4 ms·

I live in Minnesota and am being treated for Lyme disease for the second time in 15 months. It's no joke. The first time I got Lyme, it came with a painful shin

I live in Minnesota and am being treated for Lyme disease for the second time in 15 months. It's no joke. The first time I got Lyme, it came with a painful shingles co-infection on top of the usual symptoms. Now the second time, I am again worried about getting sick with something else while in an immunocompromised state. The fatigue, fever, and back pain that came along this second time was worse than the first. I needed a nap after walking up the stairs. So, I am curious how bad and prolonged the side effects were in these 59 adverse events. If only temporary, I'd consider it worth it over getting the actual disease. The article also asks, "Why vaccinate against something that can be cured with antibiotics?" Undiagnosed Lyme becomes harder to treat the longer you wait, and the dose of antibiotics longer and more intense. (PS: I am so very thankful for doxycycline.)

nomel 5y ago
Have you considered hyperbaric oxygen treatment? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24726678/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24726678/
- pwenzel 5y ago
  I have not. Looks interesting. To be clear, I do not have chronic lyme, but rather have been bit by a tick twice in the last year and a half and got lyme disease each time.
  - daddylongstroke 5y ago
    You should play powerball with that type of luck!!! I pick embedded ticks off my body 6 out of 7 days each week, for about 3-4 months each year for many years, and have yet to face consequences...but then, I don't go to get medical attention often, so, who knows, maybe I've had it?
notabee 5y ago
Shingles is caused by varicella (chickenpox) virus that's already latent in your nerves. Really unlikely that it was a "co-infection", it just reactivated because your body was busy fighting Lyme.
- shockeychap 5y ago
  I'm not sure what you think "co-infection" means, but you just described precisely that. The reactivation of shingles meant that he was simultaneously infected with two different agents. "Co-infection" (for me at least) implies nothing about how or where the secondary infection came from.
  - notabee 5y ago
    That's fair. It's a really commonly implied thing among the quackier side of Lyme treatment that every tick is going to unload a clown car full of pathogens (used to justify even more unvalidated tests). But, by the definition, it's just co-occurring infections regardless of vector.
    - Kenji 5y ago
      > that every tick is going to unload a clown car full of pathogens They mostly are, though. Lyme is not the only horrible disease. There's Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and other nasty shit. As a kid, I was in the woods every day. Didn't get a tick for years, despite walking through thick woods in shorts. Then I got stung a few times, didn't think much of it. Then I got Lyme. Had terrible joint pains for months despite immediately taking Doxycycline. Since then I almost never went deeper into the woods again. You're immediately full of ticks. I once picked up a piece of trash that was on the side of the path and immediately had a tick crawling on my hand. What a nasty infestation of our woods. Did you know that Lyme is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? Yes, if you have intercourse with someone who has Lyme, you may get infected as well. Lyme is a horror show.
tdeck 5y ago
I had Lyme twice as a kid too (in suburban Pennsylvania). It's not fun and it's a bit crazy that you can get it more than once. People are usually shocked when I tell them. I knew someone who was temporarily paralyzed on one side because of Lyme that they diagnosed late - it's scary.
- abakker 5y ago
  I grew up in CT. Had it 4 times, only got the bullseye once. It is no joke, and as you get older it seems to suck more and more. Last time I had numbness in my face as the only symptom, but...thrice bitten, fully paranoid, and I was treated pretty fast. One thing which is important with a vaccine is that when I was a kid (early 90s) the rate of ticks carrying lyme was in the 10% range or less, while now it is >50%. A vaccine is critical.
  - tdeck 5y ago
    I didn't have the bullseye the second time either I was just extremely tired and had a mild fever. That's how it often goes, and if my mom hadn't recognized the nonspecific symptoms it could have been a lot worse.
  - sonicggg 5y ago
    How do you manage to get it so often? I live in an area that is endemic to Lyme, but it's something that can easily be avoided (much easier than Covid). But I do see reckless behaviour all the time as well, so maybe it is not that surprising.
    - abakker 5y ago
      3 of the times I was under 15. I liked to play in the woods and did yard work. I used deet, etc, but I guess was just unlucky. The last time I was 22, had just moved back to CT from college and got a tick while mountain biking. I noticed it when I checked, but I guess it had been on long enough.
    - all_usernames 5y ago
loceng 5y ago
How was it diagnosed?

