Nature, Science, The Baboon Congress, Uncategorized

Lyme’s

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Today’s post is from Barbara in Rivertown

I found out early this morning that I have Lyme’s Disease. It is a relief that there is a reason for the red blotches, headaches, fevers, and lethargy I have been experiencing for the past few weeks. I will start a series of antibiotics this evening with dinner.

You’ve probably heard plenty about Lyme borreliosis and the ticks that carry it, often the tiny deer ticks. But just in case you don’t know much detail of what to look for, here are 11 of the common symptoms, according to a site called Daily Health Lifestyles:

  1. Rash
  2. Fever
  3. Headache
  4. Pain in extremities
  5. Lethargy
  6. Pink eye
  7. Memory issues
  8. Arthritis
  9. Droopy face
  10. Insomnia
  11. Heart problems

Wikipedia has this to add:

“Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks of the Ixodes genus.[6] Usually, the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours before the bacteria can spread.[7] … The disease does not appear to be transmissible between people, by other animals, or through food.[7] Diagnosis is based upon a combination of symptoms, history of tick exposure, and possibly testing for specific antibodies in the blood.[3][9] Blood tests are often negative in the early stages of the disease.[2] Testing of individual ticks is not typically useful.[10] ”

I am glad there is an antibiotic to help me deal with this disease.

Do you have a tick/insect story to tell?

52 thoughts on “Lyme’s”

    1. Steve, I was just about to say “my, you are up early” but then I realized you’re not in Happy Valley anymore.

      Tick stories? No. And I’m thinking this is a good thing.

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  2. Rise and Shine Baboons!

    I am with Sherilee. I have a friend that considers herself “The Tick Whisperer” though. As a kid she could find and remove ticks from the dogs like a pro.

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    1. I never worried much about ticks. Then they radically downsized the ticks, making them harder to find, and upsized the nasty consequences of letting them dig in. I now am grateful that my time as an outdoorsman fell in that earlier, less spooky era.

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  3. I had Lynne disease…
    No sign of a tick. First the rash contained on my shoulder, an ER trip and they thought it to be hives. The next day I was at my doctor with rash covering my entire body. I was given antibiotics but it had set in enough that the following day I had no strength in muscles. A fall onto the floor required all my limited strength to butt-walk to the couch and about a 30min or more pull to get upper torso onto couch seat then roll to be able to eventually sit. Needless to say it was very frustrating. Couldn’t stand anything close to skin that wasn’t extremely soft. Husband found old sheets and clothing was worn inside out. No appitite….that is about all I remember ‘tho my symptoms continued well over a week. I had sight problems so needed eyes checked…they calmed after a few weeks.

    To this day I can’t stand anything next to my skin that isn’t very soft. No more wearing my socks…knit with soft yarn but not soft enough…had to invest in Ugg slippers and boots then add a support…they have none. And I don’t eat red meat….not that I ever ate much but it now makes me ill and recent studies have show that certain tick bite and cause an allergic reaction.

    I don’t wish for anyone to experience Lyme
    Disease!

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    3. I’ve read about the red meat allergy, slilyss. That doesn’t sound fun, but the original symptoms and the aftereffects of having to have only very soft things next to your skin must be even worse. Sorry you have to deal with continuing aftereffects. 😦

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      1. Thanks….but it just means no wool unless a great liner first and seams have to be the kind not normally found in things like T shirts….but the inside out look is my new fashion statement when at home. It’s not as bad as it sounds….’tho most clothing comes with a high price tag thus my watching sales….I’m not a shopper so my things come on line.

        I never ate much meat but did like tacos and an occasional summer grilled hamburger. Chicken just isn’t the same.

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  4. I am going to file a formal protest with the Minnesota Ag commissioner! Minnesota is trying to ruin ND agriculture by sneaking Japanese Beetles into the state! It was in today’s paper. There should be a travel ban on anyone from Minnesota coming to ND!

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    1. Minnesotans having been colluding againstND and Iowa forever. I am so glad someone else other than me is aware of the conspiracy. The ticks are in on it, too.

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  5. I also had Lyme disease a few summers ago…flu like symptoms, high fever…no rash at first, no sign of a tick or tick bite. When I finally left my bed to go back to work after a week, I was recovered slightly, then noticed a rash on my torso..then another week before I got to the doctor. Blood test confirmed Lyme. Antibiotics for 10 days. Next blood test showed the disease gone and antibodies present. I haven’t had symptoms (that I can connect to Lyme necessarily) since. Whew. Been more attentive to ticks and walking in the woods since….though have had several wood ticks this summer.

