Could this be Lyme?

My husband was golfing in Maine this past Sunday and on Tuesday afternoon, he started to feel like he was getting a cold, with his symptoms being:

sore throat
chest tightness
cough
fatigue

He didn't think much of it since he hadn't slept well the last few nights and several people in his office have colds.

However, on Tuesday evening, he noticed what looked like a bite on his calf. Basically a red area about the size of a dime with a dark red dot in the middle. He ran into a spider's web with a garden spider in it on Monday morning and thought it might be a spider bite, but knowing how prevalent Lyme is, he thought he would have it checked out. The dermatologist did not think it was a spider bite and thought it might be a tick bite. He was given 21 days of Doxy.

Although we tend to be conservative with antibiotic usage, I feel like when it comes to the possibility of Lyme, the benefits far outweigh the risks. If he takes the meds, do you think we're jumping the gun or being proactive?

Thank you!

I think it's a lyme rash. A circular rash with a red dot....

Tick bite, with no signs or symptoms - treatment is 28 days.

With a rash - minimum six weeks. (or treat until symptom free for 28 days).

Revive is correct - dosage is 200 mg twice daily.

So, the minimum treatment for your husband is six weeks. If his cold/flu like symptoms aren't gone for 4 of those six weeks, then treat longer.
If the Dr. won't give him that dosage for that long - maybe he could go to another Dr. and get the same amount from that Dr.? Or is all the information linked?

If you can't get that treatment, please get him to a LLMD a.s.a.p. In the early stages of lyme, treatment is more effective, than if he lets it go. You want to get it treated before it spreads throughout the body...into the joints, CNS, etc.

We can help you find a LLMD - you could make an appointment, and when the time comes, if your husband doesn't need it...he could always cancel. They do have waitlists...so just keep that in mind.

Good luck!

Thank you everyone for your quick response.

He had to take Doxy 100mg 2x per day during our IVF process and hadnsevere joint pain. Once he stopped the meds, he was fine. Other than that, he has had no prior health issues, thankfully.

I know other antibiotics like Amoxicillin and Ceftin are also options, although Doxy seems to be the preferred med. Would you consider these other antibiotics as viable options? Are they known to have a higher failure rate?

Thanks again!

Consider this...

Texas

Sen. Harris says he was severely affected by the disease, but “got a lucky break.” His doctor, constrained by a disciplinary board that limited antibiotic use for tick-borne illness to 1 month or less, arranged for 17 physicians to take turns writing prescriptions for Sen. Harris’s treatment. Read more…

Yep... apparently that's what it takes to fix a political nightmare... a politician or two has to get Lyme Disease... its just so wrong.

Hi Roscoe,
Welcome to our community.

Most definitely, a few months of using abx even at high dosages will far outweigh a lifetime of misery. My diagnosis was missed for 37 years.

Although I do need to ask who thought 200 mgs a day was enough to kill the bacteria? That's only enough to keep the Lyme bacteria from reproducing, according to the science, not kill them. And 21 days isn't really long enough since he had the rash - at least not according to ILADS treatment guidelines. The rash is a symptom of the infection, so he needs to be on at least 400 mgs a day (many patients need 600 mgs though) for a minimum of 2 months. Lyme is a very slow growing bacteria, so the patient must be treated longer.

The joint pain during the use of abx is unusual, unless the patient has Lyme, then it's due to a herx. Something to seriously think about.