The craziest realization ! - need opinions !

Hello my fellow Lyme warriors!

I have not posted on this forum in awhile but this thought has been keeping me up at night and I need to bring it to this site for your opinions!

This past August 2017 was when it all hit me and through a grueling summer of being so sick and visiting so many doctors I was clinically diagnosed with Lyme

PLOT TWIST --- I am currently 26 years old and about 10 years ago as an 18 year old high school senior I noticed a decent size hollow , red , slightly puffy ring print on my ankle. It lasted weeks and I finally went to a dermatologist who was stumped and ended up injecting cortisone shots into the ring on my ankle...fast forward and I honestly remained primarily healthy up until this last summer

My question is --- could that have been the start of my Lyme? Can it stay dormant for 10 years then come to surface potentially triggered by something this past summer?

It's so eery to me that this may of been overlooked for years and remained in my body at bay for so long - I can be wrong - but after months of Lyme research the bullseye is the easiest of indicators

If I am completely off and my realization sounds inaccurate then I can take the criticism !

Thank you !

Yes, it could be when it all started.


I have no idea when I was bit. or maybe it was transferred from my husband.

I do know when I got sick...like a ton of bricks...I was having a very stressful time in my life (for the past 3 years).

I was bit at 5 years old. Was a very active and healthy kid after being bit. My Lyme + co's was dormant until 22, caused my Hypothyroid diagnosis at 23, and then eluded lab tests until 2016.

From 22 - 23, I had a very emotionally rough year, which affected my immune system and thus allowed the Lyme to creep out and gain new real estate in my body.

100% Yes it can be dormant, even for decades.

I have been bitten by ticks here and there since a teenager, but many many times since 2005. In 2013/14 I started having some weird symptoms. After a few doctor visits that revealed nothing and a few weeks time it all stopped. Back to normal for 3 years or so then wham, it started again in 2017 and with many more strange symptoms this time around.

Who knows how long I had been infected. My doc thinks my immune system was strong enough to suppress it back then, but it eventually gained the upper hand. So yes it can lay dormant or take a long time to surface. I'm convinced the repeated exposure help re-trigger it in my case.