I am an avid outdoor person who has spent many hours hiking in the woods.
I have been bitten by countless mosquitos/flies and have found literally thousands of ticks crawling on me but remember being bitten only 20 or so times.
Only a couple of those bites I think were deer ticks, and I don't remember any kind of rash.
Over the past several years I have experienced some problems that include IBS, asthma, gastro. problems and a bad case of heel pain (plantar f.).
More recently I have had a lot of aches and pains that seem to wax and wane quite a bit.
They also seem to move around from one body part to another.
Most of pain is pretty dull in nature but is getting quite worrisome for me.
These symptoms include pain in my joints: knees, shoulders, ankles, and wrists.
I have also been having some memory problems, balance problems, and numbness in my hands, arms, legs and the left side of the jaw.
I have also experienced pain in my shins, forearms, left chest muscle, neck (stiff) and back.
I have also had quite a few mild headaches and my vision has gotten worse over the past few years.
I have also had pain in my teeth and gums.
I have experienced some malaise and fatigue, but have been able to keep working out and walking a lot.
To add to this I have gained about 25 pounds and had high blood pressure(under control)and high cholesterol (v. high triglycerides) all while being very active physically.
I went to my Doctor and had some tests run including EKG stress test, Lyme, Thyroid and Rheumatoid tests.
The EKG and Lyme came back negative. They said that my Thyroid and Rheumatiod were borderline and that I should be tested again in three months.
Again, these aches and pains are fairly mild, come and go, and move around a lot but never seems to go away.
At first I attributed these things to getting older, but it seems like a lot to have happened all at one time.
Should I talk to my Doctor again about the possibility of Lyme or is there someome else in Minnesota that may be more Lyme literate?
Or do I wait and get retested for the Thyroid and Rheumatoid in three months?
Also: Several years ago one of my dogs was diagnosed with Lyme so I got the Lyme vaccine.
After the second shot my joints became quite painful so I never got the third one.
Any help would be appreciated.
Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
I have one comment to make..... The lyme vaccine was pulled off the market because too many people that received it actually came down with lyme. So I would say its very possibe you have it because of that, plus you may have been reinfected with being bit again. Ticks that carry lyme are in every state.
Go to "seeking a doctor" and ask for a LLMD near you.
Good luck in getting treatment.
Lisi
Posted by shedtick (Member # 9329) on :
Thanks for the PM Marz. I would like that information that if possible. Good Luck!!
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
I'm sending you a PM too of a Minn. good LLMD! Bettyg
Very succinct story of your medical history...good job!
Also, print off TREEPATROL'S NEWBIE LINKS at the top of medical; you'll use a lot.
Also, print off Dr. B'S 05 lyme treatment guidelines.
Bettyg....off to PM you.
Posted by flossie (Member # 3384) on :
there's DEFINTELY lyme in minn. nayone who says different is either misinformed or a liar.
my boyfriend was a serious hiker etc, and totally healthy, & we lived in minn. after being bit several times (in the afton area), he became incredibly sick with multiple symptoms, some of which you describe.
he was told for years he didn't have lyme,that lyme wasn't in minn., and his tests came back negative etc. but after many years of being disabled and extremely sick, he was finally diagnosed by an east coast doctor with lyme, and after much treatment and testing he became postive on tests (at the good labs) for lyme, bartonella, babesia (a weird unidentified, perhaps mid-west strain), and mycoplasma fermentans.
he's been on a rough road for the last 7 years, and if i were you i would take this possibility very seriously. the poeple i know who have gotten sick in minn have gotten multiple co-infections and have severe cases... it may be the delay in treatment due to ignorance in the area, or it my be that there's a particularly virulent set of strains, or some combination... but it's no joke. if you need to, go out of state for a good diagnostic session with an LLMD asap, and if they think it's lyme, my advice would be to get very aggressive treatment.
all best, flossie
Posted by missextreme (Member # 3610) on :
I got my lyme disease in Minnesota. I know there are tons of people who have it there!
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
I'm from Minnesota too - I live in Woodbury.
Check out this map:
Risk map Posted by Biting Back (Member # 6018) on :
I've had attached ticks in numerous states, but I got the most toxic tick bite in Minnesota. Twas the one that pushed me over the edge.
Find yourself a good LLMD ASAP, and good luck!
Posted by NorthernLyme1 (Member # 8992) on :
A Powerpoint presentation (61 slides at link below) is a good general primer on Lyme and also gives some information on the incidence of Human anaplasmosis in Minnesota.
"If you have questions or comments about this page, contact [email protected] or call 651-201-5414 (TTY: 651-201-5797) for the MDH Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division" (info to accompany map pasted from website).
Any physician who says there is no Lyme disease in Minnesota obviously has not read the literature (see a sampling below) nor visited the above site.
