posted
Do any of the co-infections cause a bullseye rash or just the Lyme? I have an infected tick bite that is about 3" across at this point, raised with a red center and lighter edges. Im on doxy 100mg/twice a day but it isn't doing anything at all, the mark just keeps getting bigger. It's only been 2 days on doxy, so maybe it will take more time?
I am also starting to feel nauseous, is this normal for any of you when taking doxy or could it be the infection?
-------------------- Country Mouse
6/2011 IgX: IGG: 31 IND, 41+++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 39 IND, 41 IND, 83-93 IND Band 31 confirmed to be Lyme epitope by Igenex 7/2011
8/2011 IgX: POSITIVE IGG: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 83-93+ Posts: 169 | From Western Mass | Registered: May 2011
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
The nausea is from the doxy. You have to take doxy with food, no matter what it says on the bottle, or you will get such terrible reflux, nausea, etc. you will have to stop.
Take the doxy in the MIDDLE of a meal. That's what my lyme doctor and many lyme docs recommend. So, eat half the meal, then take it. Then, eat the other half.
Best way to avoid this terrible side effect.
I hope you know to stay out of the sun also, or you will really be sorry. You will get a chemical burn from the doxy. YOu will not look sunburned.
When you say the tick bite is infected, what do you mean? pus is present? or just a blister-like appearance?
From page 7 of Burrascano:
"When an ulcerated or vesicular center is seen, this may represent a mixed infection, involving other organisms besides B. burgdorferi."
It would be better if you were on at least 300 mg of doxy per day. See Burrascano. That is the minimum dose he recommends. But, only a lyme doc will prescribe it. Hope you get to a lyme doc very, very soon. Mine gave me the higher dose doxy plus another med to kill the coinfections. So, I was taking 2 meds to cover everything when I got a bulls eye rash after getting rid of lyme years ago. I got in with my lyme doctor within a week of the new bite. With that treatment, I was done in 30 days because I never got any other symptoms.
You are going to need to take doxy for at least 30 days, and likely much longer. So get to a walk-in clinic and get some more for when this prescription runs out. You may have to act like you were never given any doxy to get it from them.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Thank you TF. I took my am dose today with food, I hope it helps, I appreciate your advice. As for the infection, I went to a non-LLMD for advice on it as it was not getting better. She said (for what it's worth) that it was a "simple" infection from the tick bite but if the doxy didn't clear it in a week then it would need to be drained. The spot is now nearly 5" across with a wierd looking purplish center, it looks like there are all these little whitehead pimples in the middle along with the ever widening red swollen ring. I don't know if I can post a pic here (a little new on the board) but maybe I can figure out how. I see my Lyme diagnosing doc on Tues. I don't have any walk-in clinics that I know of around me, but I will check.
I had stockpiled a small amount of doxy from a previous sore throat...it got better on it's own so I never had to use it...so I have at least enough for 2 weeks. That will get me through my appt next week then we will go from there.
Thanks for the warning on the sun...the pharmacist had warned me so I am avoiding it as best I can.
-------------------- Country Mouse
6/2011 IgX: IGG: 31 IND, 41+++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 39 IND, 41 IND, 83-93 IND Band 31 confirmed to be Lyme epitope by Igenex 7/2011
8/2011 IgX: POSITIVE IGG: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 83-93+ Posts: 169 | From Western Mass | Registered: May 2011
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
If you are seeing a lyme doc this Tuesday (3 days from now), then I would raise the doxy dose right now to at least 300 mg per day (400 mg per day is better) as long as you have enough to do this until Tuesday. You want to start killing this infection right away.
Burrascano says that at the lower doxy dose, you are just stopping the germs from multiplying (bacteriostatic dose).
At the higher dose, you are actually killing germs (bactericidal dose).
From page 14 of Burrascano:
"There are four types of antibiotics in general use for Bb treatment. The TETRACYCLINES, including doxycycline and minocycline, are bacteriostatic unless given in high doses. If high blood levels are not attained, treatment failures in early and late disease are common. However, these high doses can be difficult to tolerate.
For example, doxycycline can be very effective but only if adequate blood levels are achieved either by high oral doses (300 to 600 mg daily) or by parenteral administration. Kill kinetics indicate that a large spike in blood and tissue levels is more effective than sustained levels, which is why with doxycycline, oral doses of 200 mg bid [twice per day] is more effective than 100 mg qid [four times per day]. Likewise, this is why IV doses of 400 mg once a day is more effective than any oral regimen." [end of quote]
This rash can last for weeks. And, the red center can last for 3 months easily.
Be sure your hands are not exposed to a lot of sun while driving. People wear gloves (like gardening gloves) if they have to drive for any length of time, and a hat to shield the face. That's because you can get the doxy burn through the windshield and through the car windows.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
Ok WOW I did not know that about the sunburn through the windshield! I will take care when I drive today. Thanks for the advice on the dose, I definitely have enough to raise the dose til then. I really, really appreciate your time. This is all happening so fast and my mind is still on "slow-mode" so it is hard to absorb everything I am reading. But I just read the info on the link you posted, that was excellent info for me. I hotlinked it to my desktop so I can refer to it often.
-------------------- Country Mouse
6/2011 IgX: IGG: 31 IND, 41+++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 39 IND, 41 IND, 83-93 IND Band 31 confirmed to be Lyme epitope by Igenex 7/2011
8/2011 IgX: POSITIVE IGG: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 45+, 58+ IGM: 31+, 34 IND, 39 IND, 41++, 83-93+ Posts: 169 | From Western Mass | Registered: May 2011
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posted
I got sunburned through the windshield on doxy when I first started it, and it looked like a hideous rash, very itchy. Watch out..
-------------------- One day at a time Posts: 409 | From TX | Registered: Mar 2004
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
You said you are seeing your "lyme diagnosing doctor" on Tuesday. At first I took that to mean a lyme literate doctor, but now it seems to me you are talking about the doc who gave you the low dose doxy and not even 30 days of it.
So, if that is the case, you really need to get to a lyme doctor right away. Have you posted for one in Seeking a Doctor? (I see you did in late May.) Also, contact all the lyme support groups in your state and in nearby states. See "Support Groups" on left side of page. You can get recommendations for good doctors from them also.
With such a terrible rash, you really need to see a lyme literate doctor as soon as possible.
You can search the Yellow Pages for walk-in clinics to get yourself some more doxy for now. You can go to a few and get some from each by not mentioning that you have gone to others.
You really want to be on a good dose of doxy until you can get in with a real lyme doctor.
It seems to me there is a chance you already had lyme disease before this bite, based on your previous posts. So, for all these reasons, you need the best lyme doctor you can get.
Sometimes a regular doctor will decide your bite is a spider bite and not lyme. Then, they won't give you any more lyme meds. So, you really can't afford to play around with these doctors any longer.
If you call a real lyme doctor and tell them what this rash looks like right now, perhaps they will see you sooner. Don't know.
If you saw the tick in the bite, be sure you emphasize that to your non-lyme doctor and don't let him/her decide that it is more likely a spider bite. Sorry, but until you get to a lyme doc, you can not expect that you are going to get treated properly for lyme, or even treated for lyme at all. The mainstream docs shy away from lyme and will prefer any other diagnosis to lyme.
Posts: 9931 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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