posted
I know this sounds like kind of an off the wall question, but I remember when I was thinking I had chronic fatigue syndrome, now which I think at least a sizeable minority is lyme, some people claimed their pets (especially dogs and cats) became sick either at the same time as them, or with the same symptoms (I think this might be hard to tell, but maybe some people are really in tune with their pets) or both. I believe something stating basically this was also in a book I read though now I'm not sure which one it was. I suppose at least the symptoms of fatigue and listlessness might be fairly easy to spot.
I've wondered if some of these people didn't in actually have lyme disease which would suggest that their animals had either that, or more probably, one of the coinfections.
Now I realize this question may seem like #1 on the list of things that are extraneous and completely don't matter but think of it this way: if there were people with lyme whose pets became sick also with similar symptoms this may possibly mean: 1) at least one of the infections is transmissible by either contact or something ubiqituous like fleas or flies 2) this transmissibility could probably go either direction.
Such a person could then become reinfected by their pet or anyone else they had also transmitted the infection to, possibly during or after treatment for that specific infection.
So my question is have any of you who have pet(s), noticed a dramatic change in your pet(s) that would coincide with some of your own symptoms? If you believe your pet has been infected by you, or you by them, for another reason please go ahead & respond & mention that reason...
Thanks,
john duncan
-------------------- "...reading the Meditations for long periods can be conducive of melancholy." --qtd. in intro to Meditations Posts: 122 | From San Diego, CA, California, United States | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
This is an interesting post. My beloved black lab named Poochie got very sick the same year of our lyme diagnosis. (She got very sick about six months before we got our diagnosis and knew that we had lyme)
From what I've learned here, since her death, I really believe that she may have had lyme disease.
The vet didn't know what was wrong with her - she developed arthritis type symptoms, hard getting up and down off the floor when lying down,
her neck audibly cracked a lot, she started acting very irritable (and she was normally a VERY loving dog), these were all kind of sudden symptoms that developed over a period of a couple of months,
she lost a lot of weight, (her normal weight was 68 lbs. and when we had to put her down - she weighed 27 lbs!)
The vet though maybe she had cushings disease, but some of her symptoms weren't right.
She was the best dog I ever had - I miss her a terribly. I feel so badly that she suffered so much - and even worse that if we had known about lyme - maybe we could have gotten her help...
Posts: 416 | From Southeastern PA | Registered: Sep 2003
| IP: Logged |
I have had a few family members question the fact that our dogs are infecting us... but I feel we all live in the same infected area so how can we blame our pets.
Not to say its not possible but in our situation I do not believe thats not the case. We all are positive for 4 different tbd's. The latest being the puppy with RMSF and we take precautions.
I know that we are totally infested in our neck of the woods and I doubt we are passing it along. Don't get me wrong its possible, anythings possible... and I could be wrong...but how can anyone know for sure especially when you have ticks everywhere?
Plain and simple some things are going to happen no matter what. The world of infetious disease is one of those things... We cannot stop it...
[ 15. October 2005, 01:04 PM: Message edited by: bel1268 ]
Posts: 240 | From Southern Maryland | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
Caryn
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 366
posted
my kitty Panda Bear. Bear for short. she died of some sort of nasty disease that literally fused her bones in her spine.
when my son ( i had been sick for several yrs at this point and thought having a second child, and my health would return. it didn't ) was a yr old, my husband took our animals to his warehouse to look after, because i could not care for them, and it was easier for him to tend them from work.
so i did not see her decline. he had taken her to a vet and the treatment she got helped for a little while. then she got very sick.
we live in lymeland, and mice get into the cheaply added on sunroom we and the kiddies used to spend a lot of time in. we had it fixed up as a playroom and our stereo was out there. and my garden seeds. and then we saw evidence that mice were getting in eating my garden seeds.
all this misery and horror was so preventable. Panda ( known as "bear" ), was a 5 1/2 pnd breeder quality hymilayan cat ( i had no intentions of breeding her. just got her as a pet. ) and a bad *** mouser!
did she die of lyme or related infections? i do not know.
Posts: 1093 | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
mlkeen
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1260
posted
Hi John-
My dog and I probaly got lyme separately, but perhaps at the same time. I used to walk the dog in the woods. I remember deciding to stop because I was finding too many ticks. It was too late I guess.
He, my dog, had arthritis but was older so I thought it was normal until he had abx for his bladder and all his arthritis went away. He is on long term abx and runs on the road with me. His heart murmer is much better. The vet thinks his health is very good. He is 11.
Posts: 1572 | From Pa | Registered: Jun 2001
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic