So, the back of my right leg has been hurting for a couple days.
But I convinced myself it was because my muscles were sore. I shot a wedding on Saturday for 10 straight hours of squatting, kneeling, lying down, probably up and down off the floor 100 times. So I've got sore muscles -- who wouldn't?
However, instead of getting better, this morning I could hardly walk on it.
Since it's in a spot I can't see, I got a mirror and looked. My first thought was "Holy crap -- I've got MRSA." (My daughter had this and it is UGLY.)
But then I got to looking closer (magnifying mirror!) and I realized, "Holy crap, that's not MRSA, that's an embedded tick!!"
Then I got to remembering how last week I had a headache to end all headaches.
Then I got to remembering how a week or so ago I took a beautiful stroll through the woods with my Nikon, photographing newly budded shrubs and flowers.
I removed it with tweezers and placed it in a covered container.
It is Ixodes Pacificus, naturally. That's all that will bite me, apparently.
I am pretty horrified. I've been off all meds for about six months and doing pretty well, after treating lyme + babesia WA-1 for a couple years.
Well, I have missed my LLMD.
I'm going to email them and see what they have to say.
I think it has been on me for a LONG while. I think I already have a bullseye. Maybe it is just inflammation? Someone, throw me a freakin bone!!
Aaack.
Love to all,
Michelle
OK, so now you know, I'm guilty of NOT shaving the backs of my knees.
I likely squooshed him a little in the extraction process. I mean, he was REALLY embedded.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
OMG, that's horrible, just when you thought you were 'out of the woods' (pun intended!).
What a great shot of it too - text book style
I bet LLMD will say you should treat again now. What a pain when you just stopped.
Let us know what happens.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I'd call that LLMD today!!!
I'd also send the tick to IGeneX to find out which coinfections it has. Maybe if you know what you're treating right from the start it won't give you too many problems.
I can't imagine how you must feel right now ....
Posted by lymeladyinNY (Member # 10235) on :
Dear God, that's awful. I'm SO sorry you've been bitten again!!!! Looks like you'll probably have trouble from this one. Nasty, disgusting creatures!
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Thanks Six and DLL.
I feel on the verge of crying, of course. I feel very squirrely in the stomach, and disgusted.
Fortunately, we don't have lyme in California, and according to my neurologist, don't even have ticks here!!
I have already emailed my LLMD. I am sure they will call me when they read it. They are saints.
I'm wondering whether I should test it for lyme. I know if you have a bullseye, that's indicative of lyme without any testing. There does seem to be central clearing in the ring.
Ugh. Just yuck. Freaking disgusting doxycycline time. At the least.
Michelle
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
ohhhhhhh that SUCKS! I am so sorry Michelle, just when you were done with treatment. Unbelievable. Great photos though. Good grief the little suckers get in deep!
Posted by Niere (Member # 14387) on :
I am soooooo sorry for you. My heart is going out to you.
At least (small consolation, I know) this time you know what you are dealing with and don't have to go through the usual three-ring circus.
Here's hoping that this will be just a small bump in the road for you.
Posted by cantgiveupyet (Member # 8165) on :
So , sorry Michelle,
Great photos, and on a positive note atleast you know you were bit, imagine if you didnt find it, and if symptoms do appear you wont think you are relapsing.
Again Im sorry, they are horrible!
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Good points, you guys. Thanks so much. It helps a LOT.
And yes, I don't have to figure it out this time.
I SAW the tick and the rash last time, but didn't connect the symptoms and my doctors dismissed any notion of lyme, though subsequently I was CDC positive, plus positive for babesia WA1.
Ticks should know better than bite photographers. Offenders will be documented. Ha ha.
I'm trying to make myself laugh so I won't cry.
Thanks so much. What would I do without you guys?
Michelle
Posted by adamm (Member # 11910) on :
Oh my god! I'm so sorry!
Posted by Meg (Member # 22) on :
Oh Michelle, I'm sorry. Just when you felt good
enough to quit abx and give it a try. I hope you
got right in to the office for help.