The distribution of Lyme disease in the region actually extends north into adjacent Ontario although there is precious little surveillance data on the Canadian side.
One small sample of blacklegged deer ticks, collected in the Thunder Bay area by the Lyme Disease Association of Ontario, revealed that 28% of the blacklegged deer ticks carried Lyme disease.
These ticks are also prevalent in the Lake of Woods district where I was infected with Lyme.
New records of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Minnesota. New records of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Minnesota. Sanders KD, Guilfoile PG.
Department of Biology, Bemidji State University, Bemidji, MN 56601, USA.
J Vector Ecol. 2000 Dec;25(2):155-7. Related Articles, Links
The Minnesota distribution of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, was studied during 1998 and 1999. The majority of tick collecting was done by grouse hunters, who sent in specimens collected during the fall of 1998 and 1999. I. scapularis specimens were received from 17 counties, including eight counties in northern and central Minnesota that previously had no reports of I. scapularis. This brings the number of Minnesota counties with reported populations of I. scapularis to 30, mostly in the east-central, central, and northern parts of the state.
PMID: 11217214 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Immunoserologic evidence of coinfection with Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia microti, and human granulocytic Ehrlichia species in residents of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
J Clin Microbiol. 1996 Mar;34(3):724-7.
Mitchell PD, Reed KD, Hofkes JM.
Microbiology Section, Marshfield Laboratories, WI 54449, USA. [email protected]
In Wisconsin and Minnesota, Ixodes scapularis (Ixodes dammini) ticks are the vector of three microorganisms that may cause significant disease in humans and lower mammals. These diseases include Lyme borreliosis, which is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, babesiosis, which is caused by Babesia microti, and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), which is caused by an apparently new species in the genus Ehrlichia. Immunoserologic testing was performed on sera from patients with a diagnosis of one of these diseases to determine if there was evidence of coinfection with one or more of the other agents. Of 96 patients with Lyme borreliosis, 9 (9.4%) demonstrated immunoserologic evidence of coinfection: 5 (5.2%) with the agent of HGE, 2 (2.1%) with B. microti, and 2 (2.1%) with both microorganisms. Of 19 patients diagnosed with HGE, 3 (15.8%) showed immunoserologic evidence of coinfection: 1 (5.3%) with B. burgdorferi, 1 (5.3%) with B. microti, and 1 (5.3%) with both microorganisms. One patient diagnosed with babesiosis was also seropositive for ehrlichiosis. These results provide evidence for coinfection, perhaps explaining the variable manifestations and clinical responses noted in some patients with tick-transmitted diseases. In certain clinical settings, laboratory testing for coinfection is indicated to ensure that appropriate antimicrobial treatment is given.
PMID: 8904446 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The prevalence of Borrelia burgdorfieri (Spirochaetales: spirochaetaceae) and the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (Rickettsiaceae: Ehrlichieae) in Ixodes scapularis (Acari:Ixodidae) collected during 1998 and 1999 from Minnesota.
Layfield D, Guilfoile P.
J Med Entomol. 2002 Jan;39(1):218-20. Related Articles, Links
Department of Biology, Bemidji State University, MN 56601, USA.
We tested 103 adult Ixodes scapularis Say from 12 counties in Minnesota for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi and the causative agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE), using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 17 ticks (16.5%) was positive for B. burgdoiferi using nested PCR for the flagellin gene. or both PCR for the ospA gene and nested PCR for the flagellin gene. A total of four ticks (3.8%) was positive for the agent of HGE using nested PCR for 16S rDNA. Counties in Minnesota with established and recently reported populations of I. scapularis both had ticks infected with B. burgdorferi. The agent of HGE was only detected in counties with established I. scapularis populations.
PMID: 11931260 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by NP40 (Member # 6711) on :
There's a few area's in WI. where doc's are becoming somewhat lyme literate but MN. is still very poor. Probably, because Mayo's dominates the state.
Looking at the above map you can see Wisconsin is literally infested with ticks, some area's have an incidence of 50% of ticks tested have Bb.
Igenex is actually working on a specific test for WI. because we seem to have an unusually virulent strain here and babesia is associated with just about every case of lyme I know of.
They didn't mention bartonella in the report but I know many here who were bitten and picked up a nasty dose of bart as well.
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
quote:Originally posted by NP40: Igenex is actually working on a specific test for WI. because we seem to have an unusually virulent strain here and babesia is associated with just about every case of lyme I know of.
I didn't know this! YEAH!
I think I was infected in Dunn County (Menomonie), Wisconsin.
Posted by JimBoB (Member # 8454) on :
I am from central Wisconsin; and believe me, IF we have tons of them here, you have them there.
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