At the risk of sounding redundant (sp?), my son was bitten by a tick a couple of weeks ago and was given 1 dose of Doxy at that time... Alot of you posted that he should have been given a whole lot more than that and that he should be tested.
Though, I have seen no signs of a rash, he is now complaining of aches and pains in the muscles of his legs and looks like he is suffering from allergies...or "flu-like" symptoms..
My question is...would an ELISA be sensitive enough to catch it at this early stage, if that is what it is??
I know, from going through trying to be diagnosed myself right now for late stage Lyme, that ELISA's are not dependable...
How about early on like this?? We don't have insurance, so an ELISA is definitely cheaper than the tests that I am trying to get..
I am still so new at all this...can anyone give me any advice?? Please!! Posted by ByronSBell 2007 (Member # 11496) on :
An ELISA test is one of the most unreliable tests out there. Go with Igenex western blot! BUT, if you have this test run you MUST do it correctly, make sure you read the website and the instructions of how to do the blood test and how to ship it, if anything gets messed up it will come back negative.
You need to get him on more antibiotics or you can do natural things to treat lyme like order herbs.
Posted by Beverly (Member # 1271) on :
Hi jimmystermite,
So sorry your son has been bitten and is now sick.
I would go with IGeneX Western Blot, the Elisa is a very bad test, it would be like flipping a coin.
Yes, you need to get him on abx, or you can do herbs from Stephen Harrod Buhner *Healing Lyme* Book.
My son was bitten by a tick in 2001, he had a red rash on his face but it wasn't a *classic* bulls-eye he also complained of aches and pains in his legs.
Good luck to you, let us know how he is doing.
Posted by Lymeindunkirk (Member # 7118) on :
Oh my. I feel for you as I have a son that has Lyme disease. Its a rough road. It almost breaks my heart every time I hear about yet another child becoming infected. Please get him to an educated lyme doc asap. He needs serious treatment. I know too many children that are sick with this disease. At least you are a parent that realizes something isn't right. I have come across many that just won't listen and then can't understand why their children don't get better or have other issues.
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Sorry to hear about your son's tick bite.
The reason that you need to bring him to a lyme literate doctor as soon as possible is that not only should he receive (I believe, I am not a doctor) more antibiotics for lyme, but there may also be co-infections from tick bites.
I was bitten twice by ticks in New York, years ago, and am only now being treated for babesia, a co-infection. And it is really helping my health.
Meantime, if you could see your general doctor, and perhaps get him started on doxycycline or amoxicillin, that may be recommended. It is what I would do.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Vermont_Lymie: The reason that you need to bring him to a lyme literate doctor as soon as possible is that not only should he receive (I believe, I am not a doctor) more antibiotics for lyme, but there may also be co-infections from tick bites.
Get as many abx as possible. The ELISA MIGHT come back positive....but I would not hold my breath for that.
I may be wrong on this, but I thought if you tested for Lyme
Within the first four weeks, all of the tests would be negative????
Don't you have to give the immune system a chance to post a response before the test will
Convert to a positive?
Isn't that why Igenex recommends 28 days of antibiotics with ten days off to possibly
Create an environment more favorable for positive bands?
Again, I may be wrong, but I thought it was highly unlikely to get a positive Lyme test
Whether Elisa or WB within four weeks of a tick bite.
I would find a LLMD asap....especially with possible symptoms showing.
Hugs,
Geneal
PS: If I am wrong, please don't beat me up for my less than capable Lyme brain..
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Geneal: Again, I may be wrong, but I thought it was highly unlikely to get a positive Lyme test
Whether Elisa or WB within four weeks of a tick bite.
I would find a LLMD asap....especially with possible symptoms showing.
I believe that is correct.
Posted by Truthfinder (Member # 8512) on :
I believe that is correct, also. If memory serves me correctly (ha!), there won't be any antibodies for 4-6 weeks after an infected tick bite.
That's why you shoot first ( a course of antibiotics) and ask questions later (testing).
Tracy
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Jimmy, the blood tests are actually looking for anti-bodies produced by the body to fight the lyme infection. These tests aren't looking for actual lyme bacteria in the blood. I would be doubtful that his body would be producing anti-bodies this early.
Your son can feel something not right with his body. He has classic symptoms with no rash. The odds of there being a tell tale bulls eye rash is not great.
Since you suspect you have lyme, beware your son can have a completely different set of symptoms than you. Especially since you wrote late stage on yourself.
At this stage and if it was my child and I knew what I know today....I would spend my money on more antibotics and treating it as lyme period. Tick bite and flu-like symptoms and unusual pains=possible infection. Doesn't seem like that one doxy killed the bug? Hello doctor?
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