I went to the "Lymes Dr." yesterday and when I got there he was sick and could not see any patience so I have to go back next week! Dr. Jaller (sp) has Lymes disease himself and he was appearently battling it himself yesterday. I did talk to his "intern" for lack of better words and told me to STAY OUT OF THE SUN!!! This makes a lot of sense in hind sight. The sun really tears me up in a few ways while taking this medicine. If it weren't for my pain meds I would NOT be able to function. I think I am dependent on them at some level but I will deal with my dependancy when the time comes. More to come next week.

 

I am going back to the doctor tomorrow and I have some more questions to ask him. I want to share them with you all....and maybe you all can help me add some to the list???
What EXACTLY do I have?....What strand/band(s)?....What are the differences between the bands?...Are some bands worse than others?
Exactly how long have I had it/this?
How will I know when it is under controll?
Is it up to me to recognize a “Lymes flare up” in the future?
How can I/my family prevent attracting deer ticks in the future when I know I am in “deer tick country”?
What if I find another deer tick on me with or w/o “the ring”? Since I have the disease already, do I have to get back on antibiotics?
How do doctors know for sure that lymes disease is not contagious? Has there been any research done on this?

I also have some insurance questions that I will ask him.

If you all have anything you think I should ask him....or even something you would like to know....just throw it out here and I'll ask him tomorrow.

 

Once again...Good luck.

Questions are always good...You need to know as much about the enemy you're battling as possible!

 

Pants/boots/shirts with sleeves/Permethrin the clothing before wearing it, wear DEET insect repellent and generally avoid the woods unless you need to be there (not WANT to be there). The military precautions I just listed are the best so far.

Keep grass etc mowed or just kill it where convenient. Roundup leaves survivors so I'm going to try copper sulfate. Good enough to kill algae in lakes and should make a fair herbicide without the dangers and ineffectiveness of regular herbicide.

I eventually want a belt with near zero vegetation around my shop and road area since I don't need it for soil control. I won't have negative consequences from killing it and it gets in my way, so it's gonna die. Anyone who has seen Lyme symptoms knows that isn't at all an over-reaction.

Find out whatever they'll tell you about the mental symptoms. It was rough on my wife.

GET CHECKED for tick fever.

You rock for posting and sharing your experience. I salute you for doing it.

 

Thanks nonckeywrench and everyone else with the support and experiences.

I went to the Dr. again yesterday.
He said I have 3 "tick borne" deseases. They are Lymes (Borrelia burgdorferi), Bartonella and Babesia.
He changed my antibiotics from Doxyciline to Amoxocillen and Biaxin (one of which is kicken my butt). He said we may need to move to interveinous (sp) antibiotic but we can't do it now b/c it will be to big of a shock to my body.
He said the best way to "repel ticks" (Kill the little *******s) is with Permethrine. He said to spray it on my clothes the night before use. Boots, long pants (taped or bloused) long sleeved shirt tucked in and a hat. Check yourself daily....not all diseased ticks bites will leave the "bulls eye or ring" (like in my case).
ALSO, I started to ask him about the island off the coast of Lymes CT (where the illness got its name). He went in to a 4-5 minute "The Government lies" rant. From Vietnam to Iraq...I bit my tounge and listened to his obvious displeasure with our Fed. Gov. He concluded with at the end of the day, "You have Lymes and we need to deal with it. No need to point fingers" He also pointed out that the "Iceman" (that was found 10 about years ago I think) had tested for positive for Lymes as well. Has the Government tweeked it in recent years..or has it mutated in the 20-50K years ago? Who knows.
My Dr. will also be on the Animal Planet Network on a show called The Monsters Inside of Me. I want to check it out when it comes on.
So...that was my update. I will see him again on the 21st of June.
Thanks!

 

The evidence for government playing with such things in the open back in the days of the early Cold War is interesting. Search elsewhere to make sure this thread doesn't turn political, but do have a look.

The Agent Orange and Agent White and Gulf War Syndrome and Burn Pit veteran experiences are also worth reading. (More than a just a cursory "read" for vets who can help other vets even if they weren't affected themselves.)

Don't forget that safety, any kind (auto, medical, environmental), is a VERY recent social concern and humans aren't wired to care about that stuff.

