posted
I'd like to know what is known about whether or not Lyme disease is sexually transmitted. I have likely positive lab tests for Lyme, and my husband's tests look a little more positive. I have taken treatment, and plan to take further treatment. My husband does not plan to take treatment. I don't want to get reinfected from him. What are my risks here?
Posts: 2 | From Northern California | Registered: Jun 2006
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
I think it is my wife as far as we know was never tick bitten and she has lyme. Rear different opinions in the newbie links.
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
posted
From the research I have done over the years it definitely appears to be sexually transmitted.
I would not take a chance. My husband and I have not had unprotectd sex in 6 years.
I know of a young couple (friends) who both have Lyme Disease now. He was bit by the tick, never treated and they proceded to have two children. She is so very sick right now and I am very afraid for the children. DON'T take a chance! Lo
Posts: 187 | From Sacramento, California | Registered: Apr 2001
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posted
My Doc does nothing but work with lyme patients and has been that way for years. He said in his practice about 1 out of every 100 of his patients spouses have gotten the illness.
Posts: 805 | From Utopia | Registered: Feb 2006
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Andie333
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7370
posted
This is one of the nastiest diseases I've ever seen, so if there's even the most remote chance my SO might get it, I'd never practice unprotected sex.
Just my .02.
Andie
Posts: 2549 | From never never land | Registered: May 2005
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JimBoB
Unregistered
posted
There are about as many for as against on this.
I am not going to go into it again at length. It is a matter of choice UNTIL they ACTUALLY do some studies on it.
Hit SEARCH and you will find ALL the pros and cons about it.
posted
My husband and I both have LD, he doesn't know how he got it. Meanwhile my mom, dad, both sisters, and my children have it. So I know where I got it (my mom was bit before I was born). But my husband could have gotten it from me. After I started being treated he started developing sympotms.
Luckily now we are both being treated, well everyone in my family is. In fact my sons and their grandfather are in a band together they named themselves "The Color of Lyme" since they all got it. Cute huh?
Anyway, I would not take the chance of becoming re-infected if he is unwilling to be treated.
posted
I believe this is a big topic of debate. My dad has had chronic lyme for years and after three kids and 30 years of marriage my mom is still fine. I also have had lyme most of my life and have been married three years and have a child. My husband and child are fine as well. To this I give God all the praise!!
I believe ultimately EVERYTHING is in God's hands and up to him anyway.
Posts: 47 | From WV | Registered: May 2006
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JimBoB
Unregistered
posted
Many on this board and others, do NOT KNOW HOW they got infected.
They can only assume.
I NEVER saw a tick on me. NOR a nymph, nor a larvae.
BUT I accidently saw a small red spot on the top of my left foot one day back in October 1999. But it was NEVER a target looking rash. It was there about two weeks, and I kind of dismissed it and hoped it would go away.
Like I said, it DID go away in two weeks. Well, it went away on the outside. Then in January I started having trouble with the tendons in the back of my knees and it got worse and worse, until I couldn't even get up off the chair without help. So in May of 2000, I finally went to my local duck, and he said "it sounds like Lyme Disease, but it is really expensive to test for it. Could cost you up to $700".
Well, I didn't have any $700, so he gave me samples of Cipro and the knee tendon problem got better in 5 days. He gave me more samples to last me 24 days all together. I was better for about 8 to 10 months and then slowly started relapsing. Till I felt like I was going to die last year.
I never saw a tick on me. Also, I was having SOME problems with arthritis before that for a few years. COULD I have been bitten even prior to this. I was always having terrible flu like symptoms, even WITH the flu vaccines. Hmmmmmmmm. The flu symptoms got worse and worse. Used to be from November to May. Then went to June, then started in September to June, then somtimes would have one in July.
Guess we will never know.
MY wife has no symptoms and we have been together for about 6 years now. NEVER had protected sex in any form. We had never heard it was a problem till I got on this board.
So far, SHE seems fine. She was also bit BY a DEER TICK recently. I gave her a bottle of my Tetracycline, but she only took one capsules, according to her. She IS sticking her pants in her socks now though, I see. And wearing light clothing while doing her flower gardening.
We live on ten acres, own on both sides of the river and have TONS of deer, mice, and other rodents and animals.
Even that 1 in 100 statistic that doctor gave, doesn't necessarily mean they got it from the spouse. NOT unless they NEVER leave the house, and have absolutely NO indoor/outdoor pets, and are SURE the spouse didn't bring in a tick or flea, or mosquito with them.
posted
Just a theory but sexual transmission might also depend on the strain of Borrelia. We all know how many of those there are. As well as the other persons immune system etc.
I personally do believe it can be transmitted sexual as does my LLMD due to the large number of spouses that he treats as well.
Posts: 649 | From United States | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
IF the argumentation for sexual transmission of LD is only based on the fact that few couples have it both I don't find the argument convincing. They don't share only beds. Also most couples don't have LD both.
Just anecdotically: In the house I live 3 of 5 people got infected. No sexual contacts between those. But the couple is positive/negative. Plenty of ticks dwelling in the area around the house...
