This is topic Is there a timeframe from actual tick bite to symptoms? in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.


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Posted by brit5467 (Member # 16680) on :
 
Don't know how to word this...

My mother has recently been diagnoised positive, yet she has been bitten several times throughout her life and ignored the bites.

Can you contract Lyme yet not show symptoms until years later?

If that is so, then by carrying the disease for years without symptoms, are you at more risk for becoming CHRONIC (since you weren't treated) than from being bitten and immediately (or soon after) showing symptoms?

In other words, once bitten and even if with no symptoms, is the disease still hurting your body or does it just lie dormant?

Or should your concerns begin only after symptoms begin?

Trying to figure out how long she's actually HAD Lymes, since she's been bitten over the years several times, the last being this past Fall, yet symptoms didn't appear until June of this year.

Don't know whether to assume the disease may have been working on her system for years even without symptoms or to assume it's only started once she noticed symptoms.

Again, to clarify, I guess I want to know if she's been 'hurt' by carrying the disease without knowing it (if this is the case) due to the numerous bites over the years that she's ignored.

Does this question make sense?
 
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
 
I think dormant Lyme does tons of damage. Read my story. Mine was dormant for years... at least it wasn't "obvious" lyme.
 
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
 
Lyme and co's definitely can go dormant. I was bit when I was 14 and didn't get sick until about 10 years later.

This is definitely what happens to many, many people.
 
Posted by Nessa1815 (Member # 15697) on :
 
From my bite to my actual symptoms (the one's where I was like "something's really wrong here") it was about 3 months.

But I didn't get a bull's eye rash with mine, along with others who don't get the bull's eye rash, so yeah, maybe it's possible I've had it longer, but I doubt it.

Mine really followed the pattern when I looked up Lyme for the first time from time from the bite, to even getting neuro symptoms. I think it was on Yahoo health or something.

So to answer your question, mine was about 3 months.
 
Posted by herxuk (Member # 15873) on :
 
Me and my spouse went outside, we were outside for approx 15 minutes, I felt something tickling my ankle, not looking down, I gave it a swipe. The pain was horrendous, it became inflamed very quickly. I assume I annoyed It, and it spilled it's gut's.

3 weeks later I came down with the Flu , sore throat.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but it fly's in the face of garbage put out, as to how long the tick must be attached.

So much for EXPERT reporting.
 
Posted by migs (Member # 16496) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by herxuk:
Me and my spouse went outside, we were outside for approx 15 minutes, I felt something tickling my ankle, not looking down, I gave it a swipe. The pain was horrendous, it became inflamed very quickly. I assume I annoyed It, and it spilled it's gut's.

3 weeks later I came down with the Flu , sore throat.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but it fly's in the face of garbage put out, as to how long the tick must be attached.

So much for EXPERT reporting.

I second that motion. And we probably both got bitten by the same Western Black-legged Tick. The 24 hour timeline or amount of engorgement is complete CRAP and these ticks hurt.

Barefoot in my yard, I thought I stepped on a sliver and was walking on my heel for a few minutes before the stinging got too much and I had to check it out. I went "oh wierd a little tick" then just rubbed it off and thought nothing of it or the huge red welt that formed.

3 weeks later...BANG. I thought the first few days that Vladamir Putin had my apples injected with Plutonium or something. When my face went numb it clicked that it was Lyme.
 
Posted by lymielauren28 (Member # 13742) on :
 
It varies so greatly from perosn to person...

Some people get very sick very fast, some over a period of months and some over a period of years.

Confusing, huh?

Lauren
 
Posted by Wimenin (Member # 15294) on :
 
Im of the opinion that you can get bit and it can go dormant for months, years, decades until the immune system is weak enough that it can wreak its havoc.

Ive known people who have had the tick bite, had the bullseye rash, not received any antibiotics, and felt fine. Others have a bite, not see the rash, and go through a myriad of symptoms that came out of nowhere.

I think the timeline from bite to symptoms varies from person to person, with the greatest factor being the persons immune system.

In a perfect world, we'd all see the tick, recognize what it is, get abx right away, and live happily ever after. Reality is that you can get bit, ignore it because no rash or oddities appear, then out of nowhere...bam... its active and causing chaos.
 
Posted by brit5467 (Member # 16680) on :
 
Thanks everyone !!

Wimenin - I think you helped me understand the most. So if my mom's had it for years but been symptom-free then it has not been hurting her.

Like, for example, doing damage inside that she was not aware of, like hurting her brain or nervous system???

We go back to her FP today and I'm asking for a longer, stronger course of ABX according to what I've read on here.

Then, my hairdresser said she has a client who sees an infectious disease MD (after having been misdiagnoised for years) and he is really good so we hope to get in to see him.

Thanks again, guys !!
 
Posted by adamm (Member # 11910) on :
 
Lymetoo--would the "dormant Lyme" you speak of include Lyme that's been treated
to the the point of being made asymptomatic?
 
Posted by lymemomtooo (Member # 5396) on :
 
No one knows if it layed dormant and did no damage. I vote that it was doing a lot of damage but went unnoticed.

I have read where there are many disagreements over the time frame of the length of bite attachment and the potential for damage. Some Drs have said 2 days, others have said it can be detected in the body in hours.

This said, if she has been bitten numerous times, she has been fighting the bacteria for years. Even thought she might have a strong immune system, who knows what it might have done.

The bacteria attacked our daughter brain and pancreas. It wasn't connected to Lyme until years later.

Good luck. lmt
 


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