Its been a long time since Ive been out here, mostly because I was one of the lucky ones who had LD (enceph/menin), got proper treatment, and for the most part has gone back to normal life.
What brought me back today was another tick bite.
I woke up this morning with a deer tick attached to my lower left back. I know that it has likely been attached for about 15 hrs. (I was walking the dogs last night around 4pm, woke up at 5am..its now after 7am.) Anyway, when I felt it, I didnt know at the time it was a tick and I merely scratched my back and it fell in my hand. I grabbed it, put it in a plastic bag, labeled the date, etc. And now Im onto the treatment.
I plan on going to the doctors today to get some abx. Since I have an HMO, I know theyll follow CDC protocols and likely prescribe doxy.
Can anyone refresh my memory.. whats the standard dosage and duration for doxy in this setting.
Is it 200mg, twice a day, for 6 weeks?
I cant find my old notes to remember what I was originally taking prior to seeing my LLMD and doing the extensive triple ABX therapy. Im not at the point of needing that, but Id like to get my HMO to at least prescribe doxy right away.
So.. dosage, duration, for doxy for a recent, current tick bite??
Thanks!
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
300MG/day. �One pill in the AM and two at night, on an empty stomach. �Two hours prior to eating or 2-3 hrs after eating. �
Some people take even more, 400MG. �I am trying this too.
Man, you know how bad this is and you are still taking risks? �We live in a different world now. �It is off the grass for my family now and has been for a few months already.
Funny, I have to tell this story. �In Monroe, NY when I first got sick I told my wife and sister that ticks are EVERYWHERE. �Needless to say I got that paranoid response, even from my sis who is in relapse from Lyme disease. �I was still vehemently opposed to the kids going on the grass and had to fight my wife for this. �
So I stopped doing the grass for two weeks. �I told my wife that we will pay professionals. �My wife and sis decide to do the grass, and guess what was crawling on my sis's shirt in 15 minutes? �A deer tick, beautifully contrasted on her white shirt. �TOLD YA SO!
Then 1 month after that we were visiting family in CT. �My daughter is walking on the front lawn and I remind her to get off. �Her response was, "how come everyone else gets to go on the grass.". So at this point I am just tired of reminders and the vigilance. �I said to her, "if you want a tick on you, go ahead.".
�Meanwhile �i am just watching her and want to check her once she is done. �She takes a walk across the short lawn, parallel to the house. �Then across Cement border, perpendicular to the house and along the driveway and then towards me.
As she comes toward me I see a black dot on her dress and ask her to come closer. �Sure enough, a tick! �Not even 12 seconds on the lawn. �I yelled out to my wife, which at that time we were still fighting about kids and grass. �Since then she has conceded.
I tried very hard to teach her sister who lived in that house, �but guess what? �A month later she gets bit on a church excursion in Montvale, NJ.
I can go on with stories that I can't practically believe myself, that I have experienced in the last six months of getting sick. �I have done my research and have discovered this is a TRUE EPIDEMIC, in every sence of the word. �I just may have to write a book.
[ 10-27-2011, 08:54 AM: Message edited by: Lymedin2010 ]
Posted by kitts (Member # 20542) on :
I would do 8 weeks of doxy 200 mg 2x per day to be safe.
Posted by Wimenin (Member # 15294) on :
Well, I just returned from the doctors. As expected, the big run around. In the end, I ended up leaving the hmo with nothing, and off to the local ER hospital with the same requests. In the end, 100mg, 2x a day, for 7 days is all they would give, and even that was by my becoming aggressive and nasty. I guess things havent changed in the past 5 years since I was last sick.
The same responses as the last time. Wait for symptoms or a positive blood test, check back with your PCP in a week if things go south, etc, etc..
I cant freaking believe it..
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by kitts: I would do 8 weeks of doxy 200 mg 2x per day to be safe.
- Same here.
Go to a walk-in clinic.
Welcome back, Wimenin! Sorry you got bit again, but at least you know what to do!
You could also go to a pet supply store and get fish doxy.