I was bitten again last year, sheesh!
Personally, I'd gladly pay the powers that be to
chemically spray and eradicate the buggers! Posted by Visual Afterimage Man (Member # 10435) on :
Michelle,
Thats AWEFUL! But you caught this early. Get on Doxy and kick some Lyme butt.
Positive story: My father was bit (he lives in New England) last summer and had a classic bulls eye rash (Which you have by the way.. I can see it starting to form in your pictures). He got on Doxy immediately and today has had no issues!
Catch it early you will be fine!!
Side note: I too am an Nikon SLR user. Impressive camera. Your photos prove it. D70?
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
Your experience has reminded me not to get tempted to even go near anything green or that sprouts from the ground (trees, grass, etc).
Last year when I ventured across my lawn to get something by the fence - it was about 5 steps each way, and believe me I leaped like a Kangaroo to try to not touch the grass too much - I still managed to find a tick attached on my leg the day after that. Thankfully I was on abx anyway.
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Heard from my LLMD. They are fast. Man, I LOVE those guys.
They are going to review my file and most likely call me in some doxycycline. They'll call back shortly after reviewing my file.
They want me to test the tick for coinfections, though probably not for lyme since it does indeed look to be an EM rash.
Bump in the road. Yup, that's it.
Visual, you're a Nikon man!! You go! I do have a D70 and a D80 but shoot with a D300 most times. The lens on these photos is a 105mm f/2.8 VR Nikkor. A butt-kicking lens!!
Michelle
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Oh Michelle, that's nasty. It goes to show we should inspect every little itch or sore that appears on our bodies. In every nook and cranny.
I try to look at my backside in the large mirror sometimes. First leftside, then rightside. But we can't always see every little thing on us?
I wore a tiny tiny deer or nymph on my nose for 14 days just in Dec 07. I had it on my face, right in front of my eyes and thought it was a spider bite.
Treated it for days. Finally after days of trying to get the core of this sore off my nose with tweezers......removed the dead skin and the core dark spot and it was a darn TICK.
This tick had been dead for days. I had hydrogen peroxided it, azithro creamed it, alcoholed it, squeezed it and done everything. It bleed every single day, but the core dark little thing was still there????
I actually did not even once think it was a tick? Even on my nose, right in the mirror for 14 days. That darn dead tick is still in a baggie, on a white tissue, saved in a safe place.
Believe me I learned another lesson in tick search & destroy. Don't worry you can conquer whatever this nasty critter left in you too.
I'm glad you've got an LLMD to help you. I hope he has pictures and some idea of the type infection left in you?
Pam
Posted by laura j (Member # 14257) on :
Ugh! I am so sorry!
It looks like from the pix that you may not have gotten the whole thing out. Do you think you should have it looked at?
Also, just curious if you were wearing any insect repellant when it happened?
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
I think that is one of my greatest fears....and realities.
Getting bit again. My luck I wouldn't see it this time either.
I am so sorry. It must be very upsetting to say the least.
Don't worry, I don't shave the back of my knees all the time either.
Is co-infection testing of ticks any better than Lyme testing of ticks.
I seem to recall a few members here with negative tick results
And yet full blown Lyme and/or co-infections.
Hang in there. While the pictures were graphic....I showed my children
As they both have Lyme also....so they know.
Sending you positive thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Oh Michelle, I'M SO SORRY!!!!!!!
I hope you mentioned the monster headache to the LLMD. It may be time for the "golden goo" again.
On the upside, you've gotten yourself well once, you can do it again! It should be even easier this time around because you have two years experience on your resume!
I really am sorry. I do hope that you're getting the help you need quickly enough, this time, to keep it from being a long, drawn out process.
hugs & prayers, Ali
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
quote:Originally posted by laura j: Ugh! I am so sorry!
It looks like from the pix that you may not have gotten the whole thing out. Do you think you should have it looked at?
Also, just curious if you were wearing any insect repellant when it happened?
I'm thinking I got it all. I've a photo of the spot after tick removal.
