nefferdun
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posted
I was shocked when the LLMD told me I had ehrichia (I tested positive) as I was convinced if I had it, it would have been killed with doxy in the beginning of my treatment, three years ago.
He said some of the symptoms I have mistaken for bartonella, which I didn't test positive for, could be ehrichlia. That would be the bumps on my shins and shin pain.
I looked up symptoms and found them published mostly about dogs. It said dogs often have red eyes which I have and cannot get rid of. It also said dogs can have swelling in their hind legs and I have that too.
But all sites say when it is chronic in dogs it has a bad prognosis and can be uncurable, even fatal!!!
Does anyone else have ehrichlia? What are your symptoms and how are you treating it? The LLMD told me babesia and lyme are making it harder to cure the ehrichlia.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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blinkie
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You have swelling in your hind legs??? =) sorry, couldn't help myself, hope you got a laugh.
I don't know what i still have and i can't answer your questions but don't worry. As long as you don't give up, there is always treatment. You should never think of anything as "uncurable". Things change everyday with these diseases.
Remember in dogs, things are harder to sort out because they can't tell you what's wrong.
Posts: 1104 | From N.California | Registered: Jan 2008
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nefferdun
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Yeah, I think a little goofy but if I am on all fours, to compare myself to the dog, it is definitely in my hind legs. Pretty out of sorts here.
Am I the only person that has it?
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
I have ehrlichia, but it wasn't somethng I really noticed any specific sx for. In fact the LLMD wasn't even going to test for it because he didn't think I had it, but did so anyway just to be safe.
Oddly enough, thst was the ONLY thing I tested definitely positive for.
I don't know what I have and what I don't have anymore; still treating with Doxy and Rifampin. Seem to have plateaued.
Posts: 303 | From Pennsylvania | Registered: Jul 2010
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Jane2904
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posted
Daughter tested post. for this.
Not sure what the symptoms are for this infection.
Posts: 1357 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Jun 2008
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-------------------- I am not a doctor. I have no clue. Posts: 606 | From somewhere out there | Registered: Sep 2009
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nefferdun
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I only took doxy for two months so maybe that was not enough. Two years later I did Rifampin for three months. I guess that was not enough either.
We always dismiss ehrlichia because it is so easily cured - most of the time. Symptoms online are headache, chills, fever, muscle aches, diarrhea, confusion, rash (pin head size bleeding), joint pain, and cough.
In the dog the acute stage of the disease begins shortly after transmission and includes the above symptoms as well as shortness of breath and bruising.
If the dog is not treated or it's immune system fights it off, ehrlichia will enter the spleen where it remains dormant for months or years - the subclinical stage.
If the dog's immune system does not fight it off, it progresses into the chronic stage which can be mild or severe. That is when eye inflammation and hind leg endema develops.
The chronically infected dog may appear normal for periods of time but show symptoms during times of stress. Often abx must be administered for life to control outbreaks.
The LLMD said he thought I was being reinfected from biting flies from my horses which can also carry the disease. I don't agree. I think I am just not recovered from the original infection.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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Jane2904
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Daughter treated 10 months with Rifampin and still tested post.
Posts: 1357 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Jun 2008
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Haley
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Neff - what are your symtoms? I am always trying to figure out what is causing my brain problems. I don't know if that is it or not but I do test positive.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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nefferdun
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Symptoms overlaps so much it is hard to tell which ones fit which disease.
There are some symptoms I always attributed to bartonella that the LLMD said could also be Ehrlichia. They are lumps along the shin bone and shin pain as well as swelling around the outside of my lower legs - not real edema because it does not leave a dent when pressed. But those symptoms are not listed online.
I also have very dry blood shot eyes and I have gotten very bad headaches all the way through this.
My mind is a mess. Perhaps confusion fits as I often feel pretty out of it and can forget things so easily I can sometimes not remember where the heck I am when I am driving until I see a familiar landmark. But I have so many infections I am sure there is a lot of brain inflammation from all of them.
Fatigue and poor stamina also fit babesia.
I have had severe muscle pain and cramping but little joint pain. The little joint pain I had seems to me to be related to lyme as it cycles.
I just keep thinking of the poor dog with "red eyes" and "swollen hind legs" and think that sounds like me.
No one ever posts about their Ehrlichia symptoms or problems eradicating it. It is the same disease as in dogs and in that species it is easily cured when it is caught in the acute stage - not such a good prognosis when it becomes chronic.
What about humans? We were often infected with it for years before we identify it. I suppose it can lay unsymptomatic in our spleens for months or years emerging now and then to wreck havoc. And we aren't even treating it because we are convinced if we ever had it, it was taken care of in the first course of doxy.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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jackie51
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Ehrlichia is what got me to these boards. From rereading your post, I am now wondering if I've got chronic ehrlichia. I have a huge lump on my right shin bone close to the foot and my left ankle is swollen similar to the edema you mentioned. I get neck pain, excrutiating eye pain, tooth pain (like I need a root canal--which unfortunately I've had many prediagnosis). I've been treated with Doxy and am now being treated for Babs. As long as I'm right on the money with my Babs treatment, the other symptoms seem to have almost disappeared. I'll find out in a couple months when the Babs treatment is done.