Posts: 71 | From germany | Registered: Mar 2006
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
some people(including kids) seem to attract ticks while others repel them...i've often seen siblings come in from playing together with one covered in ticks-the other no ticks. it happens with biting flys and mosquitoes too...they come after me-not after my son or his dad. many people test pos but have no sympptoms...many many variables... some immune systems can get the bugs right away-some cant
i've been dealing with lyme over 20 yrs-my llmd thinks it is transmissable
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
My LLMD doesn't think it's transmitable. I disagree. The only other disease in this class that has a spirochete is Syphilis. If it is known for being a chronic contagious venereal and sometimes congenital disease, why isn't Lyme?
Posts: 203 | From Jacksonville, FLorida | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote: The only other disease in this class that has a spirochete is Syphilis. If it is known for being a chronic contagious venereal and sometimes congenital disease, why isn't Lyme?
I agree. I don't just think it is transmittable because of some peoples' spouses coming down with Lyme. I think it is because it is so similar to syphilis. Even more advanced and doctors know even less about Lyme. Borrelia has outer surface proteins that they have no idea what their function is. It has been found in tears, saliva, semen, breast milk, etc. I will go on the other side of the fence. Until I hear hard evidence of why it wouldn't be transmittable I have to believe it is.
Posts: 649 | From United States | Registered: Dec 2003
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JimBoB
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by Jillybean: My LLMD doesn't think it's transmitable. I disagree. The only other disease in this class that has a spirochete is Syphilis. If it is known for being a chronic contagious venereal and sometimes congenital disease, why isn't Lyme?
Quite SIMPLE. THEY are NOT the same. At all.
They are DISTANT cousins. NOT brothers, not even close cousins. It is like saying Humans are the SAME as monkeys. NOT even close.
Mice are closer to humans than chimps, etc..
I am talking genetically.
IF they are the same and transmittable such as Syphilis, the WE as humankind in general are in BIGTIME trouble. And I DO MEAN bigtime. Just about everyone you know will have chronic Lyme in the next 5 years, IF that is so.
Then WHO am I to say. The Good Book says: "They will become faint out of fear, not knowing the way out." That was talking about OUR day, so who knows. Maybe it is already way too late. It especially will be, IF abx are continued in TRYING to fight Lyme, so they can keep changing and getting more and more tough to kill. The Spirochetes, I mean.
You better hope for not only YOUR sakes, but mankinds sake in general for the near future, that you are TOTALLY wrong in YOUR assumptions.
quote: IF they are the same and transmittable such as Syphilis, the WE as humankind in general are in BIGTIME trouble. And I DO MEAN bigtime. Just about everyone you know will have chronic Lyme in the next 5 years, IF that is so.
I don't know how you figure that. Does this mean everyone we know now has syphilis?
Posts: 649 | From United States | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I am on roll this morning--replying to everything!
anyway thanks JIM bob, I do think you are a voice of reason.
I agree that theorectically it may be possible, but we don't have any REAL well constructed studies as far as I have seen( so this is where someone is going to send me a bunch, right, good)
anyway, a physician's anecdotal evidence is worth thinking about but certainlty not conclusive and his #-- one in a hundred, with a spouse having tbd and not knowing how they got it, I suspect is not even statistically significant, given all the other factors, (shared residence, hobbies, etc.--and most importantly lots of us don't know how we got it for sure!)
I shared this # with a very experieced and respected statistician who actually runs multi variable stuff all the time, about people (not a doc, just a consulting forensic economist, never heard of one, well they are out there, if we all started litigation that was successful with ducs--we would meet a lot of them) and he thought 1 in a hundred was meaningless-easily atrributed to other things--w/out running the numbers. but if we have even have a good anectodal study with hard numbers that ties in multivariables I will have him look at it!
these are great docs i know saying these thigs, and they may well be right, but again, I'm not sure there is well done research in this area.
Yep, am I personally vested in this--we all are. this aspect of disease has potential to even further screw up our lives.
in the mean time I feel like I have an additional weight of responsibility and sadness on my shoulders, with this as a possibility, but I'm not sure there is any GOOD research is out there. And I am not sure how you would even construct a good study ethically. And I don't think I will run a single subject(s) design study in my household.
damn you loose everything don't you.
um had 2 cups of coffee this a.m. perhaps it shows--I better go for my daily walk.
jif
Posts: 208 | From Santa Fe | Registered: May 2006
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JimBoB
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by duke77:
quote: IF they are the same and transmittable such as Syphilis, then WE as humankind in general are in BIGTIME trouble. And I DO MEAN bigtime. Just about everyone you know will have chronic Lyme in the next 5 years, IF that is so.
I don't know how you figure that. Does this mean everyone we know now has syphilis?
To the BEST of MY knowledge, Syphilis is NOT transmitted in epidemic proportions by deer ticks. AND it is not the fastest growing disease on this continent at this time. Remember, even the CDC thinks Lyme is underreported by about 10 times. WHAT if it is more than that?
Also to the best of MY knowledge, Syphilis IS a verneral disease. Lyme is not. UNTIL they unrefutably prove otherwise, I will stick to THAT statement.
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