I usually check myself pretty good in the shower but I guess I don't pay any attention to the backs of my knees!! (And certainly not with my razor!)
I was not using any spray or repellant. Yep, dumb, I know. Tick season is year round here, despite the fact we had a solid month of snow. I don't sit on logs any more but I am definitely squatting down/crouching on the ground when I'm out.
I also suspect it was MUCH smaller when it attached to me.
Goodness, Pam -- a tick on your face!! Hey, they can be practically unidentifiable, 'specially if they are burrowed in good.
Going to let my LLMD tell me if he wants to look at it. Right now I'm trying to chill out. Still have shaky hands!!
Michelle
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
This is so unfair!!!!! I feel like crying right along with you. Why, why why should you have to deal with this again??
That said, I know you have a strong spirit and I know you can beat this again. Please keep us up on what happens with your LLMD etc...
My thoughts and prayers are with you Michelle.
Terry
Posted by laura j (Member # 14257) on :
I wasn't trying to give you a hard time about the repellant, I was just curious because I wanted to know how safe I could feel with it on. Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
quote:Originally posted by laura j: I wasn't trying to give you a hard time about the repellant, I was just curious because I wanted to know how safe I could feel with it on.
Hey Laura -- I know you weren't! Trust me, I'm too busy giving MYSELF a hard time! I would use spray with permethrin next time I venture into the woods of my property and feel pretty confident. I really have no excuse for my complacency and won't even try to make one!!
Michelle
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Oh, Michelle, I'm so sorry....
For me, it's not the small red patch around the bite that clinches it, but the pale, larger circle that you can even make out in your photo. It doesn't have to have a central clearing to be EM. But I bet you knew that already.
Nurse, bring me the antibiotics, stat!
Take care, Shaz
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Doctor's orders, per phone call a few minutes ago:
Minocycline instead of Doxy (YAY!!!) -- 300 mg a day if I can tolerate it.
Also:
Zithromax 500mg a day.
The good news: Like most people with lyme, I have these laying around in my medicine cabinet.
Test or not test for coinfections, up to me -- depending on whether I can scare up the money. Hang onto the tick for now. No test needed for lyme.
Michelle
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
good golly michelle; life sucks! so sorry to read this.
10 hr. photo shoot for wedding! wow, my entire body hurts just thinking of all those hours.
again, your photo lens/TALENT is just amazing at the shots you get of ticks, etc.
best wishes for this to be CURED since you found it on you!! Posted by merrygirl (Member # 12041) on :
Holy crap! I am so sorry. that sucks!
That sucker was in there huh?
I am so sorry.
Melissa
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Michelle, I'm sure you remember this but just a reminder.
http://www.drugs.com/minocycline.html Do not take any minocycline after the expiration date printed on the label. Using expired minocycline can cause damage to your kidneys.
So glad you got such a quick response and can start right away!
Terry
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
Oh, that is so terrible. I'm so sorry.
It's good that you got pictures though! Now when they don't believe you, you can show them the pictures and everything.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
I still think you have an incredible sense of humor .....despite this shocking find.
I found a nymph on the back of my knee last summer.
I had spray on, but got busy chasing one of my dogs through the tall grass.
It was sooooo tiny....
Every time I look at those pictures I cringe.
Nasty boogers!
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Oh Michelle,
I am really sorry that you have had another bite!!!
Those are some pictures
I know that you are prepared and know what to do, at least you caught it right away!! I am glad to hear that you have mino and zith on hand and ready. This bite will not become chronic.
We cannot stop living our lives, and walking, hiking, and enjoying the world. Take good care!
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Thanks all!! And thanks, Terry, for that tip -- I didn't know the mino expiration date was important. Mine expires in 2010 so I am good to go.
I feel a lot calmer. It's a good day -- a LUCKY day, actually. It's not going to get a chance to screw with me THIS time!!! I'm armed and dangerous!!
R.I.P., tick!!
Michelle
Posted by sunshinyday (Member # 14337) on :
Michelle,
My heart goes out to you! I hope you clear quickly, since you caught it quickly.