Most people have never heard of Ehrlichia and most doctors do not test for this, as far as I can tell. I had not heard of it either when my doctor tested me. I had already had a negative lyme test but he had recently read something about this being a problem on the Eastern Shore (Chesapeake Bay) and I had been traveling there for work.
My spleen is very enlarged, sed rate was very high, wbc is low, vit d low.
Posts: 1374 | From Crazy Town | Registered: Dec 2007
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On Friday I will see my LLMD in San Francisco, and get the results for the Igenix anaplasmosis (erlichiosis) test. Although I have tested positive for lyme and more recently, after many years, for babesia, until last April when my dog tested positive for anaplasmosis, (formerly known as erlichiosis) I had no reason to be tested for that. I do not think I have it, but have been on abx for a long time, and my LLMD thought it worth checking out, since my dog was probably bitten by a local tick.
Unfortunately, Mac was 12, an older Sheltie, and although he seemed in good health, I took him to our vet because he just seemed to sometimes have a headache, and he did not smile the way he usually did. My vet could not find anything wrong with him, and Mac had no obvious symptoms (no limping, no swelling, still loved to eat and go for walks). He did a complete blood panel anyway, and that showed the anaplasmosis.
The vet put him on doxycycline for three weeks. And he seemed OK. However, a few weeks later, he suddenly could not walk, and my son and I raced him to our vet, but they lost him before they even finished X-rays. He had extreme swelling in his hips, and his gums were gray, but he was still taking treats from me as we carried him in. At the time, I was too stunned to even connect it to the anaplasmosis, but I started reading everything I could find on anaplasmosis in dogs, and discovered (in an article on erlichiosis in dogs from the 1990s)that especially in older dogs, when it becomes chronic, there are often no symptoms until the final hour, when massive internal damage occurs.
I was hesitant to post this as I did not want to imply that this could happen to a human. You are very aware of possible symptoms and can speak up. Mac just couldn't tell us in time to save him. My vet was very well aware of tick borne diseases, but he was astounded at what happened to Mac. I have not talked to him about it because I just can't go back to that office yet. Although Mac was our family dog, I was his person. And I can't tell you how much he helped me through some ugly lyme years. I still feel that I let Mac down, because I should have known that three weeks would not be enough abx time, and I just left it up to my vet. I will never get over losing him that way.
On Friday I'll ask my LLMD about anaplasmosis in humans. He sees thousands of patients, so, I am sure he has had some experience treating it. I'd be happy to share with you what he says.
Best of luck to you.
Ann
Posts: 287 | From Northern California, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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we've had such similar afflictions every time you post with something i start to wonder if i've had it! i know i def have bartonella but like you i wonder what else is lurking around that doesn't fit the bart symptoms.
but as far as your ehrlichiosis, it might be helpful to get the exact strand you tested positive for, and perhaps do research on anaplasmosis if it would bring you more search results (again, depending on what strain of erhrlichia you have)
-------------------- Myalgic encephalomyelitis, 2002 | Viral onset, following Hep B vaccine Lyme since '06 | Bartonella since '08 (cured) | Mycoplasma pneumoniae since '08 IGeneX: IgM 31IND 34IND 41+ | IgG 39IND 58+ 41+++ IgG deficiencies and MTHFR 677TT mutations Posts: 512 | From USA | Registered: Sep 2010
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Talked to my LLMD today, and asked him about chronic erlichia in humans and the difficulty of treating. He said yes, it is difficult, and he told me about one patient he'd treated for 5 years, trying all different abx combinations, and finally she is feeling great after ketek and rocephin. He said everyone is different, and that the the other combos probably helped over the years to beat down the bugs, and the last just finished it off.
When I asked what finally made the difference, I did not have my pen out, but the two abx were well known, and I assumed I would remember. My lyme brain really thinks it was ketek, but flagyl also came to mind when I wrote this. So please know this is PROBABLY what he said. At any rate, he said just keep at it, also, that what can happen with chronic anaplasmosis in dogs, likely would not happen to humans as we can give specific feedback during treatment.
My most recent Igenix lyme test is still positive IGM, and I have been treated for years with almost every combo except IV, so I can understand the frustration of not getting rid of the darn bacteria. But keep trying. I keep getting a bit better, just not rid of the little monsters.
Best wishes.
Ann
Posts: 287 | From Northern California, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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nefferdun
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Member # 20157
posted
Thank you for sharing that. I just found these posts to day. Haven't posted about this topic since last month and wasn't looking for it.
I am really sorry your dog died. I adore animals and understand the way you feel.
Presently I only have babesia symptoms. It seems strange that the other symptoms that plagued me for so long just evaporated to allow babesia center stage.
It would be nice to think they are gone but not likely. I hope I do not have to battle erhlichia for years and years.
I took Ketek for two months and that is when what I thought was bartonella came out. If it was actually erhlichia then ketek was not affecting it.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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