Does is sound like Lyme?

I began having a fever a few weeks ago with no other symptoms. It was usually 101 or 102 F and was all day and night every day. After 8 days, I went to see a doctor who said it was a possible viral infection with a possible bacterial infection and was prescribed Erythromicine. After 48 hours I had no relief and remembered that a couple weeks prior to that I had gotten out of the shower and was drying my hair and felt something on my head. When I went to pull it off, it was a small black tick. It was in tact and still moving. I burnt it and threw it in the trash. I live in eastern PA where Lyme is quite common among ticks in the woods and I often go fishing with my family. So I went back to the doctor and told him that I thought it cold be Lyme Disease. He did blood work, a urine test, and a Lyme test. He gave me 2 days worth of Doxycycline and a couple prescriptions in which he would advise me later which to get. I contacted him 2 days later and let him know the Doxy was not doing anything either (it actually made my fever higher). He told me to get Ceftin and see how that works. Finally after 5 days of Ceftin, I was able to break the 15 day fever. I started to get headaches almost immediately after starting the Ceftin, but after a few days they went away and I was starting to feel normal. I was supposed to get a refill after the first week of the Ceftin, but did not make it to the Pharmacy in time and missed a full 24 hours of taking the medicine. I was able to get it the next day (yesterday) and started taking it right away. Last night I had a bad headache but it went away after a few hours. I was woken out of my sleep at 4 am with another bad headache and Tylenol would not make it go away. As time went on the headache got better. Now I get a headache almost every time I stand up, but it only lasts for a few seconds. It is extremely painful but over quickly. I do not have high blood pressure and have never been prone to headaches. Does this sound like Lyme symptoms or maybe just a reaction to the Ceftin? All of the tests that the doctor ran came back normal (the Lyme test was negative). I am going back for another Lyme test in a few weeks if I continue to have problems.

Do the Igenex tests for all co's first.. JUST TO BE SAFE!!!

order your doc to put you on a months worth of doxy until those results come back..

LymeKiller,

I have a negative Western Blot. I was diagnosed clinically based on specfic bands and my symptoms.

IGM WB:

41 kda +
58 kda +

IGG WB:

23-25 kda IND
30 kda +
34 kda IND
39 kda IND
41 kda ++
58 kda +

My doctor said that IND's mean that something is showing up but that the band was not dark enough for the lab to say that it was positive for sure.

Hi MAJ04, welcome to the board!

How did you remove the tick?  For future reference, save it.  It can be tested for disease.   PA is endemic for Lyme.  You may want to take precautions to prevent getting bitten.

Below is a Lyme symptom list.  You can have any combination of symptoms.  

Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, or flushing
Unexplained weight change--loss or gain
Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina
Unexplained hair loss
Swollen glands
Sore throat
Testicular pain/pelvic pain
Unexplained menstrual irregularity
Unexplained milk production: breast pain
Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction
Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido
Upset stomach
Change in bowel function-constipation, diarrhea
Chest pain or rib soreness
Shortness of breath, cough
Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block
Any history of a heart murmur or valve prolapse?
Joint pain or swelling
Stiffness of the joints, neck, or back
Muscle pain or cramps
Twitching of the face or other muscles
Headache
Neck creeks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain
Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains
Facial paralysis (Bell's Palsy)
Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity
Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity
lncreased motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance
Lightheadedness, wooziness
Tremor
Confusion, difficulty in thinking
Difficulty with concentration, reading
Forgetfulness, poor short term memory
Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places
Difficulty with speech or writing

Mood swings, irritability, depression
Disturbed sleep-too much, too little, early awakening
Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol 

It is very important to see a knowledgeable doctor.  Many doctors do not understand Lyme and treat with outdated protocols.  No test is completely reliable, and results can vary by lab.  From what I understand, the ELISA or titer is the least reliable test and the one most doctors run first.  Is this the test you had done?  Most people test negative early in the infection. 

Besides Lyme, ticks can also transmit several co-infections including Babesiosis, two types of Ehrlichiosis (HME & HGE), Bartonella, and Mycoplasma.  Many people who have Lyme are co-infected.  It may affect treatment choice and progress.  It is important to be tested for these by a Lyme reputable lab such as IgeneX in Palo Alto, CA.  

Why did you think the Doxy was not working?  Doxy is often the first antibiotic prescribed because it can be effective for Lyme and some of the co-infections.  Are you aware of the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction (herx)?  Often, when people who have Lyme take antibiotics their symptoms get worse or they get new ones.  When the antibiotics kill the bacteria, toxins are released making them feel worse.  It can be scary, but it is a good sign the antibiotics are working.  During treatment it is a good idea to document your symptoms daily.  One way to do this is to list the main symptoms you have each day with a numerical rating of their severity from 1-10.  Over time when you review this, you can see when your herxes occur and how you are responding to the meds.

Two weeks of treatment is not enough.  From what I understand, an infection caught within two weeks of the bite needs to be treated with the proper dose antibiotic for a minimum of six weeks.  The antibiotics kill the bacteria when they are reproducing which is estimated at four weeks. Six weeks of treatment will cover one growth cycle.  If symptoms are still present, further treatment is warranted.  A longer infection needs longer treatment.  It sounds like your infection is early, which is good.  Early infections are the easiest to cure.  Getting the proper treatment now may reduce the chance of long-term complications.  I cannot stress this enough.

If you need a doctor recommendation, you can email me at [email protected]

It is also important to learn as much as possible.  I recommend reading Dr. Joseph Burrascano's 2008 Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines For Lyme and Other Tick Borne Illnesses at http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf  He is one of the top Lyme doctors in the country, and many Lyme doctors follow his protocols.   He discusses antibiotics and doses starting on page 18.   I also recommend the books "Everything You Need To Know about Lyme Disease Second Edition" by Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner and "The Lyme Disease Solution" by Kenneth B. Singleton M.D.

Thanks for all of the info ticker! I have actually never had a tick on me prior to that one time. I am a stickler for wearing bug spray whenever I am in the woods. I have pulled several off of my dog in the past and I do that by dabbing the tick with alcohol and pulling it off with tweezers as close to the skin as possible. As for the one on me, I didn't even know it was a tick. I had just gotten out of the shower. I was running my fingers through my hair, while the dryer was pointing on it, and I felt a tiny bump. It didn't even feel like it was latched on to me, it pretty much fell into my fingers without much pull. That is why I didn't really think it would have transmitted anything. However, I couldn't figure out how it got there, since it had been several days since we went fishing. I guess it could have been there for a while un-noticed and let go from the heat of the hair dryer?

When I got sick, I was around someone who had the flu and someone else with a virus, so I assumed I had caught something. It was not until the fever had persisted that I realized something was not right and my symptoms did not match those of the people who were sick around me (considering I never even had cold symptoms or nausea). I also did not spread anything to my husband or son and at least one of them always end up sick if I do. My doctor was stumped and was not convinced it was Lyme, but had no clue what it could be. He thought maybe it was something to do with my heart because I think my heart was not beating quite right, but he ruled out whatever he was going on there. This has been so frustrating not having an answer.

I did not think the Doxy was working because I took it for 2 days and had no change in temperature. After the 2nd night, I went to sleep and my usual 101-102 temperature had spiked to 103. I got out of bed and could barely feel the floor beneath my feet, so it was pretty scary. Maybe it was herx, but I had never heard of that before today and my doctor did not mention it. I would prefer to stick with my doctor for now, since I have had bad luck finding doctors in the past and this one, although not very knowledgeable about Lyme, seems to really care about getting me back to normal. I'm sure if I told him the info that I found, he would work towards getting me the right treatment and testing done. If I do get a positive result back, I may go to a doctor that specializes in such a thing, but on the chance that it is not Lyme (or a related infection), I will need to get to the bottom of this, perhaps through some other kind of tests. I really can't see what else it could be though.

Btw - I don't know which test he ran. He said it would most likely come back negative and I should come back in 6 weeks to get tested again, so maybe it was ELISA?

Post Edited (MAJ04) : 7/6/2009 8:47:39 PM (GMT-6)