Lyme Symptoms Onset

Male, 55, two previous Lyme infections (1999, 2007).

You'd think that after two prior infections that I'd learn to avoid contact with ticks, however I think I may be displaying AGAIN.

about 2 1/2 weeks ago woke up to find a tick firmly attached to a certain body part (yes, it's incredibly embarassing!).  Removed it according to recommeded protocols (tweezers, etc.) and have watched diligently for a rash - but nothing has shown up.

HOWEVER....over the past few days I have started feeling flu-like symptoms, but only as the day goes on.  In other words, it's usually around 2 or 3 pm that I start feeling the chills, aches, fatigue that are typically syptomatic of flu...or Lyme.  The symptoms last well into the evening, meaning they're still present in the evening when I crawl off to bed.  This has been going on for the last three days.

You'd think that, having dealt with Lyme on two previous occasions, I'd be well versed in diagnosing the symptoms, but this time I'm not so sure.

Here's my question:  have any of you presented (initial) Lyme symptoms that flare at regular times in the day/week?  Is such a thing possible?  Is it possible to wake up feeling OK, but then start feeling terrible later in the day - to the point where you simply retreat to bed, devour Motrin and pray for sleep?

I know a blood test would help, but I suspect my two previous Lyme infections are going to skew a Western Blot towards the positive end of things anyway, so I'm hoping to hear from anyone else with a bit of insight in this area......

Thanks!

Post Edited (dandean) : 5/21/2010 11:39:48 AM (GMT-6)

Blood tests for Lyme are not accurate within 6 weeks of a bite because the body has not developed antibodies in sufficienty quantity yet to be detected on the test. This is one reason clinical diagnosis is all that is necessary for treatment to be started. If I were you, I'd get to an LLMD as soon as you can and get on treatment - better to treat and not need it, than to let the infection get more entrenched and become more difficult to get rid of. If possible, maybe even your regular doctor would give you a few weeks of Doxycycline to get you through until you can get in with an LLMD...worth a try, anyway, if there is too long a wait to see a nearby LLMD.

Also, yes - the cyclic nature of symptoms is common in Lyme and other coinfections.

Another thing to try is Homeopathic Ledum - this remedy can potentially stop a Lyme infection when taken quickly after exposure. The dose is 2 pellets melted under the tongue 3x/day until symptoms improve. I get homeopathy at a local health food store, or it can be ordered online (I use abchomeopathy.com - I have no financial connection with this company). Ledum (homeopathically) will also antidote any toxins from the tick that it may have imparted to your body during the bite, and it will help heal the bite site.

Good luck,

dandean,

Each person is so different, and present so uniquely with Lyme...I would say that it's better to be safe than sorry. I suggest you go on the offense.

This is my third bout with Lyme Disease. First time a tick bite 2003 (didn't get treated until 2005), second time a relapse in 2008, third time another relapse April 2010.

Wish I'd "listened" to my body more I'd have started treatment sooner. Hindsight is always 20/20. On April 15 I had a slight headache, aches. Really didn't think much about it. A few days later I developed a stiff neck. Because of the way I was turning my head my husband asked if something was wrong. I told him my neck was a little sore and that I must have slept wrong. My lower back had been hurting, off and on, and I attributed that to working longer hours at a job where I mostly sit. The symptoms weren't constant they came and went (except for the neck pain). Then on March 2 I noticed the bulls-eye rash...blah, blah, blah.

I chose Dr. J's (KS) protocol this time and have been on it for three weeks.

Dandean,

If you are feeling ill after a tick bite, you really should see a Dr asap, preferably, of course, an LLMD. And not just because of lyme! Erlicheawhatever and Rocky Mt Spotted Fever can make you sicker than lyme and can be a lot more dangerous, too. There's any number of infections that tick could have been carrying!

Before starting my treatment for Lyme, I got a new tick bite and the LLMD put me on Doxy right away, as that is effective against RMSF. My ex-husband's younger brother died of RMSF last year, and I believe it was in less than 2 weeks that it killed him -- all because the Drs didn't think his illness had anything to do w/ the tickbite that he repeatedly told them he had just had.

He KNEW what he had, but they would not listen.