Gail
Posted by wiserforit (Member # 9732) on :
OMG, Michelle
Your superb photo has struck terror in the hearts of its viewers!
Lawdy, Lawdy! I'm so glad you can treat this ASAP!
I don't know if I would have seen anything behind my knee...the land where razors rarely travel...
I smear Burt's Bees repellant behind my knees and ears and neck. It's thick, greasy and aromatic -- chock full of essential oils. Don't know if it does the job, but it gives me some peace of mind to think that insects would have to sludge through the grease to bite me there.
Take that Mino and Zith and beat everything to smithereens. You are a strong and mighty gal!
Thinking of you,
wiserforit
Posted by Dawn in VA (Member # 9693) on :
OH CRAP!
I would definitely get the bugger tested. Icarumba, I am so sorry that this happend to you again.
You will kick it in the hiney hard and it will be done with. Glad you've got those meds going.
Posted by luvdogs (Member # 9507) on :
Michelle - great shots but I am sorry this is happening!
I hope you get the critter tested for everything under the sun (besides Lyme - but hey, why not Lyme - find out what strain or something). b Use it as a research piece to disprove their "no Lyme in CA" theory. And also to put in your records if anyh troubles down the line.
Now kill those guys!!!
Feel better soon.
Luvdogs
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Something tells me gang, don't trust the tick test either. If Igenex tests many of you for lyme & company and you only have 3 bands on IgM positive and the co-infection tests they usually do are bart, babs, etc and these are all negative.
Then you got what? A test that doesn't even begin to show the TRUE picture. I wouldn't waste my money having a tick tested. I'm sorry I know that Igenex is probably the best we got going?
But I am one with hundreds of others & you have tested negative over and over again for simple things like bart, babs etc. Yes Cave, simple is sarcasism. Most importantly through Igenex.
Nobody has a clue gang? Maybe a fuzzy picture? What about the other super bacteria & virus the tick has in it. The bad guys that will explode and conquer you if your immune system is overwhelmed? Let's see staph, strep, mycoplasma, etc, etc etc????????
Do you see anyone out there with the big picture. Some of you might have a LLMD with half a brain. I had one I thought was super. He knew all this crap was at the cell level. He knew he was throwing darts trying to help many.
This great LLMD, foremost a great human being. He would fix it all, if he could. He just doesn't have all the answers? The picture is just so huge that all he could do is try to disect it into smaller frames and treat that problem or this problem.
This LLMD knows how big this picture is. He just can't fix many of those patients. Too much crap in the way. Treating myself was an 8 hour drive away. One way.
How can I and the good LLMD serve each other if I live across two long states? How can he serve the hundreds of patients that are traveling the USA to see him?
Yes, he has many success stories and that's great. Does he think this lyme & company is a simple illness. No way, he knows it, he sees it daily, he believes it, he shows great compassion for it. He just knows he can't "cure" it himself simply!!!!!!
So I say testing a tick is worthless. Just treat the most likely and do all the right things for you and your future health.
I hope your journey is quick and tolerable.
Pam
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Darn it, Michelle - hope you can treat this successfully.
From now on, I hope you will use tick/bug repellant of your choice...I sprayed my shoes and clothes with TKO Orange the last time I went into Tick Territory.
Cave mentioned hunters taking doxy before going out. Does anyone here take antibiotics regularly as an infection preventative or know whether those working in the field do so?
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Pam, that's a very good point.
My daughter had a bite and a rash a couple years ago; I saved the tick and had it tested. Negative. However, she was CDC positive with screamin' lyme; knees so painful she limped. Theoretically it could have been from another tick, I suppose.
So I do NOT have too much faith in the tests.
And I agree there's a whole "soup" of stuff in a tick which we can only guess at.
I do feel my particular tick was on me a LONG time, incredibly surviving many showers and even a bath. I can't guess what he gave me. Last night, apropos of nothing, my teeth on one side of my face began aching intensely -- ALL of them at once!!! I put some Ora-Jel on half my teeth and it helped. Hasn't bothered me again.
