posted
My husband was golfing in Maine this past Sunday and on Tuesday afternoon, he started to feel like he was getting a cold, with his symptoms being:
sore throat chest tightness cough fatigue
He didn't think much of it since he hadn't slept well the last few nights and several people in his office have colds.
However, on Tuesday evening, he noticed what looked like a bite on his calf. Basically a red area about the size of a dime with a dark red dot in the middle. He ran into a spider's web with a garden spider in it on Monday morning and thought it might be a spider bite, but knowing how prevalent Lyme is, he thought he would have it checked out. The dermatologist did not think it was a spider bite and thought it might be a tick bite. He was given 21 days of Doxy.
Although we tend to be conservative with antibiotic usage, I feel like when it comes to the possibility of Lyme, the benefits far outweigh the risks. If he takes the meds, do you think we're jumping the gun or being proactive?
Thank you!
Posts: 7 | From CT | Registered: May 2015
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sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
No. Take the meds. If it is Lyme, this is his one and only chance to avoid chronic Lyme. If it was a bullseye rash, that's diagnostic for Lyme Disease.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Please do not stop taking the meds until the 3 wks are up and if the symptoms come back get to an LLMD right away!! It would be prudent to get an appointment NOW just in case.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Absolutely, antibiotic treatment NOW is vital. So true, at LymeToo says: "Lyme is not easily eradicated" but the best - and only - window where it might be addressed head on is NOW.
And lyme usually never travels alone. Other tick borne infections can require different kinds of Rx, too.
You mention lung symptoms. Babesia often affects the lungs so Babesia should be considered, antibiotics won't work with that.
Please make an appointment with a LLMD.
Doxycycline is essential right now (although minocycline may be substituted in some cases), still some
Doxycycline cautions:
1. avoid sunlight on your skin (even "bounced" sun) even for weeks after course is done;
[If minocycline might work against tularemia, I'd ask for that instead if you need to be in the sun at all]
2. Food with doxy. As LymeToo clarifies below, in the middle of a good meal so that stomach has food to start and some to go on top of the pill, too. Plenty to mix with.
But no dairy. Do not take with any multi minerals, either.
Protect stomach but do not take a PPI (they have some negative effects). take doxy with a substantial snack or meal - in the middle so you've got some food before and after
3. keep torso as close to upright as possible for at least 30 minutes after doxycycline taken so as to help protect esophagus from the irritation it can cause if lying down.
Depending upon the angle of the particular chair, the most upright position of a recliner MIGHT be okay if you must rest your head or put your feet up, just don't slink down.
4. PROBIOTICS - timed away from Rx
5. LIVER SUPPORT - timed away from Rx -
[ 05-28-2015, 11:08 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- From my file notes:
Best if a doctor can SEE the rash in person and make a note in file. Also best if that doctor is a LLMD so that proper treatment can start. Even with a rash, some doctors won't do much. Still, even if they don't the rash should be noted in file at least by any doctor, if possible.
Still,
Take your own PHOTOS of that rash before it fades. You might need these photos for some time to come. Keep them.
For at least an hour before taking photo, be sure not to touch the rash in ANY way. Even slight pressure can cause it to change and it needs to be as "honest" and "real" so no one can say you made it worse.
1) Put a clean coin or ruler beside it for scale. Be sure the lighting is good (outdoor lighting best) and as true to life as possible. This will help authenticate.
2) Find something today's date to have in the photo or otherwise be sure your camera can stamp / verify the date.
3) Get your face in at least one photo with the rash in that same frame, if possible. This will prove it is YOUR rash. A mirror may help. The face pix need not be as clear as the rash but be sure it's clearly YOUR face in case others doubt you in the future.
posted
Thank you everyone for your quick response.
He had to take Doxy 100mg 2x per day during our IVF process and had severe joint pain. Once he stopped the meds, he was fine. Other than that, he has had no prior health issues, thankfully.
I know other antibiotics like Amoxicillin and Ceftin are also options, although Doxy seems to be the preferred med. Would you consider these other antibiotics as viable options? Are they known to have a higher failure rate?
Thanks again!
Posts: 7 | From CT | Registered: May 2015
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
Lyme Disease.org -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- " . . . on Tuesday evening, he noticed what looked like a bite on his calf. Basically a red area about the size of a dime with a dark red dot in the middle . . . ." (end quote, description)
While getting treatment now is essential, it's important to know that if he asks for further treatment, a regular doctor may deny that without a positive test. His GP may be very good about a more complex approach but it's just not the typical experience and good to be prepared.
A LLMD would be best to look at that rash but it, with symptoms, sure sound like lyme.
What you / he need to know, though, to navigate through the maze of inaccurate notions from many regular doctors who may want to test too soon, or with the ELISA, an inferior test
It is too soon to be tested. See details below.
And the tests the regular doctors usually do are usually not the best. Igenex Labs is the best. Still, there are limitations.
I know other antibiotics like Amoxicillin and Ceftin are also options, although Doxy seems to be the preferred med. Would you consider these other antibiotics as viable options? Are they known to have a higher failure rate?
- The other two drugs are good for Lyme, but Doxy will cover a few coinfections as well. That is why they usually prescribe it first. He could have contracted ehrlichia or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the same bite, so doxy is good for those also.
The joint pain could be from previously undiagnosed Lyme disease .. or it could be from candida which can rear its ugly head when taking antibiotics. That can happen to anyone who takes antibiotics.
Doxy is the hardest on the gut, so be sure to heed Keebler's instructions on that. I was told to take doxy in the MIDDLE of a full meal so that it is "covered" and will be less likely to cause burning in the stomach.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Judie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 38323
posted
My bump was original diagnosed as a spider bite from a doctor. Thank God I showed another doctor a week later to get another opinion. Diagnosed as an erythema migrans rash on the spot.
I still didn't believe Lyme.
Tested CDC positive for Lyme 6 weeks later.
Good luck to your husband. You're doing the right thing by taking antibiotics.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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Judie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 38323
posted
By the way ticks are arachnids and look like tiny spiders to me.
Posts: 2839 | From California | Registered: Jul 2012
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