7 ms·

Had to go through a Lyme treatment last year myself.. it was not fun. The antibiotics regime was easily one of the lowest points in my life - just felt terribl

by mmjaa 9y ago

Had to go through a Lyme treatment last year myself.. it was not fun. The antibiotics regime was easily one of the lowest points in my life - just felt terrible for weeks. The thing I was taught by this experience, is to never, ever screw around with it. In my case I was attacked by a swarm of ticks during a hot period (Vienna, Austria) and I kind of ignored the bites .. thought nothing of them after discovering the ticks (2) and removing them .. but after 2 days, I had 4 red splotches over my body, and it was clear that I had the characteristic 'bullseye' symptoms. Thought "okay, I can live through this" and didn't do anything about it for about 5 - 6 weeks; splotches went away, and I thought I was fine. No. Just, no. I was not fine. Aches and pains like none I've experienced before (being Australian, I've had a few nasty bites in my life), and malaise and lethargy that was seriously affecting my ability to live life. Doctor told me I was an idiot for not coming in right away - that I could very well have done damage to my brain - and was put on a super strong antibiotics regimen .. which was pain itself, since it screwed with everything. Anyway, had my blood tests, and they think I'm fine. But I have to go back in a month for another round of tests - because even if you think you're fine, after Lyme, you may not be fine for a few years. It can persist in the human body. So, don't be a fool like me: if you get a tick, go immediately to the doctor and get it sorted. Trust me the symptoms are just awful.

