[Closed] Lyme disease

Will send you a PM.

Cheers

I've had it twice. Both times the anti-biotics knocked it on the head immediately. I did feel crap at the time but I couldn't really tell if that was the Lyme disease or the anti-biotics. Lots of folk around here have had to deal with it and would all tell the same story. The science is pretty well understood, as is the treatment.

Yeah. Son and I have been treated for Lyme's after tick bites. We were lucky, the drs here don't wait for blood tests. It's straight to antibiotics for a rash or fever after a tick bite. We both recovered in c6weeks.

Be sure to fact check any info given for your self.

There are some on here who post unverifiable drivel about it- citing it as scientific evidence.

As well as herbal remedy nonsense.

Yeah my dr seems to be working drugs first ask the question afterwards.

Im manly asking due to having a love of learning new rhings and understanding whats going on. Afterthe initial course do you have another blood test or deem it successful if rash has gone

Be sure to fact check any info given for your self.

There are some on here who post unverifiable drivel about it- citing it as scientific evidence.

As well as herbal remedy nonsense.

Nicely put.

+1 for fact checking

Don't listen to them, stinging nettle enema, works every time

What trail_rat said.

Don’t listen to them, stinging nettle enema, works every time

No, that's for Cholera. You need Thistle enemas for Lymes.

Don’t listen to them, stinging nettle enema, works every time

Ignore thestabaliser this info is so last year. The de rigueur, and might i add, ultimate cure, is an enema of 14 live wasps PLUS 2, no less, and no more, Male Bumble Bees.

Frozen sausages hammered in.

Frozen sausages hammered in.

That almost made me spit my beer out 🙂

@ffati - "drugs first ask questions later" is absolutely the right way to treat lyme disease.

Start hitting it straight away. If it turns out not to be lyme disease you've not lost out.

The alternative is let it get a foothold, do a lot more damage. It's a *serious* disease.

Do what your doctor says. They didn't spend 7 years doing a PhD in medical school for no reason.

Im not questioning the methodology at all was more looking to find out if anyone has had it and weather it has affected them adversely

I've had it and did the 'drugs now, tests later' thing too. Knocked me out for a few weeks and thankfully no lasting side-effects. I was warned not to get another infection of it though, especially within a few years of the first one. Don't know why but I'll take the advice!

They didn’t spend 7 years doing a PhD in medical school for no reason.

😬🤔
Me no spendy 7 years... and me no getty phd.. 😬🤷‍♂️

DrP

That almost made me spit my beer out 🙂

I'm not surprised. Respect for even trying to drink during that procedure 😂

The science is pretty well understood, as is the treatment.

Unless you don't get it early.

@trailrat (and others) a pal has had it for some time, undiagnosed, then got COVID (now "long") and ME and is basically bedridden with NHS saying "just rest". They have gone down private/herbal route seeming to spend a fortune and get nowhere. Any ideas?

MBChB DrP?

While it can undoubtedly lead to very serious conditions, that is not always the case. I caught it while on holiday in America a few years ago. The bull's eye rash developed a day or two after I found and removed the tick and I got a week (or perhaps two week) long course of antibiotics from the local doctor's surgery a day later. No symptoms other than the bull's eye rash and I've been fine since. When I got back from holiday I followed up with my GP who did a blood test.

You should look at which anti-biotics you're being given. I was given a 2-week course of some milder antibiotics, didn't really get symptoms under control. Given 2nd course of stronger antibiotics that did sort out symptoms.

Had the bulls-eye rash, no blood test.

You can check the recommended antibiotic doses at the link below. There is also a flowchart available somewhere but I couldn't immediately find it, but basically if the first round of antibiotics doesn't do the job there is a secondary option recommended.

My advice: take the antibiotics, don't google beyond NHS or other reputable sites, and as long as no symptoms don't look into it further.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng95/chapter/Recommendations#management

Lymes disease is something I do worry about a little. This last year I've found dozens of them on me. I seemingly can't seem to ride or walk locally without getting one despite wearing long trousers etc to reduce chances. A few have crept past the first inspection and been found a day or two later but not yet, touch wood, have I had a bullseye so never been for antibiotics. Given the supposed percentage of the critters that carry lymes tbh I can't quite see how I've dodged it.

I got it in September 2020.

I had always been aware of Lyme Disease being a MTBer and the info you see all over sites such as this. I have once or twice (years ago) spotted ticks on my legs, pulled em out and been fine.

I woke up morning in Sept 2020 with a very large (200mm), VERY angry, red, incredibly itch Erythema Migrans - the bullseye rash. It was a pearler, perfect example.

I'll be honest, i was very worried. I'd read all the stuff about it ruining people lives, about the NHS and GPs not beleiving it was real. About ongoing symptoms, fights to get diagnosed etc, I was a bit panicy I'm not afraid to admit.

