Possible Lyme

Hello all. I am 50 yrs old and live in NJ.
On June 18th I was up at my son's house in Northern NJ for an outdoor grad party-up in the country-deer all over...and ticks. I do NOT recall getting bit by anything at all that day-BUT I know that most people never do, as was the case with my daughter (who was 12 at the time) just over 10 years ago when we lived up there too and one day I just saw a big bulls-eye rash on her arm (within a few days she wound up with a total of 27 bulls-eyes all over her body!) and that very day, before results were even in, her doc said it was Lyme, put her on Doxy that day, and has had no issues since, except she now gets migraines. So I do know some about Lyme, but it has been awhile since I read and researched back then.

Anyway...I started treatment for Lyme today-Doxycycline, because of severe hives/rash, including bulls-eye-looking ones, crazy itching including the palms of my hands itching so bad I scratch them till they hurt even more, also fatigue, chest heaviness/pain-like severe gas pains but crushing too, chills, throat hoarseness/swelling, (lips swelled up like 2 balloons on the 28th too!!!) that all began on June 23rd...5 days after being up in the country.

I have been visiting family in Virginia for the past 11 days and had to wait to get back to NJ to get the Doxy Rx filled and start it. I came home last evening.
The hives got bad again so I went to the ER in Va. on July 1st and the ER doc said it could be Lyme-she saw the bulls-eye type rash-but many of my hives look the same-though the one she saw on my left breast lasted longer than any other-a few days and was still faintly there...so they did the test-but as you know, it takes a few weeks for results and she gave me meds there-prednisone and a Zantac-for use like an antihistamine, plus 3 Rxs-1 for the Doxy, one for Prednisone and one for the severe itching from the hives-which are all over!

I have found that if I miss taking the Prednisone...the hives come back in full force, as they did once again this morning! I pray it isn't Lyme but if it is, at least I'd be one of the lucky ones to start early treatment, which should work. But if it isn't...then what the heck would cause these large round hives and all the other symptoms that are lasting THIS long and seems to be only 'masked' by the Prednisone!!??

Anyone else ever have anything like this, with Lyme? Do people get such severe hives like this that won't go away??? Could the one that really looked like a bulls-eye have actually been a big hive too? Wracking my brain trying to figure this out...lol I have taken pics of these terrible, relentless hives-which are mostly on my chest, breasts, thighs, neck, abdomen, arms, buttocks, and even my chin.
Thanks!

Hi Cathy and welcome. There is no other disease that gives a bull's eye rash. That is a clinical diagnosis for lyme disease and any testing is less reliable than that rash.

I am concerned about the Prednisone. That is a steroid and that usually makes lyme symptoms worse.

Steroidal therapy can suppress patients' immune systems, allowing the Borrelia and other co-infections to grow, rather than attacking the infections.

You really need a lyme literate medical doctor. You can start a new thread entitled -- Looking for LLMD in __________ -- and we can help you find one.

Traveler said...
Hi CathyCav!
Welcome to our community! I'm so glad you found us.

Prednisone lowers the immune function, which is exactly opposite of what you need to fight the Lyme infection. Are you slowly weaning off of the prednisone? If not, it will cause rebound issues.

If you have a really good LLMD that can treat you, then they can help you wean off of the prednisone and get back into treatments.

And to be honest, it sounds like an allergic reaction to the Doxy. I would encourage you to stop taking the Doxy if you are still on it, stay on the prednisone until you can find someone that can help you wean off of it and find a LLMD that can get you started into good Lyme treatment.

If you don't have a LLMD already, we can likely help with that as well - just let us know!

And the bulls eye rash is only produced when a person has Lyme (although it only happens in about 40% of the cases), so there's no mistaking those bulls eye rashes. you have Lyme no matter what any testing says, so I'm glad you have been taking pictures!!

Please do let us know how we can be of help!

Hi Traveler, thank you for your reply and info. I only just took the first Doxy about an hour ago. The hives, rash and other issues have been going on since June 23rd. So it is not a reaction to the Doxy.
I am going to call and make an appt. tomorrow to see my doc and see about further testing and stopping the Pred.

Denikeef said...
Cathy, welcome to our forum. I am so sorry that you are dealing with this. You must be miserable.

I would like to suggest you read through the "New to Lyme-start here" which is the first post. It has some great information which will be very helpful to you.

I cannot answer the questions about the hives but it sure sounds as though Lyme is a good possibility. I am a little worried about you taking the prednisone. Not sure that would be good to take with Lyme but understand that keeping the hives at bay would be foremost in your mind!

Others will be along soon to help with all of this and I wish you the best! Please stop back with any questions or even just to vent. We are a wonderful community of knowledgable and caring people.

Thank you, Denikeef. Going to head on into that post now and get some info. :)

No, I don't have psoriasis at all. The hives/rash come and go depending if I have taken the prednisone or not. I am out of that now and sure enough, the hives are coming back as I sit here now.