Lyme disease roster

[Kronk]

So, who's had Lyme disease? I got the rash last week (after having back spasms, fever, lethargy), and I'm on Doxycycline now.

My wife had it last year. Pretty common here on the East Coast. So who else has had it?

[Nords]

Originally Posted by Kronk

My wife had it last year. Pretty common here on the East Coast. So who else has had it?

When my parents-in-law moved to Hawaii from Annapolis, my FIL mowed the grass one last time before getting on the plane.

Two weeks later he noticed this strange rash on his left shin and figured it was some sort of "Aloha Hawaii" thing. He picked a dermatologist out of the phone book. When he showed up for the appointment, the dermatologist was on vacation and had hired "some young kid" (my FIL's words) to fill in.

The "kid", recently out of school and too dumb & inexperienced to know any better, commented "Hunh, looks like Lyme disease, but how the heck could that happen to you here?" He got the story, took some samples for lab testing, and prescribed the treatment.

The following week the regular dermatologist returned from vacation, dismissed the diagnosis, apologized profusely for his fill-in's mistakes and started digging into the tropical-disease handbooks. He said that the drugs wouldn't do any good but he might as well finish the prescription.

Next day the lab results came back for Lyme disease, and my FIL found a new dermatologist.

[Martha]

My cousin got lyme disease here in Minnesota, but it wasn't diagnosed until she was in Singapore on a trip. Target shaped rashes all over, she was sure she had Lyme disease. She got the doctor in Singapore to talk to her doctor in Minnesota and then got appropriately treated. She was didn't feel good for months, even with the treatment.

[dex]

Rashes appear in less than 50% of cases. So you have to be aware of other symptons - like a fever.
There was work begun on a vaccine but I think legal concerns stopped it.

[haha]

Originally Posted by Martha

My cousin got lyme disease here in Minnesota, but it wasn't diagnosed until she was in Singapore on a trip. Target shaped rashes all over, she was sure she had Lyme disease. She got the doctor in Singapore to talk to her doctor in Minnesota and then got appropriately treated. She was didn't feel good for months, even with the treatment.

Good friend of mine had a similar tale. In spite of having the target lesions and exposure, (living on a ranch in Mendocino County) her Doc brushed off her fear that it was Lyme.

Finally she gave up, went to an infectious disease guy at Moffit Hospital, and got started on antibiotics. Meanwhile she experienced Bell's Palsy and other debilitating and painful symptoms. She had a venous catheter so she could get huge IV doses at home. She even carried the IV rig with her when she had to travel on business.

Finally recovered completely I am happy to say.

Ha

[spncity]

DH had it for quite awhile. Profound fatigue, weird come-and-go pains, brain fog. Took a long time to figure it out. After trying traditional medicine, we eventually found a cutting edge homeopathic physician who cured him. He's been feeling fine for four years now for which we are extremely thankful.

The company that sold the vaccine would not admit it, but up to 30% of the people who took the vaccine ended up with chronic Lyme-like symptoms triggered by the vaccine.

There's lots of controversy surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme (think big bucks for medical insurance company liability for cases that were not caught and treated right away, and millions of research grant dollars depending on whose theories are seen as "right").

The diagnostic tests are unreliable (it's a "clinical" diagnosis), only about half of the people who contract Lyme get the rash, and there are often co-infections that go along with it. The bacteria (borrelia burgdorferi) can take other forms in order to cloak itself. Misinformation abounds (such as the ERRONEOUS idea that a tick has to be attached for 48 hours in order to transmit the disease).

It's a very evil disease that affects different people in different ways making it hard to diagnose.