Here is my story & situation. About 3 years ago, i was living in the country with my grandmother and 3 yr old daughter. I was working in Kennebunk (about 30 mins away). I dont really know where the tick came from (home, work, mothers?) but i remember being in the shower in plucking one off my leg (i know better now how to remove them.) but initially thought nothing of it. Wood ticks are quite common where i was living. But then about 2 weeks later i noticed the famous red ring on my leg(about 2inches round, in the same spot as the tick bite. I went to my doctor near by within that same week. Apparently lyme is really rare in the area that i was living in. My doctor took photos of the ring and was calling other doctors to see what he was supposed to do. I ended up being prescribed Doxycycline(sp), I took the entire amount, though it made me violently ill. Moving on, a few years have since passed and i recently had a baby. Since i got pregnant i didnt feel well, i just assumed that most pregnant women dont feel well, even post pardum. But my new baby is 6 months old now and i still feel like junk almost 100% of the time. I had assumed that even though the antibiotic made me really sick that it had worked, but i have spent the last couple of weeks wondering if maybe it had not. I took some time the other day to print off a symtoms sheet and highlight the things that bother me on a regular basis. And there were quite a few. I am still quite young (26)and at this point, i think i should feel alot better, even with a new baby. He now sleeps through the night and aside from being a bit tired I think i shouldn't feel like my entire body is about ready to quit on me. I know this was a long post and sorry about that, I just wanted a bit of input before heading off the a doctor about this.
Posted by shazdancer (Member # 1436) on :
Hi, Toots!
I sent you a private message.
Shaz
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Hi Tootsie. Sounds as if you didn't quite eradicate the lyme bacteria. It likes to divide and conquer, in particular after a pregnancy! I would strongly recommend you find an LLMD in your area and hustle in and get looked after. The bundle of joy might merit a look-see as well!
Don't make the mistake of going to a non-LLMD, they will claim you should be cured and various other twaddle like "post-Lyme syndrome," etc...
You need your energy back and lyme will certainly drain you like a dishrag. You want to be enjoying your new baby, not just enduring!!!
Hang in there and hope you find help fast. Check out the newbie links at the top of the medical forum, too.
Michelle
Posted by Moose (Member # 8545) on :
Hey Tootsie, Reading about your experience on your first exposure to Lyme and so forth, rang a huge bell in my head, as if I was experiencing deja vu.
My first exposure and experience with Lyme was very similar to yours. I once flicked off many ticks without giving them some serious thoughts and was treated with doxycycline for two or three weeks when my mom suspected I got lyme after I got "flu" in July 1990.
After the initial treatment, I hardly gave it another thought for a long long time. I did experience some unexplained symtoms, but none that seemed too serious yet.
However, things did start getting worse for me after I had my first child 4 years later. I started getting frequent sinus infections, depression and constantly felt tired.
I thought it was part of motherhood & marriage that had put a lot of stress on me. I got progressively worse after my second child and so on.
It took at least another 10 years after the first child before I was finally diagnosed with recurrent lyme, last Dec. 2005. Imagine that!!
So I can relate and understand what you are going through. Please do see an LLMD ASAP, before it steals away all your wonderful years with your child(ren) and detoriates your marriage.
I have 2 wonderful, very active kids age 11 and other one soon 10 years next month. There is so much I wish I could do with them, but I just don't have the vivacious energy that I once had before all this crap hit the fan.
I always wanted to raise my kids on outdoor excursions, camping canoeing, backpacking and so forth and to teach them a love for our Mother Earth.
The first few years I've managed to instill some of that, yet I can barely continue now and it makes me sad to wonder if they will remember much of it as they get older or remember their lyme-brained mom too tired to spend as much time with them anymore.
What and how do you want your kids to view you and remember you by when they grow up?? If only I knew what I know now back then, maybe I'd be in a better shape today.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
hi fellow mainer! i'm in wells. i can help you with an llmd if you want and we also have a support group in lyman. you can email me at [email protected] or on here-the regular docs around here are pretty bad...there are MANY undx lymies...and many sad stories.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Welcome to Lymenet! Please keep reading here so you will be well-informed. Knowledge is POWER!