brand new; husband just diagnosed; a few pointed questions

1. When treated with antibiotics - and other treatments including cayenne/etc. foot baths, saunas, salt baths - it is stated that the bacteria exit the pores, I think I read in feces too. Are they dead on exit? Are they dead on hitting the air? Should I as a caregiver (wife) be concerned with coming into contact with these exiting bacteria?

2. Further, should I, cleaning up afterwards, be concerned when coming into contact with the contents of the tub/foot bathing pan, or after they are emptied for that matter? I plan to clean the tub and the foot pan with bleach after the soaks.

2.a. Can you literally see the bacteria exiting? Can you actually feel it or is it a case of the willies (frankly, I'm itchy and Dec. grossed out just thinking about it). Hubby said today he scratched his eyebrow and "something fell off and I think it was the bugs." I don't know whether or not to believe that? Is my home, literally, going to be containing these bacteria as they leave his body?

3. I'm seriously concerned reading that "wife gave it to hubby/hubby gave it to wife" in a post at this forum, as there seems to be more sites stating this is impossible and it is tick (or some state also mosquito) borne, and not communicable except for the possibility of a pregnancy passing it to a fetus/newborn. Frankly, I feel fine and don't believe I have lyme and it was I who suggested to husband that he ask for the test at his last cardiologist appointment because of symptoms he was having that, when I searched the internet, the connection was "lyme" - and he tested positive for the first test and just drew blood for the western blot yesterday.

4. Most importantly, has anyone here gotten well? From hubby's symptoms, he's pretty far along - cardiac, cognitive/neurological, dental...on another site where it states if you have 20 of these symptoms - he has 31.

The only thing i can figure is at times he must have been in "remission" of some sort, perhaps, when in the summer he gets home from work at 2p.m. and would sunbathe for hours, and a couple times when he had eye infections and got antibiotics. Did these instances temporarily kill the bacteria?

Thank you anyone who responds. Having just received the diagnosis last Thursday and just starting the Doxy antibiotic yesterday, we are both lost.

Thank you achievinggrace. I am happy to see they cannot live outside the body. Do people actually feel these things leave??? We are at the beginning of what seems could be a long ride. Yes, I am reading everything here, being new to it, and elsewhere also. Hoping for healing for him and everyone else here. Thank you. I'd like to hear from anyone willing to reply about the communicable possibility between human to human.

Thank you Traveler. I think the hubby is feeling "creepy crawly" at the thought of all of this and trying to process it. I sure know that I am. Honestly, I haven't slept well or long for a week now...I am preoccupied with learning all I can, helping him get the treatment he needs and making life around the house more simple less cluttered so his environment isn't such a distraction. (My thought there is...you CAN find your wallet, keys, etc. in a cleaner environment--it just takes a little stress off). Then, of course, we both work full time, so the evening and this last weekend is when we were planning the attack and processing everything. As you all know, there is just SO MUCH to learn.

He had this really weird (even a doctor called it that) "thing" in/on his left eyebrow. Looked like a hard puss filled pimple and the whole eye area was swollen, eye was looking like a slit. He got this in the same spot, same eye, same brow TWICE in about 6 months. The first time, he was treating himself with lemon slices. I don't know why he did that...he said the acid would take care of it. Of course, it just ran its course. With the 2nd, I asked him to see a doctor, and the dr said don't touch it, don't hot compress it, don't put creams on it...just take the antibiotics. Of course, this was a walk-in facility, and not his reg. doc cuz it was a Saturday, so it was a one-time see him thing. I wonder now was it possibly parasite(s) trying to exit, instead of some uncategorized bump/pimple/cyst-like thing. I also think he was remembering THAT and generally feeling grossed out. I did say to him, yes, and I can scratch my head and see some stuff (i.e. dandruff) fall to the ground so as to humor him. We ARE trying to uplift.

The fact that he has been seeing his regular physician for other things, a cardiac doc for about 3 years, and the dentist so much recently, shows ME at least that this is late stage illnesses with the Lyme association. Also, he doesn't even go on the computer, so his information is pretty much straight from me, and now that he is actively in this, he is talking to people at work this week, 1 fella who had it in his teens and doesn't really add a lot to the conversation.

So the last concept that remains for me to research (ask you lovely people too) is...do you think it was possible that, while he was sunbathing in the summer exposed to all that heat daily, was he killing off the bacteria? Also, anytime on antibiotics, were the bacteria dying? Could that explain why he has late stage symptoms now ... because some things, lifestyle, etc., were keeping them at bay and allowing SOME of the symptoms to go under the radar? Seriously, what made me go looking for an answer was in addition to his lethargy aches and pains--his recent behaviors (a little wacky), anger and frustration, forgetfulness, expressed inability to pay attention, depression, anxiety and the statement "my head is vibrating". He also said he was at he store, pretty much wandering aimlessly, unable to concentrate and that he feared he was losing his mind....however, that "my head is vibrating" statement seriously caught my attention and started this search for this diagnosis. I am sad he has the diagnosis, but at the same time reading over and over how the tests can come negative when positive, I guess we are lucky it showed in the test...right???? Can anyone speak on this "remission" theory that I've got up, or is that just my mind trying to rationalize why he is now in late stage symptoms (CNS)? Thanks again.

Hi Chicksinger.
In my signature line one can read a quote from the one LLMD I have seen, Dr. Ed Masters, that applies to not only the testing aspect of this disease, but the reality of the post-treatment periods. "Absence of proof is not proof of absence". The tests required for determining whether or not any of the tick-borne infections still exists in a persons' body, simply don't exist.

You will find - if you haven't already- that this is a very political illness. To get to the heart of the controversy, you can read the book titled "Plum Island".

As Harley rider was saying - once a person has tick-borne infections, I believe that they must always stay very vigilant watching for the return of symptoms or a new infection. I also believe however that each and every case has so many variables that no two cases are the same.

Keeping things as simple as possible is a really good thing for Lymies. Our minds are suddenly filled with cotton balls & thinking clearly can be a chore sometimes - or an impossible request.

I went through a period where I couldn't go into any store without having difficulty finding the doors to get back out - I would even have panic attacks over it. It's strange I know, but these are the kinds of things that can happen inside a LD patients brain, and we have no control over it.

As for his sun bathing & feeling better last summer, it's not surprising. Heat from the sun does kill off a little bit of the bacteria, not to mention the relaxing one usually does while sunbathing. The sweating that can accompany

sunbathing was most likely enough to help rid his body of a few more toxins - possibly giving him a "cleaner" feel to his body. - which is why a good many 'Lymies" (an affectionate name, I promise!) either go to a gym that has an FAR- Infared sauna or buy one of their own.

As for the "thing" that has appeared twice now on his eyebrow - I get something similar. For me it signifies that my body has had just about all the stress it's going to take - and it doesn't care whether or not it's a stress that I can 'feel' or not - so I pay attention to them.

I do hope that this helps to shed a little more light on what is happening with your hubby.

Please be sure to take good care of you through this though. Your husband's illness may require him to be in treatment for a while & he will need to lean on you possibly from time to time!!