I am lucky in that my LLMD is only 75 miles away from me and is extremely compassionate and quick to help. I feel for those who must travel long distances, or have LLMDs who drag their feet. Mine readily admits he does not know all the answers. We just throw at it what we know, and hope for the best.
He left it up to me whether to test for coinfections -- in other words, it doesn't sound like he has much faith in them either.
I was at a baseline of well before. I am pretty determined to stay there. I realize how lucky I am to have a shot at that 'window of opportunity' that so many of us never got - a chance to kill it before it becomes entrenched.
I debated whether I should even post these photos, since I know they are both gross and shocking. In the end, I thought if they help even one person increase awareness, especially of lyme in winter, when we tend to relax our vigil, then it will be a good thing.
I may even be disposed to begin shaving the backs of my knees.
Thanks to everyone for the support and well-wishes. It helps.
Michelle
Posted by sometimesdilly (Member # 9982) on :
Michelle-
please don't let the ticks win by forcing you to do such a radical thing as shaving BEHIND your knees!!
(by the way- you think those 2-3 wimpy specks of hair i saw in the photo make you HAIRY?!!)
i've very sorry to hear your news- i can't imagine. Thank goodness indeed that you didn't have to wait to start fighting back. I'll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you.
hugs, dilly
Posted by blackpowder (Member # 13637) on :
Holy smoke!! I don't check in for a couple days and all this goes down. What the heck??? I feel so bad for not being YOUR cheerleader for a change. I just didn't realize I had such a hairy cheerleader.HAH Sorry couldn't resist.I'm so sorry you were feeling so down.
Next time pick up the phone. That is one ugly tick . I've never seen one like that. It 's gotta' be tough going from taking pix of beautiful brides to taking pix of that little bugger(not my first choice of words). Take care of yourself and let me know if you need to talk.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Gotta say it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Darn that tick.
I hope you are moving forward. This sucks, I know.. but there are several good things in this story.
You have already been through this before... you are educated .. and you have resources available that are beyond compare.
Plus... you are concerned for others even after the elephant ate your pie.
You are a trooper for sure. That tick messed with the wrong Marine this time.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
-
So sorry for this latest chapter.
Hey, had you shaved leg with tick on, that would have been worse !
Thanks for posting the photos. I think they are an important record and teaching tool.
Hope all goes well.
-
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
You guys are a SCREAM!!! Thanks for making me laugh!
Hey, for once I have decided to take the IDSA position: It will be easily cured. Now that the disgust factor has waned a bit I'm not feeling so panicky.
The red circle is still spreading, but the central clearing is gone. The soreness is improving. I'm thinking the Zith/Mino is already kicking butt.
Imagine if we'd all had an LLMD already in place when we got bitten? How lucky would that be?
Hugs to all!!
Michelle
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Yeah, I thought when I seen the unshaved legs? Would I have taken a shaver and eliminated the hairy leg, before posting pix on the internet?
I thought and laughed about this and then decided....who gives a rats %&@ if my legs are unshaved. I would of been screaming to high heaven about another tick and pitching a fit.
Thank goodness I didn't have that sore like yours on my nose. My was pretty bad and I just kept picking at it every morning and adding meds and letting it bleed out.
By the time it finally hit me and the darn tick & dead skin was on my bathroom counter on top of a tissue, it was too late for a nasty pix.
Go get it lady!!!!!
Pam
[ 28. February 2008, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: map1131 ]
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
I think it has been said often and well already,,,waaay to go!!
I applaud your efforts to share this with others to make a difference in life
BTW,,,I have more hair on my ears than you have behind your knee!! get OVER that part!! Besides thats fixable way before the bite will be!!
Way to go lyme warrior!! believes--just don--
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
OH Man....this is so awful!!!! I'm so sorry, Michelle!!!!
Those ticks have an early start this year!!! STINKS!!!!
Maybe you'll only have to take doxy for a month or two?? That would be great!!
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