my brother just called me, the same one who said he doesnt even believe i have lyme.lol
He found an embedded, engorged tick. He saved it. I told him to have his dr prescribe doxy for a month, no matter what they tell him.
He said he's going to ask for a western blot. Is there a timeframe for how long it takes to show up in your blood? I told him he may have to wait a week or two for bloodwork, i wasnt sure. Also, what about possible co-infections?
I've heard with a tick bite to treat with doxy but i havent heard anything about proactively treating possible coinfections early on?
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Well you've got his atttention now! Ugh?
WB is not recommended for several weeks after a tick bite. It takes the body awhile to build up the anti-bodies, which is what the lab looks for. Not the bacteria itself.
Doxy after a tick bite is smart. 400mg a day for preventive. He will have to insist. If he can get 6 weeks that's even better.
Preventive for co infections isn't usually done. Anyway talk about blowing a docs mind, going in asking for mepron and rifampin etc. I don't see it happening.
You brother is going to have a fight on his hands with getting doxy before any sx. He must stand his ground and insist upon treatment.
Not always easy to do when you are fighting the system. He should tell the doc, he's pretty lyme educated because his dear sister has been fighting the lyme war and NO way am I going to take any chances.
Pam
Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
There is no point in having an antibody test this soon. It is almost guaranteed to be negative, so both your brother and the doctor will assume no lyme.
If he absolutely wants a test, he might have the tick tested, but I am not sure those tests are 100% accurate either. And don't wait until the result comes back to start treatment.
Do you know anything about the tick infection rate in your area? If it is high, that would be another good reason to start doxy now.
Posted by Jennifer70 (Member # 30280) on :
His doctor gave him two weeks worth, i told him that's probably all he would get from her. I have a bunch left over from when I was on it. Ill see if I can talk him into using it. He told me she said she was "doubling the dose" for two weeks. I bet it's standard dose, Im going to find out later.
I live in GA, there's ticks all over the place here this summer especially...we had a really mild winter. Im not sure if it's a highly endemic area or not.
Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
In that case, you don't really know what kind of tick it was either, might have been deer tick or lone star, or several others, all of which carry diseases.
Posted by t9im (Member # 25489) on :
Hi Jennifer:
If you read Dr. B's guidelines you will find the doxy dose is at least twice what your brother was probably described. You brother may want to double up as well as lengthen the time.
Doxy will be good against both Lyme and Erlichia.
Remember with Doxy he has to avoid the sun due to the chemical burn AND should take probiotics.
You can have Igenex test the tick, here in CT a state lab would test an engorged tick for free. Has to be engorged as they believe the tick has to be on for 36+ hours to transmit the bacteria.
If he has a pet have a vet prescribe doxy for the pet. I think the dose is 200mg / day for 6 weeks.
Why lengthen the time? If I have this right Doxy actually kills during reproduction so it is only when the spirochete is multiplying that it works best. Some spirochetes take 3 - 4 weeks to multiply so the doxy may not get them all.
The good news is one, it normally does take 36 hours to transmit (but not in all cases, especially if the tick mid gut was squeezed during removal) and two not all ticks have lyme.
Have him read Dr. B's guidelines.
Blood work is problematic. The elisa is at least 3 weeks and the WB will be longer.
Posted by amk33 (Member # 13206) on :
My doctor prescribed Doxy combined with flagyl for a tick bite for my son. I sent the tick to Igenex and tested lyme and all coinfections. Tick was positive for lyme, negative for coinfections.
My son tested positive for babesia, and negative for lyme after the preventative treatment. I would definitely use extra doxy to extend the treatment.
These docs have no problem prescribing abx for acne, but, won't give an adequate dose for a disease that can ruin someone's life. It's just unbelievable.
Someone posted this page for me when my son was bit. Good info... http://www.treatthebite.com/ Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Two weeks of doxy is not enough - needs to be 6-8 weeks, 200mg, 2x/day minimum. People around here have gone chronic sick on two weeks only.
Posted by terv (Member # 29410) on :
You could try going to one of those urgent care places and getting another 2 weeks of doxy.
Posted by tickled1 (Member # 14257) on :
Give him your doxy if you can convince him to take a longer course. Good luck with that though. My husband, even after seeing all I've been through, cut his own preventative treatment short w/Doxy due to stomach upset. Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
Make sure he takes probiotics two hours after every dose, does not lie down afterwards, takes with food. All these things will minimize problems and reduce the chance that he will stop it too soon, like tickled's husband.
Posted by nnecker (Member # 37960) on :
Look at the blue photo's in figure #1,look at photo A,see the spirochetes swimming around inside the living tissue?Look at photo B that is the same tissue after 1 DAY of abx use.See the kill?
What is six to eight weeks more going to do for you?
And of course that is even if he has Lyme.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
24-36 attached hours for transmission of bacteria(s) is a line of crap. Just another "lyme untruth" by the powers that be.
Ticks feed and regurgitate and they do it anytime they want to. There are hundreds of posts on this site alone that will tell you how quickly they can spill their guts.
Pam
Posted by LAXlover (Member # 25518) on :
My daughter had a tick on her for ONLY 2 hours or less. I didn't treat immediately after the bite because it was not on her long........BIG mistake because 5 days later......symptoms! Did blookwork after 6 weeks of doxy which was positive for LYME and a CD-57 of 28!!!
YES, the attached hours of 24-36 hours IS CRAPOLA!
-LAXLOVER 75% of family with Lyme
Posted by nnecker (Member # 37960) on :
LymeMd:"So I have been ordering this test for years.Thousands.Unfortunately,I am left with the conclusion that it has been very little help to my patients"
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