As we were at the height of Covid, I booked an online appointment with my GP (first time I'd used a GP in decades) and in the text I wrote that I thought I'd been bitten and it was Lyme.

I expected this to be the start of the battle.

GP emailed back, asked for a photo. I emailed a photo. Literally 5 minutes later

Yep, good spot, well done for recognising it. Thats 100% an Erythema Migrans and following the guidelines, I dont need to wait for any other symptoms in order to prescribe you the full dose of Antibiotics. Heres your prescription.

And I was on the dose within a couple of hours.

@reluctantjumper

‘drugs now, tests later’

this, basically.

It was fine. The GP was fine. Everything is fine.

My advice: take the antibiotics, don’t google beyond NHS or other reputable sites, and as long as no symptoms don’t look into it further.

100% this.

Just be warned its not like taking a bit of banana yellow antibiotic stuff when you were a kid. The ones you get for suspected Lyme are strong, and you wont enjoy it.

Get the proper meds prescribed (see NICE guidelines above), get the meds taken over the next 21 days, thatll be the end of it.

Lymes disease is something I do worry about a little.

Don't get me wrong, I'm concerned about it too, and take care to avoid tick bites. Advice above wasn't meant to be dismissive, just that there is a lot of well-meaning but dubious stuff online. When I went down the internet rabbit-hole on Lyme a few years ago one of the more reliable things I remember finding was a study showing testing of people in endemic areas showed a high % with antibodies - indicating past exposure, even if they hadn't been aware of it. So perhaps in some/many the immune system takes care of it.

Yeah im not much of brliver in herbal remedies and tend to trust science more, as i stated before i was more after real life examples of recovery and being a good story for the pub.

Gp has given me 28 day course of doxycylicine 100mg morning and evening which is the most they can prescribe. Not really got any other symptoms apart from the big bullseye that appeared and feeling a pain in my knee but i think i have attached that pain to it when in reality i always have a pain un my knee this time of year and the knee probably needs another flush out

Gp has given me 28 day course of doxycylicine 100mg morning and evening

oh i bet your stomach is loving that . i hate doxycicline

Only started them last night, only had them once before as a malaria tablet and never really remember any problems but that dose wasnt as strong.

But i guess its a way to notgo crazy on the beer over Christmas

But i guess its a way to notgo crazy on the beer over Christmas

I too have had Doxycycline as anti-malarial a number of times, and from memory the leaflet that came with it said it was used to treat pretty much every sexually transmitted disease. So, you could go crazy in other ways 😉

Yeah, it's the Doxy I've had (twice). As I said above, I felt shit for a while but couldn't tell if that was the Lyme or the drugs.

Remember to avoid strong sunlight too 😜

About 3 years ago I found a tick on the end of my penis. I had sat down on grass the day before wearing running shorts.

I'm not really sure what the bulls eye rash would have looked like in this case?

Wife had it about 12yrs ago, but as she has a pre-existing autoimmune disorder was pretty unwell with it and admitted to hospital for 2 weeks...

Absolutely no help to the OP as she was a special case, had various specialists travel down to Bristol to poke and prod at her 😄. No long term effects that we know of.

@robola a larger than normal and angrier swelling?

I don't recall feeling in the mood to instigate any swelling for quite a while. 🙁

The point being though a rash might not be apparent, so watch out for other symptoms too.

Erythema Migrans – the bullseye rash. It was a pearler, perfect example.

I’ll be honest, i was very worried

shouldn't be - that's an early sign and so prompt treatment should work just fine

oh i bet your stomach is loving that . i hate doxycicline

Doxy's not so bad - you can take it with food if that helps.  Sometimes gives people the splats too (either way, try 100mg twice a day if 200 once a dy is what causes you trouble)

Sometimes gives people the splats too

Not me, but it did seem to make me produce MASSIVE, like sticking out of the water, danger to shipping size, logs. You're welcome 🙂

@scaredypants your right and I know that now, however at the time the problem was all the misinformation going round and lyme, what it is and what happens.

You never read anyone saying 'I had it, got treated quickly, its went and I'm absolutely fine'.

So that's why I thought it important for me to say that.

@trailrat (and others) a pal has had it for some time, undiagnosed, then got COVID (now “long”) and ME and is basically bedridden with NHS saying “just rest”. They have gone down private/herbal route seeming to spend a fortune and get nowhere. Any ideas

I maybe wrong here but I feel your mate might be on here ? The story feels familiar. Self diagnosed. Many other compounding illness, NHS apparently not interested. Self medicate with herbals.

Cheers Snotrag this is what im after there are so many scare stories and misunderstandings sometimes all you want is simeone to say i had it was all fine.

Out of intrest went looking at alternative therapy today because i had 5 minutes spare (not it intrested in getting any) one was a ozone treatment sounds like a load of bs to me.

Was chatting to another mate whi said some guy at his work had it was rough then had some meds and is now better job done.