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  7. Oh, BiR, so sorry to hear that you have Lyme’s. Here’s hoping that you don’t have any long-lasting aftereffects.

    For a funnier tick story than the one I told here last year (see here: https://trailbaboon.com/2016/08/13/tick-tick-tick/) back in the day when we didn’t worry about the plethora of tick borne diseases we have now, when we were kids, my oldest sister would pull big fat ticks, the ones that are swollen big with blood, off our dog. She then would place them on the sidewalk and run over them with her bike. She enjoyed the splatter of blood.

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      1. Thanks. When you read things like “can be fatal if not treated,” it makes me realize how lucky I was to survive. It attacks the white blood cells and I (and my blood) was in such bad shape that the doctors suspected leukemia.

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  8. So sorry to hear one of those nasty beasts got you, Barb, but glad you found out quickly and are getting immediate treatment.

    I loathe ticks and the Island tends to be loaded with them. I hear this year is pretty bad. I think I hear that most years. I seriously doubt we are getting up there this summer though, so I guess it doesn’t matter to us.

    My question about ticks is WHY? I can find a reason for most of God’s creatures, but ticks? No. I don’t think they are a food source for anything else and I am not sure being a vector for nasty diseases is a “purpose” I can get on board with.

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        1. Except ticks are arachnids, not insects, although I’m sure that’s a distinction most baboons don’t give a hoot about.

          Liked by 3 people

      2. So why, why do we have ticks? Does anything eat them? AFAIK they aren’t part of the degradation of waste, they aren’t clean-up crew, why?

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      1. Yep, and so do Guinea fowl, and chickens. If memory serves, Ben has Guniea fowl. Are ticks a problem on your spread, or do all your birds keep them at bay?

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        1. We are firm believers that guineas eat tics. Don’t know if it’s true but it is something I can believe in.

          And we do not have very many tics. We have three dogs and have only found two tics on them this year. However they also get a flea and tick repellent application monthly.

          But as much as I’m out in the grass and weeds and Fields and haven’t gotten any texts I think they must help.
          On the other hand, the guineas are not out in the places that I’m walking.

          So who knows.

          Liked by 1 person

  11. I am fascinated by patterns in nature. This year is supposed to show a spike in tick numbers because two years ago the oak trees dropped a heavy number of acorns. Acorns turn into more oak trees, but they also fuel spikes in the mouse numbers. More mice=more ticks.

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  12. I had a bulls-eye rash once, but couldn’t connect it with a tick bite. The rash came on late in the year, I think in November, so I wasn’t particularly inclined to suspect Lyme disease. Later I read that ticks can be carried indoors by mice, so there isn’t really a season you’re safe from them. I didn’t get tested at the time, but I’ve been tested a couple of times since and the tests always come back negative.

    The other prominent symptom I had was awful pain in my legs, which thankfully didn’t last long, but I remember one night when I could not lie still or sleep at all. I kept getting up and walking because my legs ached so horribly and I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Never got an explanation for it.

    I would like to point out, because I’m a terrible stickler for such things, that the apostrophe-S on the title of the post today is extraneous. It’s Lyme disease, not Lyme’s. But it’s kind of like battling the apostrophe in the possessive “its” – you can’t win. Everyone calls it Lyme’s.

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    1. Agreed, and I figured that out too late to change it. The name comes from the “unusually large numbers of children were being diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in Lyme, Connecticut, and two neighboring towns.”

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  13. A friend of mine is in dire physical straits from neurological and other damage, supposedly from Lyme disease. Unfortunately he is also HIV positive, a fact that is never acknowledged, and a diagnosis that was not considered when he first started exhibiting symptoms. He is a former priest, and when the first signs of trouble appeared many years ago, his presumed celibacy contributed to a delay in proper diagnosis. I suspect that his current health problems are as much a result of the HIV as the Lyme disease, but because he is not publicly acknowledging the HIV, the Lyme disease gets all the credit (blame). Either way, his physical deterioration has been a progressive and no amount of therapy or medication has been able to stop it.

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    1. That is a great example of how professionals can have blinders on, and be unable to view the entire clinical picture due to pre-conceptions. It has happened to me, too, as the professional. When it does happen, I feel so disappointed in myself.

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    2. I’m sure, Jacque, it happens with all kinds of diagnosis. As long as mental illness, addiction, and other diseases carry such a heavy stigma, not mention downright discrimination from an insurance standpoint, this will continue to be the case. It’s tragic, and the price is far higher than we realize.

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