My amazing photographer friend has been suffering from Lyme for 7 years now. She traveled all over the world shooting and she gets Lyme in america. She said some days it feels lie a flu. Some days it's lethargy. She's slowing getting foods we take for granted back (like garlic) back into her system. She was sequestered at home long before covid restrictions so she was used to it. It really sucks.
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If you have been beaten or suspect that you may have been bitten by a tick run to your doctor and request at least 4 weeks of Doxy (some go for 6), regardless of having or not a bull's eye rash or any other symptoms.
There is no minimal risk free tick attachment period. A transmission is almost instant, unlike a common belief.
Many doctors are clueless about tick-borne diseases (regardless of their "recent Lyme awareness training") and may state that there is no Lyme in ticks in area X, so you are not at risk. That's a bull. Insist on proper treatment right away (4 weeks course of abx). If they refuse - find another one who will understand and prescribe. As the last resort find a good LLMD and feel the difference.
If you happen to have a sudden unexplainable illness that many docs are clueless about and write it off as a depression, fibromyalgia or the likes (even if you did not have any recent exposure to the tick habitats) - find an LLMD and ask to be tested for Lyme and co-infections (CDC test protocol is useless, iGenex lab is one of the best for that) Run a panel - variety of tests for each infection in a set of infections, instead of a single test for one infection.
In many cases tick-borne infections remain under a good control of immune system (dormant with no or little manageable symptoms) for months and even years after transmission(tick or other insect bite), until immune system gets compromised due to stress, inadequate sleep, diet, or other medical conditions. Then they start to multiply and may "suddenly" devastate one's life.
In my case the GP on call was convinced I was an alcoholic (due to liver function test alone) and I that was lying about the tick bite, even though the PA that I initially contacted said it was likely (differential diag) Anaplasmosis. The darn PA however for some reason hesitated to prescribe the Doxy timely and I ended up blacking out on my deck from the disease. An hour later I started Doxy but the PA insisted I go to the hospital.
No one at the hospital other than the emergency room physician knew anything about the disease and frankly dealing with a bureaucratic system when you havre a relatively rare disease is pretty much a bust. They will test you for everything else but what they should be. Thankfully I started the Doxy before I headed to the hospital.
Suggest you find a specialist immediately rather than your GP. Timely treatment is critical.
I will say 2 things about my experience: 1. I was really sick, couldnt get my head off the pillow other than to use the BR and get something to drink. Given that there was a 1% chance of death, I would have to say dying from this disease would have been relatively easy to slip into deep sleep, coma etc.
2. My dream state during my stay at the hospital was nothing short of spectacular (in case you are into that type of experience).
As mentioned above, GPs are unlikely to recognize your symptoms, and you will need specialized labs to confirm diagnosis.
As a kid in MN we 'ticked off' every day
The lake leeches may have compensated
Once near here, I was going to clean an old toaster, looked again, my hands were covered in Brown Recluse
Meds for my Cellulitis make me sleepless, jumpy and an increased LFPF poster
I stopped meds this morning, takes a while
Tin Can
Most insurance plans are very hesitant to undertake testing for Lymes unless there is a conspicuous symptom like a bullseye rash. There are two reasons for that. For one thing, Lymes can mimic numerous other diseases symptomatically, and tie up a lot of time and effort to diagnose (translate that into, the clinic can't get you in and out of the door in ten minutes, and the insurer refuses to reimburse them for any extra effort); second, there are are a number of related tick diseases equally dicey to diagnose. So yes, if a specialist in Lymes exists in your area, that might be the best bet; but still, it can be an ordeal if the pathogen gets entrenched.
permithrin is the way to go. you can buy it in 10% concentrate and impregnate clothes yourself using a 1.5oz to 1quart diliution. i put an entire outfit in a garbage bag and pour in the solution to saturate everything. hang it out to dry n that treatment is good for 42 days or 6 washes, whichever comes first.
my outfit is a very thin material pants n shirt that i wear over my clothes when in the woods bushwhacking or not n places i suspect ill be bitten by those vampires. btw permethrin also takes care of those black flys too... another blood sucking pest thats just very visious n anoying. their bites dont heal fast n itch like crazy! thats why im a winter backpacker/ camper. i hate bugggggzzzzzzzz
if you think youve been bitten or have been bitten, try to save the tic for analysis, the doc will put you on antibiotics. but be sure to see the doc asap!... dont wait!
Here in northern(ish) Vermont…UGH!
Lots of experience here and I could go on forever…but instead, here is my attempt at a little tick-related entertainment, in the form of the worlds shortest radio play (title: “Evolution”), starring none other than our beloved former governor, Howard Dean, reprising for us (but in a non-political context) what may have been his signature moment of his recent presidential campaign (you can look it up).
Script: The sound of a frantic running up steps…then a door being opened rapidly. Next, an audibly panicked Howard Dean, yelling to his dear wife - “Judith…The Ticks…They Can Fly! YYAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
Actual "tick flies" (Hippoboscidae) are common this time of year too. Look and behave just like a brown tick once they shed their wings and burrow their head in, and are mainly a deer parasite in this area, but are in fact six-legged insects. They don't carry Lymes, but are suspected of sometimes carrying other lesser pathogens. They are less prone to bite humans than real ticks are, but sometimes do it. Just as hard to get out if they do.
What is the best way to remove a tick?Originally Posted by Drew Wiley
I was wondering the same thing as this thread has me looking to see if there is a method for being able to quickly remove a tick. A local store has a device like this that is suppose to be able to remove a tick. As we are heading to the mountains for some camping I was wondering if anybody had any comments on this type of removal tool and is it effective.
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop...key?item=AB714
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