Wonder why those drs wouldn't at least give you the recommended IDSA dosage?? . . which I think is 200mg a day for 2 wks.
quote:Originally posted by Lymedin2010: 300MG/day. �One pill in the AM and two at night, on an empty stomach. �Two hours prior to eating or 2-3 hrs after eating. �
Some people take even more, 400MG. �I am trying this too.
- Never heard of a recommended dosage of 300mg per day.. though it is certainly better than 200mg.
Taking doxy on an empty stomach is suicide. You must take it in the middle of a meal or you will destroy your stomach. Avoid dairy, however.
Lymedin.. I also avoid grass like the plague!
Posted by Wimenin (Member # 15294) on :
Hey,
I was after 8 weeks when I first walked in, then I was hoping for 6 weeks, and by the time I saw the last one I would have been thrilled with at least 30 days worth. In the end, one week is all I got.
The reasoning that the first hmo doctor, their infectious disease specialist, the ER doctor, and their infectious disease doctor gave was that it was a recent bite (today), and there was no sign of LD. No symptoms, no large amounts of abx necessary.
Although there was a clear bite, I have the tick, there was a red mark, small swelling, they said that because there was no symptoms..yet.. they could only prescribe one double dose.
I basically pleased and begged just to get the ER doctor to consent to giving me the double dose, and a weeks worth (14 100mg tabs).
At this point, unfortunately, Im back to sitting and waiting, praying, that this doesnt turn out to be LD. If I start getting odd symptoms, pains, etc, Ill be back into to get additional doxy, and obviously schedule another apptmt with a LLMD. I wont be waiting months, years, like before.
For some particular reason, they just kept harping on that one single double dose. Even though I explained in great detail that taking 4, 6, 8 weeks of abx wouldnt be any problem. I even talked to the pharmacist and he said the same thing. But its their protocol, and theyre chkn sht to think outside the box and perhaps understand that I may know more then them.
I kept telling them that theres no risk for them, all the risk is mine. I kept reminding them that if theyre right and theres no LD, then its no big deal taking an abx for weeks. But if theyre wrong, and I dont get aggressive right now at the start, Im going to be going through crap all over again. But in the end, as was the case last time, they didnt care. All they can think of is their cdc mandates and protocols. Without symptoms, theyre not interested.
I guess the more some thing change, the more they stay the same.
But Ill be keeping close watch on the bite site, and paying attention to any odd symptoms.
btw: Is there any lab that will test the tick I have sitting in a plastic bag? CDC? Igenex?.. Since theres no symptoms.. do I just throw it in the freezer and wait for symptoms...or can I send it off to a lab to be safe??
Posted by Rivendell (Member # 19922) on :
W,
Try going to two or three different docs, if each one prescribes 7 days, it might make a difference. Also, tell them you feel bad. A little white lie might help you here.
Which is worse, the black lie the CDC, NIH, IDSA tells the doctors to tell their patients, or the little white lie you need to tell to protect your health?
Hope that all turns out well.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Igenex will test.. no test on a tick is any more accurate than a test on a human. I found that out.
Igenex charges $55 per test... lyme, babesia, etc (unless they raised it recently)
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
"I kept telling them that theres no risk for them, all the risk is mine. I kept reminding them that if theyre right and theres no LD, then its no big deal taking an abx for weeks. But if theyre wrong, and I dont get aggressive right now at the start, Im going to be going through crap all over again. But in the end, as was the case last time, they didnt care. All they can think of is their cdc mandates and protocols. Without symptoms, they're not interested."
---
So true. So true.
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
I agree, start showing symptoms. A majority of the medical community is a joke from what I have discovered.
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
Worth the money, rather than to miss months of work like I am going through.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- May that tick be of the few who are not a carrier.
But, if so,
Flagyl is also important as doxy (and other abx) can cause the spirochetes to go into cyst form in just 20 minutes. Flagyl tackles the cyst form.
And, if babesia is a new player, that would also need to be addressed.
So sorry for this blip on the screen. I hope this comes together for you very soon.
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
Can you call your Lyme doctor? This way you can get the proper treatment now.
Posted by marypart (Member # 27012) on :
Make an appt right now with an LLMD. The ticks are getting more and more of the coinfections. You can always cancel the appt... and some LLMDs would start you right now on combos of abx.
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Sorry you got bit again, but at least you know what to do!