Posted 7/15/2014 8:05 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, unfortunately, I'm new here. I noticed a pain on my back this past Friday. I didn't think too much of it, until I looked in the mirror. It wasn't an obvious erythema migran, but it looked red in the middle with a white ring around it and another red ring. Not too dark. My husband brushed it off as a regular bug bite. We just moved to a woodsy area in Pennsylvania, and we've been dealing with spiders, gnats, etc. The following day, the rash became larger and was completely red. I thought that I was in the clear for Lyme disease since it no longer had any bulls eye look to it. By Monday, it was even larger and was extremely painful. From what I read online, erythema migran's are usually painless, so I was hopeful that my rash was something else. Luckily I called my mother on Monday, and she pushed me to see a doctor. I am almost 14 weeks pregnant, and she said it's best to be safe, who cares if it's nothing. Well, it wasn't nothing. The doctor was pretty confident the rash was a erythema migran, and that she had seen patient's recently who had similar rashes that were painful which were Lyme disease. She immediately prescribed me 3 weeks of Amoxicillin (since it's one of the only safe antibiotics for Lyme disease during pregnancy), and said they do not do blood work!? I know the blood work may have been inconclusive at this stage anyway (hoping I'm only in the 1st stage?) Last night, I developed additional symptoms. I ran a fever up to 100.5, I ached, and felt flu like symptoms. For a while now, I've had intense headaches behind my right eye, but I brushed it off as pregnancy hormones. I'm so grateful that my mother pushed me to see a doctor. I could have inadvertently risked my baby's life without treatment, or so I've read. Maybe someone can help me with some questions I have....
Why is my EM so painful? If this is common, why do articles stress that EM's usually do not itch or hurt? This could make people not seek treatment if their EM doesn't meet noted criteria. My doctor said because mine is painful, she believed it to be Lyme disease, that EM's do not usually itch, but are often painful.
Does anyone have experience with discovering they have Lyme disease while pregnant? Since I started an antibiotic 3 days after noticing my EM, should my baby be safe?
Should 3 weeks of amoxicillin be enough to treat stage 1 Lyme disease? Should I request blood work often after initial treatment? I would like to breast feed, and I have read mixed opinions on breast feeding... would it only be dangerous if the Lyme was active while feeding?
I appreciate any helpful feedback. I am a bit overwhelmed with this now, but am grateful I was able to find out so soon, to attempt to protect my unborn baby. I really hope she will be ok through all of this.