So...as some of you may remember...my wife and I found a tick attached / feeding on the upper inside of my 2 year old daughter's ear back on APril 28th. It had been there for 2-3 days.
We found it before I was diagnosed and knew anything about lyme (although I had been I'll for 2-3 months by then.) We pulled the tick off and threw it away.
The pediatricians said not to worry and look out of a fever or flu like illness in the next 2-6 weeks. 5 weeks later she came down with a fever, malaise and cough.
By then I was diagnosed and had a crash course in lyme. I knew the controversy. When she came down with a fever, I demanded she get tested and be put on abx. Her pediatrician agreed to the ELISA, but refused the western blot or antibiotics. He felt it was croup as it was going around and she had the barking cough that was classic for croup. It did seem like croup as my other daughter then got sick a few days later and many kids in town had a similar illness.
As a precaution, I took her to Dr. M in Ct...he is younger and trained with the famous Dr. J.
When we met with Dr. M, it was about 7 weeks post-bite. She seemed fine.
He did a full evaluation on her and felt she was fine. She had no pain or any of the typical symptoms a child of her age should have 7 weeks post bite. As a precaution, he did a phone consult with the infamous Dr. J while we were there, who also felt she was free and clear. They both felt that, if she had just been bitten they would have definitely given her abx. But given it was almost 8 weeks later and she had zero symptoms, then they didn't want to risk the weeks of unnecessary antibiotics on such a young girl. I agreed...they are among the best LLMD pediatricians out there, after all.
Since then..she seems to be fine. A happy, smart, and generally energetic, young almost 3 year old (and the absolute joy of my life.)
But I do worry that something is lurking somewhere...I worry something is going to pop up down the road and attack my little girl and put her through hell..maybe not today or next month or next year...but sometime.
So..my question is (sorry for the long preface)...should I look into getting her an IGENEX test in the next few months as a precaution? Or, should I trust Dr. M and Dr. J (he is THE MAN after all) who say she is fine?
I pray she is fine. She is my world.
[ 12-20-2010, 10:26 AM: Message edited by: bcb1200 ]
Posted by lymegal23 (Member # 28573) on :
To help yourself sleep better at night, I would get her tested by INGENEX. It definatly doesnt hurt to do so
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
Some people who test positive on the western blot are symptom free. This is apparently because their immune systems are fighting it off.
The thing is that there is no way of knowing whether your child will produce symptoms or not. Only time will tell. Doesn't keep your from worrying now, of course, and wondering what to do. Not all ticks are infected. Treating people with no symptoms is generally not done.
It would be better not to use the word infamous when referring to some of our best lyme docs. Famous, yes. Infamous is a negative word.
Posted by bcb1200 (Member # 25745) on :
Thanks...will edit to FAMOUS!!
Posted by momlyme (Member # 27775) on :
BCB- tough call. My heart goes out to you. Watch out for vaccinations or flu shots with mercury... I believe this is what triggered lyme symptoms in my son.
Lou - infamous - famous --- aren't we splitting hairs?
We all know good intentions are there when referring to these docs... why make an intended positive into a negative?
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
Mom, here is the definition of infamous. This is not splitting hairs, anymore than saying night is day is splitting hairs. This is a public forum, and the names we give our doctors does matter. I am sure she did not consult the dictionary when she typed it.
Adjective
* S: (adj) ill-famed, infamous, notorious (known widely and usually unfavorably) "a notorious gangster"; "the tenderloin district was notorious for vice"; "the infamous Benedict Arnold";
Posted by Remember to Smile (Member # 25481) on :
quote:Originally posted by bcb1200: found a tick attached / feeding on the upper inside of my 2 year old daughter's ear back on APril 28 [snip] 5 weeks later she came down with a fever, malaise and cough. [snip] I took her to Dr. M in Ct...he is younger and trained with the famous Dr. J.
When we met with Dr. M, it was about 7 weeks post-bite. She seemed fine. [snip] As a precaution, he did a phone consult with the famous Dr. J while we were there, who also felt she was free and clear. [snip] But given it was almost 8 weeks later and she had zero symptoms, then they didn't want to risk the weeks of unnecessary antibiotics on such a young girl. I agreed...they are among the best LLMD pediatricians
Dear bcb, imho [getting more humble as i age], those two LLMDs sound wise now.
Prayer is powerful! You can also take steps in your daily life to ensure your daughter stays healthy.
Raise her in an environment that's free of many of the stressors which can trigger harsh chronic symptoms.
Keep her away from pesticides, plastics, electronics, simple sugars...
Can't think more now.
[ 12-20-2010, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: Remember to Smile ]
Posted by momlyme (Member # 27775) on :
Lou - thanks for the clarification. I never realized the always negative suggestion of infamous. I just looked up infamous famous in google to get some clarification... and found this link which only verifies what you said. Sorry.
That's a tough call. I think every time she has a complaint, you are going to wonder if it is lyme creeping in. But, it does seem right that if there are no symptoms, there is nothing to treat.
I asked my (7 yo) daughter the other day if her feet hurt in the morning. She says "no, mom, they don't hurt, they are just stiff". Well, add this to her fatigue, chest pain, anxiety, constipation, occasional headache, I'm thinking bart. Pediatrician thinks she needs counseling. Why would anxiety cause sore feet? It's enough to make me crazy.
I think it's tougher for kids to express what is wrong. They don't know what is right. My other daughter had lyme last spring, was inadequately treated and now has knee issues. Her pediatrician said osgood-schlatters. So did her LLMD, but the LLMD noticed that her ankles were swollen, that her words were confusing, she was pale (anemic), and said yes, she needs blood work and possible abx. My daughter thinks I'm paranormal (her word). Her short term memory is the pits and she has horrible word recall.