nomel 5y ago

Have you considered hyperbaric oxygen treatment? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24726678/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24726678/

pwenzel 5y ago
I have not. Looks interesting. To be clear, I do not have chronic lyme, but rather have been bit by a tick twice in the last year and a half and got lyme disease each time.
- daddylongstroke 5y ago
  You should play powerball with that type of luck!!! I pick embedded ticks off my body 6 out of 7 days each week, for about 3-4 months each year for many years, and have yet to face consequences...but then, I don't go to get medical attention often, so, who knows, maybe I've had it?

notabee 5y ago

Shingles is caused by varicella (chickenpox) virus that's already latent in your nerves. Really unlikely that it was a "co-infection", it just reactivated because your body was busy fighting Lyme.

shockeychap 5y ago
I'm not sure what you think "co-infection" means, but you just described precisely that. The reactivation of shingles meant that he was simultaneously infected with two different agents. "Co-infection" (for me at least) implies nothing about how or where the secondary infection came from.
- notabee 5y ago
  That's fair. It's a really commonly implied thing among the quackier side of Lyme treatment that every tick is going to unload a clown car full of pathogens (used to justify even more unvalidated tests). But, by the definition, it's just co-occurring infections regardless of vector.
  - Kenji 5y ago
    > that every tick is going to unload a clown car full of pathogens They mostly are, though. Lyme is not the only horrible disease. There's Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and other nasty shit. As a kid, I was in the woods every day. Didn't get a tick for years, despite walking through thick woods in shorts. Then I got stung a few times, didn't think much of it. Then I got Lyme. Had terrible joint pains for months despite immediately taking Doxycycline. Since then I almost never went deeper into the woods again. You're immediately full of ticks. I once picked up a piece of trash that was on the side of the path and immediately had a tick crawling on my hand. What a nasty infestation of our woods. Did you know that Lyme is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)? Yes, if you have intercourse with someone who has Lyme, you may get infected as well. Lyme is a horror show.

tdeck 5y ago

I had Lyme twice as a kid too (in suburban Pennsylvania). It's not fun and it's a bit crazy that you can get it more than once. People are usually shocked when I tell them. I knew someone who was temporarily paralyzed on one side because of Lyme that they diagnosed late - it's scary.

abakker 5y ago
I grew up in CT. Had it 4 times, only got the bullseye once. It is no joke, and as you get older it seems to suck more and more. Last time I had numbness in my face as the only symptom, but...thrice bitten, fully paranoid, and I was treated pretty fast. One thing which is important with a vaccine is that when I was a kid (early 90s) the rate of ticks carrying lyme was in the 10% range or less, while now it is >50%. A vaccine is critical.
- tdeck 5y ago
  I didn't have the bullseye the second time either I was just extremely tired and had a mild fever. That's how it often goes, and if my mom hadn't recognized the nonspecific symptoms it could have been a lot worse.
- sonicggg 5y ago
  How do you manage to get it so often? I live in an area that is endemic to Lyme, but it's something that can easily be avoided (much easier than Covid). But I do see reckless behaviour all the time as well, so maybe it is not that surprising.
  - abakker 5y ago
    3 of the times I was under 15. I liked to play in the woods and did yard work. I used deet, etc, but I guess was just unlucky. The last time I was 22, had just moved back to CT from college and got a tick while mountain biking. I noticed it when I checked, but I guess it had been on long enough.
  - all_usernames 5y ago

loceng 5y ago

How was it diagnosed?