Other FTE folks _WILL_ inevitably get tick-borne diseases but that number may be reduced and the affected folks may get treatment if they are aware and make medical providers aware.

I'm picking up the copper sulfate today and will post results.

Keep us posted, and tell the world because this is an epidemic. The news folks don't care because it's not dramatic (except for victims and families and friends!) and tourist-dependent businesses won't want it broadcast.

 

My son just got off the 60 days of oral and IV anti's.. He has improved 100%.. you will start to feel better soon.

 

Thanks JerzyX!
I go back to the Dr.s next Thursday

 

Even though I've spent plenty of time in the woods and outside in my life, I've only ever had one tick on me that I've known about--and that was when I was about 12. Anyway, I just got this tip about tick removal in an e-mail, and it sounds like it would work:

Put several drops of liquid dish detergent on a cotton ball, then hold the cotton ball against the tick. The detergent will suffocate the tick, causing it to release, and then the tick is immediately tangled in the cotton ball for easy removal and disposal.

Now that I think about it, I would probably try hand sanitizer or sterno fuel, then burn the little bugger in the cotton ball...

Jason

 

And you thought Lymes was bad!

Allergic to Meat: Lone Star Tick May Make Vegetarians of Some - Yahoo! News

There's a new weapon in the war on meat: a tiny tick, whose bite might be spreading meat allergies up the East Coast.

A bite from the lone star tick, so-called for the white spot on its back, looks innocent enough. But University of Virginia researchers say saliva that sneaks into the tiny wound may trigger an allergic reaction to meat -- agonizing enough to convert lifelong carnivores into wary vegetarians.

"People will eat beef and then anywhere from three to six hours later start having a reaction; anything from hives to full-blown anaphylactic shock," said Dr. Scott Commins, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. "And most people want to avoid having the reaction, so they try to stay away from the food that triggers it."

Commins said cases of the bizarre allergy are popping up along the East Coast and into the Bible Belt, areas ripe with lone star ticks. He's already seen 400 or so. And 90 percent of them have a history of tick bites, he said.

"It's hard to prove," he said of the link between lone star ticks and meat allergies. "We're still searching for the mechanism."

Allergies are immune reactions to foreign substances, from pet hair to peanuts. As antibodies attack the substance that caused the reaction, they trigger the release of histamine, a chemical that causes hives and, in severe cases, life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Commins said blood levels of antibodies for alpha-gal, a sugar found in red meat, lamb and pork, rise after a single bite from the lone star tick. He said he hopes experiments that combine tiny samples of tick saliva with the invisible antibodies will prove the two are directly connected.

"It's complicated, no doubt," said Commins. "But we think it's something in the saliva."

Experts say the six-hour lag between exposure to meat and the allergic reaction complicates things even more.

"It's very atypical as food allergies go," said Dr. Stanley Fineman, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "Most food allergies occur very quickly. And it's also a bit unusual to see adults develop a food allergy."

But the tick bite theory could help explain the sudden onset of some meat allergies, Fineman added.

Other Common food allergens include peanuts, shellfish, milk, eggs, soy and wheat. And most food allergy sufferers are glad to discover the source of their misery, even if it means upheaval for their diets.

"Avoidance is the best way to handle any food allergy," he said.

But meat allergies are hard for some brawny barbecuers to swallow.

"Some people are totally destroyed," said Commins. "Others say, 'Maybe I'm better off without it.'"

 

Watch out for seed tick...especially near the coast. I worked marking timber and we went near the coast in Brunswick and on Kings Bay Naval Base...me and the guy working with me pulled 20 or so off of me.

 

I hope you get better soon. I have many of the after affects of Lymes. My knees are full of arthritis. It's all over my body of but my knees are the worst. I had no sign it before the Lymes. My past xrays show little arthritis with none in my knees. This disease sucks.

 

At work they gave us this to read about it

What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme Borreliosis is a bacterial infection transmitted by the bite of an infected tick
(all species), fleas, biting flies, mosquitoes, keds, and lice per entomologists &
DVM research scientists. The bacterial spirochete can invade and infect any organ
in humans and animals. If not diagnosed early, if left untreated or not treated
adequately, it may develop into debilitating arthritic, cardiac, neurological,
digestive, or psychiatric conditions. It can cause long-term disability or can even
be fatal. It can cross the placenta into the fetus, and its DNA can be found in breast
milk. It is called the ―Great Imitator for it mimics other diseases such as: Multiple
Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome, or an array of mental disorders, Autism, or Alzheimer’s

Lyme disease is now at an epidemic level, as stated by Dr. Paul Meade at the 2010
Institute of Medicine meeting in Washington, DC. Cases are on the rise
throughout the United States and Canada.

