Just Pulled A Tick From My Scalp..... - Lyme Disease Message Board

Camel22 · 08-22-2004, 03:46 PM

last Sunday. My wife pulled it out of the back of my neck with a pair of tweezers. Looks like an adult female. For about two days afterwards, there was some distinct pain in my throat muscles. My dad has Lyme disease so I sort of knew the symptoms and went to my general doctor last Monday. Doctor ordered a blood sample and put me immediately on 200mg of Doxy per day for 21 days just to be safe. She then told me to crush the saved tick (I didn't and still have it--its alive). I thought everything was OK until I noticed what looked to be the beginnings of a bulls-eye rash on my upper chest. Also last night I woke up sweating profusely. I feel fatigued today but not sure if that is just because of anxiety. I called my dad who said that I need to see a Lyme specialist ASAP and I'm going to see one tomorrow.

My questions are:

(1) I have the tick & it's alive---where can I send it?? Or is this obviously the doctors call??

(2) I've heard from a couple people in his Lyme support group that its best to immediately take the I/V's to be sure. Several in his lyme support class said the best thing is that I've caught it early but, even so, taking Doxy for even 1 1/2 months is supposedly no sure thing.

(3) Any recommended doctors in Southern California?

Thanks in advance for your help.

italys_finest18 · 08-22-2004, 04:49 PM

There is only 1 good accurate test called the western blot test. And I know that is from california....so maybe you are being directed in the right direction which is great. Deffinetly don't settle for an answer from a doctor thats Chronic fatigue or Fybrolmygia. SSSooo many people are wrongefully and misdiagnosed for those 2 thing when they really need help due to lyme. I am one of the people who did. But I'd recammend that western blot test.

ticker · 08-22-2004, 05:50 PM

Hi Camel22, welcome to the board

I am sorry you had a tick on you. Your wife removed it the only safe way, with tweezers. Thank goodness you did not crush it! Why would the doctor tell you to do this? You were very wise to save it. It can be tested for disease at IgeneX Lab in Palo Alto, CA.

No Lyme test is completely reliable and most people test negative early in the infection. You had the bite, you have symptoms, you need proper treatment. 200 mg of Doxy is not strong enough for Lyme and 21 days is not long enough treatment. I believe the recommended dose for Lyme is 300-600 mg daily. Also, an infection caught within two weeks of the bite should be treated with a minimum of six weeks of the proper dose antibiotic. The bacteria are killed only when they reproduce, which is estimated at around four weeks. A six week course will cover one growth cycle. If symptoms are still present, further treatment is warranted. Getting the proper treatment early in the infection may reduce the chance of long-term complications.

When taking Doxy, do not have any dairy, iron or magnesium products two hours before or after the Doxy or it will not be absorbed properly. Avoid the sun or you could get a severe burn even with sunscreen on. Also, do not lay down for at least an hour after taking or you could ulcerate your esophagus. This happened to me and it is very painful. If it makes you nauseous, eat something substantial and non-dairy before taking it. This should all be listed on the pharmacy sheet.

A bullseye rash is a definite sign of Lyme. Take photos of your rash so you have evidence of it. Place something near it before photographing, like a coin or ruler, to give it size defintion.

Besides Lyme, ticks can transmit several co-infections--Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis (HME & HGE), Bartonella, and Mycoplasma. California has a different strain of Babesiosis called WA-1. It is important to be tested for these because many people who have Lyme are co-infected. Night sweats are a major symptom of Babesiosis.

Oral antibiotics can be very effective against tickborne illnesses. There is no best med for every case and sometimes it is trial-and-error to find the best one. If co-infections are involved, it will affect treatment choice and progress. There is an excellent Lyme doctor in Los Angeles. His name is Dr. Steven Harris. I hope you can get an appointment with him soon.

Please keep me posted.

Camel22 · 08-26-2004, 12:47 PM

Thanks. I went to a Lyme specialist and he put me on 200mg Doxy & 1000mg Augmentin -- 2x daily. Also sent the live tick to Igenex to get more detail. Also got blood drawn -- PCR's (??) -- for Babeosis & another co-infectious disease. The side effects I've been experiencing on Doxy have been a lack of appetite & after taking the Augmentin 2x, I've felt some feelings like my legs are going to twitch (even though they aren't actually twitching). Anyways, the "sweats" that I had last week have stopped but I guess the frustrating part is that I'm not sure if some of the feelings are because of the Lyme or the side effects of the drugs I'm taking. Finally, I'm drinking lots of water -- is that good? I don't necessarily want to wash out the antibiotics but I've been told to drink lots of water. Does anyone think I should be doing anything differently?

Komondor · 08-26-2004, 01:45 PM

Hi Camel,
Glad to hear you went to an LLMD. You are a very lucky and wise man to get this treated right away. Sorry you got bit by a tick but early treatment is so important and you kept that tick which was a very smart thing to do.

You are definately ahead of the game because you did all the right things. Drinking lots of water is definately good and may even help with the nausea. You are not going to wash the meds out just the toxins.

Many doctors believe you should not eat sugar and I follow that protocal as my doc is big on this. No caffine, no alcohol, no dairy two hours before or after doxy.

You should also be taking a good Probiotic as that will put good bacteria back into your body. Antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria so you can also eat plain yogurt. I do both.

Antibiotics... can also cause yeast problems and sugar feeds yeast and sugar also weakens your immune system. Make sure you always eat with doxy as it can cause severe stomach upset.

There are supplements too but I am sure your doctor will go over all of this with you when you get your test results. Like if you have babesia you would not want to take CQ10.

Hope you are feeling better very soon.