disease...

Antibiotics will work for that as well.

Seriously, the bulls-eye (or just red area) is usually a lot larger than 6mm.

Interesting you say that.

The nurse immediately informed me that it looked fresh, 2 maybe 3 day old tick bite. Said that the generic "bulls eye" indication takes almost an entire month to present itself. Immediate treatment and all should be fine she said. Told me I am the 12th person this week to come with the symptoms.

Tigerlilly, thanks. The sore throat and wrist/joint pain sounds very familiar in this case. My hips are killing me!

The Chief wrote:

"My hips are killing me"

Man, you're just getting old!!

Interestingly, Docs have always told me that it take about 24 hrs for an infected tick to transfer lyme to a person. That's why they emphasize daily self inspections but that can be impractical in the field. Other less serious tick borne illnesses can be transferred sooner.

Good Luck.