Hi to all who are going through this horrible thing called Lyme. I have a question for those that have been battling Lyme for years. Although this is my first time here, I am not a stranger to the devastation of this disease. I was bitten in 1988 and diagnosed in 1995. I was aggressively tx for two yrs and then turned to Homeopathic in 97/98. Last relapse was the year 2000. I got through it without abx and have been very healthy since. Just within the last two weeks, I developed a strange looking round rash on my leg (the same one that my original bull's eye was in 1988). Working in the medical field, I asked the Dr. I work for to look at it, thinking that I got bit by a spider. She guessed it was Ring worm. I did not agree and took my self to the internet this morning to research (which I have not done for several years) I landed on a site which showed several different type of bull's eye rashes. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks that I may be relapsing. It is definately a typical Lyme bull's eye rash. My question is this... Is it possible to develop a rash with a relapse this long after not having any sx or is it more likely that I got bit again and have a new bacteria? I am terrified right now and am hoping that someone out there can tell me if this has happened to them.
Thank you
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Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by jodielee: . My question is this... Is it possible to develop a rash with a relapse this long after not having any sx or is it more likely that I got bit again and have a new bacteria?
Good very easily be a reoccurance of the original infection. I've heard of people who've had a bullseye surface after several years, even some who never had the rash, and suddenly one appeared.
How are you feeling??
and WELCOME!!
There are also pictures of rashes in the links below. [the first two links]
Print off the links then check them off as you read as you could spend several months reading all of this. Treepatrol constantly adds new links as they become available from the members here.
print & read Dr. B's (a lyme literate MD) info first; you will come back to this often.
Some guidelines from Betty/others on using this message board:
* Do NOT use all caps when posting; it's hard on our eyes. But I know one of our members has macular degeneration, and all caps is what she can see & read so exceptions like this are acceptable for good reasons.
* We chronic, late-stage lymies can NOT read long paragraphs. So please limit your paragraphs to 6-8 lines max of text and double space between paragraphs.
* You can EDIT your text comments anytime. You can NOT edit your subject line so please make it as specific as possible instead of ``help, question'' etc. in order to have more readers/replies in trying to assist you. There are between 30-40 NEW/replies to post daily so we can't read all the posts on our limited time here...thanks for understanding.
* If you use the ``quote'' icon, please DELETE [B] bold at the beginning & ending of the quote. This makes it easier on our chronic, late-stage lyme eyes.
* To just reply without quoting, go to the top or bottom of screen in the black & white area to reply or post a new topic. Many of us couldn't see it when we 1st started posting. Thank you for helping us all out! * * LYME SYMPTOMS - http://www.lyme.org/otherdis/ld_symptoms.html Bettyg, Iowa
Posted by daniella (Member # 6753) on :
jodielee--
if it doesn't itch it's not ring worm!...my dr. also missed my 10 or 12 bullsyeyes by saying they were ring worm rashes. They didn't itch and the cream didn't make them go away...
be careful and go with your gut feeling!...
hope this helps, daniella
Posted by jodielee on :
Thank you all very much for your reply.
Lymetoo - I have been feeling flu-like sx all week. I kind of brushed it off. Thanks for the links. I will start researching. bettyg - Thank you for the info. I will try to follow all the rules. bare with me if I do not catch on right away. daniella - That's what I thought about the ring worm. I did indeed put cream on it this morning hoping it would fade.
Thank you all very much, you have been very helpful
jodielee
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Glad we could help, jodie!
------------------ Do not take anything I say as medical advice. I am not a doctor, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express! oops! Lymetutu
Posted by pq (Member # 6886) on :
Take video of this with ruler, close-up and from a distance.
Posted by beachcomber (Member # 5320) on :
Hi:
Yes it is possible. My rash has reappeared in the exact same spot twice over the last 15 years since my first bite. Hard to imagine that I was bitten again in exactly the same spot. I also got a return of symptoms.
Am not an MD but, I do think it is possible.
Bc
Posted by Tj33 (Member # 7214) on :
Google Dr. Mary Enig.. She is an expert in fats and lipids that feed your immune system.
You must boost your immune system.. Drugs only can aid and cannot replace the immune system
Her books are available from Amazon.com excellent information, and well written... Be sure to use the Amazon.com link on this web page, Amazon donates money to support this website.. Great company... When I need something I check Amazon first...
God Bless
Tj
Posted by bpeck (Member # 3235) on :
If it is Lyme, then it *is* a symptom.
If it is Lyme, and you're 20+ years into it, then it could be a form of ACA - Are you in the USA or Europe- ACA is more prevalent in Europe and I don't see much written about it in this country.
There is an early (inflammatory) stage and a late (Skin thinning) stage.
If it is ACA, and left untreated, during the late stage it will eventually destroy the elastin in the skin. And if this IS the case- you'll be able to see that happening in the skin within the borders of affected area..... it looks like a strange purplish- redness below the skin that isn't raised, nor does it itch.. The skin within the borders will thin, then look much more aged than the skin not affected.
So. I'd talk to your Lyme Doc - Try 3 weeks of Minocycline- and see if it goes away.
Barb
Posted by jodielee (Member # 7836) on :
Thanks Barb, that is new info for me. I am in the U.S. and the rash is clearly red in the outer ring and light in the center. It is very similiar to some of the pics I have come across. Have had other sx too. Hoping it is a small relapse.
Thank You,
jodielee
Posted by bpeck (Member # 3235) on :
J: Yah- I think it's Lyme. A several years prior to the presumed ACA areas, I had several circles about 2 inches in diameter show up on my shoulders, forarms and lower legs (about 8 total) - pale in the ctr, and outer border red they were flat, not raised - and a few were close enough to look like a figure "8".
This was before I knew I had Lyme and of course I was treated for everything under the sun, and nothing helped them- all the docs thought them very bizarre - I had them about a year and they slowly faded... the next bout about 8 years later was accompanied by the much larger ACA areas- with a few of these little bullseyes- and I knew what they were...
Minocycline (200mg/day) took them away in 3 weeks.
Barb PS - get a jewelers loupe- or use the eye piece off a microscope and take a good look at the red area- and at the pale area- the red area will look different becausee it's either slighly inflammed under the skin- OR the elastin is being degraded.. hopefull the skin in the center will look normal... And I am convinced the DOcs in the USA (even the Lyme Docs) don't have expereince looking at this late stage manisfestation.
Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
Could you have been possibly reinfected? Bit again?
oops!