radiorental 9y ago
We have a vaccine for it, but for various regulatory & market reasons it's no longer available https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-lyme-disease-vaccine https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-l...
- eric_h 9y ago
  I received a shot of the vaccine when it was available. Unfortunately the projected longevity of the immunity conferred was only 3-5 years. By the time that period had passed for me the vaccine was no longer available.
- fludlight 9y ago
  > There is no evidence to suggest that the Lyme disease vaccine ever caused Lyme arthritis, but it was taken off the market largely in response to lawsuits alleging exactly that.
  - melling 9y ago
    Your dog can get a vaccine but you can't. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dogs-can-get-lyme-disease-vaccine-cant-humans https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dogs-can-get-lyme-disease-...
    - lobf 9y ago
      ...is this surprising or unusual to you?
mistersquid 9y ago
> So, don't be a fool like me: if you get a tick, go immediately to the doctor and get it sorted. Trust me the symptoms are just awful. I'm glad to hear you're on your way to a full recovery given the severity of Lyme. Your advice to "go immediately to the doctor" is not only important with regard to ticks but to all manner of infection. Most infections have similar symptoms and distinguishing between something discomforting and something deadly is a matter for a health care professional. Stoicism with regard to maladies is practically a cliché among strong-willed people (men especially). Always consult a doctor with unusual infections, and seemingly usual ones, too, if you can.
- ams6110 9y ago
  If you remove a tick within a few hours you're likely to be fine especially if you don't see the telltale red circular rash. Running to the doctor for non-issues is part of why our medical costs have increased so much the last few years. There's so much marketing to "ask your doctor" about this and that and the other thing these days. And when you go, of course the doctor is obligated to run a battery of tests to cover his ass.
  - mmjaa 9y ago
    Yeah, Lyme disease is not a "non-issue", it is an issue, and a serious one, and you don't wanna fuck with it. So, learn to spot the symptoms, and go get it sorted with a doctor. Like you would with any parasite.
    - Fomite 9y ago
      Depending on what part of the country/world you're in, there's also a wide variety of tick-borne illnesses with very scary mortality rates if untreated.
    - ams6110 9y ago
      I didn't say anything that conflicts with this. If you have symptoms of Lyme, such as the circular red rash, definitely get it checked out.
wu-ikkyu 9y ago
What antibiotic did you use? Doxycycline?
- CptMauli 9y ago
  probably, my wife had it, and she received doxycycline. She felt terrible for days, not fun. Fortunately we discovered the tick, and later the "bullseye" quite quick, so we hope that it exterminated everything.
- gamache 9y ago
  FWIW I have been treated for early-stage Lyme twice, both times with amoxicillin, which is often a little gentler on the body than doxycycline (and you don't have to give up alcohol or sunlight). Fortunately it seems like Lyme isn't (yet) too picky about which antibiotics should be used to fight it.
- petre 9y ago
  There's a doctor in Hungary specialized on Lyme who treats it with doxycycline or amoxacycline and azithromycin. http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/lyme-disease-antibiotic-guide/ http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/lyme-disease-antibi... Just don't take antibiotics by yourself, go to a doctor.
WillReplyfFood 9y ago
Its like the northern version of malaria.
petre 9y ago
Lyme can cause very similar symptoms to multiple sclerosis. It's very serious. I know a person who has died fighting Lyme borreliosis.
jaequery 9y ago
have you tried pemf? as you already know, anti-biotics currently cant completely eradicate lyme. it seems the only effective treatment i have seen are PEMF therapy. you can buy from companies like ampcoil.com, it is fairly expensive at about $7k but worth its weight in gold considering how life crippling lyme disease can be. i know because ive had several friends whose life been turned completely upside down due to lyme and it was difficult to watch. they couldnt go outside and always felt weak. months or even years of antibiotics didnt treat them. then after research they ordered an ampcoil. its what they call a Tesla coil that you just put on your chest one hour a day and it emits magnetic frequencies that targets worms such as Borrelis amongst vast other things. you can actually see these little worms under microscope on your blood samples, scary little bastards. however, within short months of treatment they were pretty much back to being healthy and active again. you should seriously take a look at ampcoil, it seems to be a pretty effective treatment for lyme (i hear its got a 90% success rate), as they penetrate into worms smaller than your cells that antibiotics sometimes cant get into.
pmoriarty 9y ago
Regarding watching out for the bullseye rash (ie. "EM rash"): I didn't even notice mine (though it was 4" in diameter) until after I was diagnosed with Lyme disease (via blood tests), because the rash was on my back -- a place I don't regularly look or check. I also had no idea I was bitten by a tick, or even had any ticks on my body. My biggest mistake was probably just not wearing insect repellent while going in to the woods in an area that had a high incidence of Lyme disease. Regarding antibiotic treatment -- my own treatment wasn't painful, but more annoying than anything because the antibiotics made my skin very light-sensitive, so I had to mostly stay indoors with the blinds drawn. It's the period before the treatment that was miserable, as I had all sorts of painful symptoms.
arkades 9y ago
Most Lyme disease doesn’t produce the rash, and ticks can transfer non-Lyme infections as well. I agree with your post, I just wanted to clarify that people shouldn’t think they’re in the clear just because they didn’t get the rash.
GordonS 9y ago
Would you be able to describe the pains you felt? Also, would you mind saying where they were?

by mmjaa 9y ago

radiorental 9y ago

We have a vaccine for it, but for various regulatory & market reasons it's no longer available https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-lyme-disease-vaccine https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-l...

eric_h 9y ago
I received a shot of the vaccine when it was available. Unfortunately the projected longevity of the immunity conferred was only 3-5 years. By the time that period had passed for me the vaccine was no longer available.
fludlight 9y ago
> There is no evidence to suggest that the Lyme disease vaccine ever caused Lyme arthritis, but it was taken off the market largely in response to lawsuits alleging exactly that.
- melling 9y ago
  Your dog can get a vaccine but you can't. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dogs-can-get-lyme-disease-vaccine-cant-humans https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/dogs-can-get-lyme-disease-...
  - lobf 9y ago
    ...is this surprising or unusual to you?

mistersquid 9y ago

> So, don't be a fool like me: if you get a tick, go immediately to the doctor and get it sorted. Trust me the symptoms are just awful. I'm glad to hear you're on your way to a full recovery given the severity of Lyme. Your advice to "go immediately to the doctor" is not only important with regard to ticks but to all manner of infection. Most infections have similar symptoms and distinguishing between something discomforting and something deadly is a matter for a health care professional. Stoicism with regard to maladies is practically a cliché among strong-willed people (men especially). Always consult a doctor with unusual infections, and seemingly usual ones, too, if you can.

