Sometimes Lyme disease crops up when something happens that compromises your immune system -- that is, it seems you can carry it around for a while and be asymptomatic, but if you got an additional illness in Tahiti, the LD could manifest too. I see that you're in California, and there's a significant rate of LD infection there.

On the sites I looked at, there's the usual burble about "no specific treatment" and "victims usually recover in 2 weeks" for Dengue. This was the official line about Lyme disease, too, and it's proven to be nonsense. I've found alternative doctors and naturopaths to be good resources for treatments, too.

As your first line of defense, I'd suggest you do go see an LLMD (who will recognize a chronic illness, even if it's not LD, and will take you seriously about testing) or a tropical disease specialist. Getting taken seriously and tested properly, using GOOD laboratories (there aren't that many good labs if you have a "non-standard" disease) is always a problem.

Hang in there and keep at it till you get a diagnosis. You can check in the Seeking a Doctor section for an LLMD, or look online for someone who specializes in tropical diseases -- but personal recommendations are best when finding physicians.

Good luck.

Info about Dengue Fever at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/dengue.htm

During the last part of the 20th century, cases of dengue began to increase in many tropical regions of the world. Epidemics also began to occur more frequently, and to be more severe. In addition to typical dengue, a severe influenza-like disease-dengue hemorrhagic fever-also has been increasing in many parts of the world.

HOW IS DENGUE FEVER TRANSMITTED?

People get dengue virus infections from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite. The two main species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, have been responsible for all cases of dengue transmitted in this country.

WHAT KIND OF VIRUS CAUSES DENGUE FEVER?

Dengue fever can be caused by any one of four types of dengue virus: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4. A person can be infected by at least two, if not all four types at different times during a life span, but only once by the same type.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DENGUE FEVER?

Symptoms of typical uncomplicated dengue usually start with fever within 5 to 6 days after a person has been bitten by an infected mosquito.

* High fever, up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
* Severe headache
* Retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
* Severe joint and muscle pain
* Nausea and vomiting
* Rash

The rash may appear over most of the body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins. A second rash may appear later in the disease.

Interestingly, most children infected with dengue virus never develop typical symptoms.

HOW IS DENGUE FEVER DIAGNOSED?