Signs and Symptoms Early Stage:
Symptoms may appear from 48 hours to several weeks after an infected tick bite:
-Flu like symptoms – fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, fever, chills, swollen glands, sore throat, stiff neck.
- Symptoms may move around the body with the only consistency being a lack of consistency.
-You may have flu-like symptoms one day, and fatigue, or muscle and joint pain a few days later. Only 1/3 of infected people may have a rash or a bull’s eye rash. {take a photo of the rash- to show your doctor- a rash may come and go!}
-Late Stage (Chronic Lyme): These symptoms may occur weeks, months, and even years after the bite and the symptoms may come and go. Peak disease is associated with increasing numbers of spirochetes in the tissues while regression follows the antibody response. It is very cyclic and fluctuates in intensity so that symptoms are present on some days and not on others

Symptoms include:
-Continued flu-like symptoms with swollen glands, low grade fevers
-Depression, psychiatric disorders
-Sensitivity to lights, sounds, motion, odors, blurred vision, or loss of sight
-Cognitive dysfunction, difficulty organizing or making decisions, memory loss
-Muscle pain, weakness, numbness, tingling, motor dysfunction, and paralysis
-Stiff neck, severe headaches, loss of balance, dizziness, poor coordination,
-Bell’s Palsy (facial drooping)
-Irregular heartbeat, palpitations, heart block, chest pain, difficulty breathing
-Tremors, seizures, panic attacks, anxiety, sleep disorders, swollen joints
-Possible death without continued treatment

Protection:
-Perform frequent, thorough tick checks – especially the scalp area
-Wear light colored clothes
-Tuck pants into socks or put duct tape around the cuffs
-Put clothes into dryer for 30 minutes to kill ticks – washing clothes will not kill ticks!
-There are products containing DEET for skin – children 2 months old and older, use a 10% concentration but do not apply to face or hands – adults use 12-25% maximum There are products containing Permethrin for clothes—do not use on children—is a very effective product for adults and recommended for hunters. Consider using new DEET free repellents 1-800-219-9765 for 8 hours of effectiveness (ask for Beat It bug spray)

Tick Removal
-Do not burn or use any substance on tick
-Do not grasp, squeeze, or twist the body of tick
-Grasp tick’s head close to skin with tweezers
-Pull tick straight out See a physician if unable to remove the whole tick
-Use antiseptic on skin
-Disinfect tweezers
-Wash hands thoroughly
-Always see a physician for possible diagnosis, testing and treatment—watch for flu-like symptoms or rash

Hunters:
Be aware of additional precautions needed to avoid contact from ticks on game.
-Remove game from field with a tarp.
-Hang game over bleach solution for ticks to fall into.
- Wear plastic apron and gloves when cleaning game.
-Freeze immediately.

For additional information:
United States: Lyme Disease United Coalition. PO Box 86 Story City, IA 50248 E-mail: Lymeinfo@LDUC.org Phone: 800-311-7518
Canada: Gordon Anderson Manitoba Province-LDUC E-Mail: gcanders@mymts.net

 

I the refuse to let this damn disease keep me down. Two o fthe best friends I have are making sure I get back into hunting & fishing. I was known for my love of the outdoors & habitat improvement before I got Lymes. I planted acres of food plots & fed the natural foods on my land. I put stake beds in my favorite lakes. I taught young people to love hunting & fishing. My buddies are giving me the help I need to get my land right again. I've let it go. I'll have 3 or 4 box stands by season & plenty of good plots planted. Baiting is legal here but I refuse to do it. It just ain't right to set over a pile of corn & say your hunting.
I have a great new doctor. He is up on Lyme & its affects. I'm debt free & have a decent job. I can focus on getting healthy. I need your prayers. I know they work. Its been 10 years since I got Lymes. Its time to beat it.

 

Good luck man..prayers be with each and every one of yall.