ams6110 9y ago
If you remove a tick within a few hours you're likely to be fine especially if you don't see the telltale red circular rash. Running to the doctor for non-issues is part of why our medical costs have increased so much the last few years. There's so much marketing to "ask your doctor" about this and that and the other thing these days. And when you go, of course the doctor is obligated to run a battery of tests to cover his ass.
- mmjaa 9y ago
  Yeah, Lyme disease is not a "non-issue", it is an issue, and a serious one, and you don't wanna fuck with it. So, learn to spot the symptoms, and go get it sorted with a doctor. Like you would with any parasite.
  - Fomite 9y ago
    Depending on what part of the country/world you're in, there's also a wide variety of tick-borne illnesses with very scary mortality rates if untreated.
  - ams6110 9y ago
    I didn't say anything that conflicts with this. If you have symptoms of Lyme, such as the circular red rash, definitely get it checked out.

wu-ikkyu 9y ago

What antibiotic did you use? Doxycycline?

CptMauli 9y ago
probably, my wife had it, and she received doxycycline. She felt terrible for days, not fun. Fortunately we discovered the tick, and later the "bullseye" quite quick, so we hope that it exterminated everything.
gamache 9y ago
FWIW I have been treated for early-stage Lyme twice, both times with amoxicillin, which is often a little gentler on the body than doxycycline (and you don't have to give up alcohol or sunlight). Fortunately it seems like Lyme isn't (yet) too picky about which antibiotics should be used to fight it.
petre 9y ago
There's a doctor in Hungary specialized on Lyme who treats it with doxycycline or amoxacycline and azithromycin. http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/lyme-disease-antibiotic-guide/ http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/lyme-disease-antibi... Just don't take antibiotics by yourself, go to a doctor.

WillReplyfFood 9y ago

Its like the northern version of malaria.

petre 9y ago

Lyme can cause very similar symptoms to multiple sclerosis. It's very serious. I know a person who has died fighting Lyme borreliosis.

jaequery 9y ago

have you tried pemf? as you already know, anti-biotics currently cant completely eradicate lyme. it seems the only effective treatment i have seen are PEMF therapy. you can buy from companies like ampcoil.com, it is fairly expensive at about $7k but worth its weight in gold considering how life crippling lyme disease can be. i know because ive had several friends whose life been turned completely upside down due to lyme and it was difficult to watch. they couldnt go outside and always felt weak. months or even years of antibiotics didnt treat them. then after research they ordered an ampcoil. its what they call a Tesla coil that you just put on your chest one hour a day and it emits magnetic frequencies that targets worms such as Borrelis amongst vast other things. you can actually see these little worms under microscope on your blood samples, scary little bastards. however, within short months of treatment they were pretty much back to being healthy and active again. you should seriously take a look at ampcoil, it seems to be a pretty effective treatment for lyme (i hear its got a 90% success rate), as they penetrate into worms smaller than your cells that antibiotics sometimes cant get into.

pmoriarty 9y ago

Regarding watching out for the bullseye rash (ie. "EM rash"): I didn't even notice mine (though it was 4" in diameter) until after I was diagnosed with Lyme disease (via blood tests), because the rash was on my back -- a place I don't regularly look or check. I also had no idea I was bitten by a tick, or even had any ticks on my body. My biggest mistake was probably just not wearing insect repellent while going in to the woods in an area that had a high incidence of Lyme disease. Regarding antibiotic treatment -- my own treatment wasn't painful, but more annoying than anything because the antibiotics made my skin very light-sensitive, so I had to mostly stay indoors with the blinds drawn. It's the period before the treatment that was miserable, as I had all sorts of painful symptoms.

arkades 9y ago

Most Lyme disease doesn’t produce the rash, and ticks can transfer non-Lyme infections as well. I agree with your post, I just wanted to clarify that people shouldn’t think they’re in the clear just because they didn’t get the rash.

GordonS 9y ago

Would you be able to describe the pains you felt? Also, would you mind saying where they were?