posted
Anyone out there who has LD from Prudence Island, Rhode Island?
I've been posting many questions about weird symptoms I've been experiencing since 8/07....the main one is random numbness.
I've been diagnosed "probable MS" but the puzzle pieces don't fit together for a definitive diagnosis.
So, I happened upon Lymenet website when someone on a neurological/MS discussion board alerted the members to the possibility of LD....since we all had these similar symptoms and very vague diagnoses.
I started to read up on LD and discovered that it can just hang out in your body for months and years without any symptoms.
I'm originally from RI and have lived in western North Carolina for almost 12 years.
I trail tun in the woods a lot, so I definitely could get LD here, even though my "probable MS" neurologist said LD doesn't exist here.
But, something hit me like a ton of bricks in reflecting back on my health for the past few years.
I went to visit family and friends in RI 7/05 and spent 3 days on Prudence Island....we're talking running in shorts, laying in grass in bathing suit, etc, etc without the slightest thought about ticks.
Then 3 months later (back in NC) I developed a weird rash in my private area...I thought it was chafing from cycling shorts...MD said "too strong of a soap"....it went away.
Then within the next few months I had several "colds" w/ mild fever, very sore/swollen glands and HORRIBLE sore throat.
During a MD visit to assess if it was strep throat, the nurse said my heartbeat seemed weird...
The MD said I had "asinus arrythmia" which is "common for athletes in their early 30's to develop."
My colds/whatever went away....I have a good immune system and don't get sick often.
Then 8/07, started noticing the numbness in 2 fingers, then gradually spread to all 4 fingers in both hands (not thumbs).
The finger numbness persists and has spread to other places. I have many other symptoms.
In doing research on Prudence Island, RI I discovered an article in the East Bay newspaper that quotes two MD researchers from Harvard as having said Prudence Island "without exaggeration is among the worst places in the world for LD."
This is due to the enormous deer herd.
I had a lyme titer last Friday...what are the chances of a positive 2 1/2 years after a possible infection?
Anyone out there familiar with Prudence Island and LD?
Posts: 55 | From North Carolina | Registered: Dec 2007
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posted
2 1/2 years will make it hard to get a positive results from WB. I would seek out a llmd right away. He will most likely start you off with 30 days of abx and then 10 days off before testing. Build a history of symptoms for the llmd as he needs it to make a clinical dx.
Your neuro may or may not be willing to go the distance with the amount and duration of abx you will need to reach a cure.
Posts: 219 | From Aubur,Al. USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
Yes, you definitely should find a lyme literate doctor for evaluation. Your symptoms (and possible exposures and rash) could be from lyme/tick-borne diseases.
I had numbness also-- along with many other symptoms -- before being diagnosed with lyme (and other tick borne diseases as shown by blood tests).
You should read up on lyme disease; Betty will be along with her newbie links, which are also posted on top of this Medical Questions page.
Please realize that the blood tests are unreliable with many false negatives, so that if you get a negative it does not mean that you do not have lyme. However, the tests are designed to have fewer false-positives; so that if you do have a positive test, you can believe it.
Babesia, a tick-borne protozoa, is also common in coastal areas in the Northeast, including RI. Your llmd will probably check you for this as well.
Yes, the Harvard researchers are probably right, and Prudence Island sounds like it would have a high concentration of lyme and tick-borne diseases. I had a couple of my exposures to ticks and their diseases on two islands nearby, Block Island and Long Island. Hope you find a llmd soon.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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Nancy2
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 95
posted
PM SENT!
Posts: 1487 | From New England | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
Nancy2, I received your PM but deleted before responding.
Thanks for the info.
I had no idea that a 3 day visit to Prudence Island 2 1/2 yrs ago could come back to haunt me.
It may not be lyme, but it may???
And now learning what I have about P Island, I definitely put myself at risk by going there.
It's weird...I grew up in RI, going to the beach all the time, and I just don't remember my family freaking about the possibility of lyme disease....but Rhode Island is a hotbed for the disease....an apparently, P Island is the epicenter...
Posts: 55 | From North Carolina | Registered: Dec 2007
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sparkle7
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10397
posted
I don't know about Prudence Island but you may want to read "Lab 257" by Michael Carroll for information about Plum Island.
I guess Lyme CT would be considered ground zero for Lyme but this whole northeast area (NY, CT, NJ) is very bad.
People generally don't know the dangers of Lyme & it's only been around since the 70's (as we know it).
So, it doesn't surprise me that many families/people have been unaware & go out in the park, woods, or on the beach without giving it a second thought.
Posts: 7772 | From Northeast, again... | Registered: Oct 2006
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