Ticks

My daugther has Lyme disease. We had no warning signs and no evident tick bites. She started feeling tired, headaches and pains in her joints. After a while, we took her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with Lyme. She is on medication but no guarantees that it will cure her.

We found a tick on another other our daugthers and the doctor told us to bring the tick in and they will test it.

 

Deer ticks are so small they are difficult to see. I pulled one off of my son's neck...can't believe I actually saw it. I know he was OK because we had just come back from fishing and it was barely attached yet.

 

I want to share my experience on testing the tick in case it will save someone else the hassle & money. My doctor sent my tick to Quest to test for Lyme. Quest charges $312 for the test and my insurance (Aetna) doesn't cover it. The test came back negative for Lyme, but I still had classic symptoms several weeks later. When I asked an Infectious Disease doctor about the accuracy of lab tests on ticks, the expression on her face looked like she thought that was silly, and said she doesn't send off ticks to be tested.
If a tick is as tiny as a poppy seed or tip of a pencil, it could be mistaken as a freckle until you see it move, then it's a deer tick in its nymph stage.
I've also come across inconsistencies in doctors' beliefs about when to test blood for the antibodies. The Infectious Disease doc says 4 -6 weeks after the symptoms appear, whereas the family doctor said it's sooner.

There's a lot of controversy over the topic of Lyme & possible other tick-borne diseases (diagnosis & treatment) and confusion. I'm doing a lot of research on my own right now trying to figure it all out & what to do next. If anyone else is going through this, you are welcome to PM me.

 

This is a survey on the number of Lyme disease cases reported in Loudoun County between 2003 and 2006. I'm very curious to see if the numbers have spiked in recent years. It seems so prevalent here, should we as a community make an effort to increase awareness of this disease?

http://www.loudoun.gov/controls/spe...ta=cf2dbbdba83e4acf98f8e3ea9cecace4&tabid=340

 

Lab tests are not foolproof. I had bloodwork returned to me with my name but the results were for a 6 month old baby. One of the results showed the baby was dehydrated. I presume the baby was nursing, and, there were some other odd values listed. Quest tried to tell me these tests results were mine.

I reported it to my doctor and told them they had to report this error and Quest should recall all the CBC's performed on that day and order new ones. The nurse said it probably was a typo as did the Quest technician. They never followed up. The integrity of every test that day was compromised! Needless to say, I have zero faith in the competency of labs.

If your symptoms do not abate and all other medical conditions are ruled out, then I think your doctor should treat you for lyme disease particularly if you experienced a tick bite. They should rule on the side of caution.

 

I feel for you and hope your daughter gets better.
My wife about 5 years ago got lyme from a tick bite when we lived in Centreville. She had negative blood tests results for lyme at first, but continued to suffer from headaches, joint pain, even short-term memory loss. A positive blood test later on finally came back positive, but she was already into stage 2 of the disease. She spent 3 months on a constant IV. They left the line in her arm, and we would get the drip bags mailed to us, a week's supply at a time. She would have to give it to herself once a day. She eventually got better, but according to her doctors, once it gets into stage 2 or later, it really doesn't go away, it just goes into remission and could come back. Thankfully 5+ years after that experience, she hasn't had any symptoms (knock on wood). But the 6-8 months she went through with the symptoms, false negative tests, and even the treatment through the IV, I wouldn't wish on anyone.

 

OK we're in the Lyme disease club now. I've been advised to find a doctor who has specialized knowledge of pediatric Lyme disease and am finding little through internet searching. My son was likely in stage 2 - headaches, joint pain and fever (never saw bullseye rash or tick) - and was diagnosed based on two different blood tests both positive, Western blot and ERISA I think but don't quote me. He's on antibiotics and feeling much better now but we need to be sure it gets completely eradicated. Any local doctor referrals?

 

aww I am SO sorry Audrey! did you find the tick or just see the symtpoms? i;m glad he's feeling better and hope he recovers fully soon. {{{HUGS}}}

i have been concerned about myself because i have a few symptoms, but haven't found a tick. i know the symptoms can also be a million other things but still, in this area... you gotta keep lyme in the top offenders.

 

You may never see the tick (we have never ever seen a tick on this kid), and you may never see the bullseye rash (it doesn't even appear in about 30% of cases). Our son had been complaining for a while "my hip hurts" "now my ankle hurts" "today my elbow hurts" and was also complaining of neck pain and headaches. This was all off and on and easily explained as overdoing sports, sleeping the wrong way, growing pains, or just being complainy. We would not have taken him in if he didn't then develop a high fever, and even then we thought the blood test was ruling out a long shot on Lyme.

One problem is that Lyme disease can be latent for any amount of time (based on what I read on the internet, again don't quote me) and so you can have negative blood tests but actually have the disease later on. I was told false positives are also possible. And you do not want to take antibiotics just as a precaution because this leads to antibiotic resistance, a major potential public health problem. If you have symptoms you should seek expert advice from a medical professional because untreated Lyme disease can cause lifelong debilitation. I hope to find someone local who has treated a lot of people with Lyme disease to get another opinion on treatment.

 

I have Lyme Disease. I was bit in 2004.

Your typical mainstream doctor does not understand the diagnosis, the treatment and the varying symptoms of this disease.

It is a highly controversial, political disease.

Had our local family practice been more educated back when I went in a few years ago I wouldn't have gotten as sick or in as much pain as I have been over the last few years. Lyme is very easy to cure if caught early, but terribly difficult and expensive if left to linger. (Most treatments are NOT covered by health insurance... hence part of the controversy.)

You need to get your child to a doctor who is considered "Lyme Literate". They are regular MD's who understand the complexities of lyme and all the coinfections that go along with it. (Ticks carry many other bacteria that are just as debilitating as the lyme bacteria).
These lyme literate doctors recognize the flaws in the Infectious Disease Society Assoc and the CDC's policies and their ignorance to the health crisis at hand. Unfortunately, your typical manistream doctor is following outdated guidelines and horrible, unreliable tests. Your mainstream MD will warn you of the doctors out there who are risking their medical licenses in the way they are treating lyme disease. If someone is "lucky enough" to get a diagnosis from a mainstream doctor, they are likely to be undertreated only to find themselves relapsing and in worse condition as time goes on.

A great forum to join is Lymenet.org Read. Ask questions. Ask for referrals for docs in our area. Or visit the National Capital Lyme Disease website. I can't remember the exact name right now.

Also, the library is showing a heart wrenching, informative documentary called Under Our Skin later this month. Under Our Skin is being released nationwide with many screenings across the country. It gets right at the heart of the controversy and how this disease is being overlooked. It will put the entire disease in perspective for you.

I am here to help if needed.

 

My daughter and I were hiking around Beaverdam reservoir last weekend, and when we got back I pulled off - literally - at least 2 dozen ticks. Many of them were extremely tiny and, as best as I can tell, were deer ticks.

This has caused me to change my tune a bit. I had Lyme disease a few years ago, but never saw that tick that gave it to me. I've spoken to a few other people with Lyme, and none of us ever saw the tick. That, plus the fact that deer ticks are so small, had led me to believe that you can only watch for symptoms, and not bother worrying about the ticks themselves. But now I think maybe you can find the deer ticks. Regarding my daughter, our pediatrician also told us that the downside of preemptive antibiotics outweighs the benefits.

 

dang... i should start using my dog's Frontline! ticks practically JUMP off of him. thank you- and Go Bananas- for the information. i don't spend a l ot of time outside but it doesn't take much to get one of these on you around here.

be safe and healthy neighbors!

 

The bug spray that Doggone Natural sells seems to work pretty well. I haven't had to pull many ticks off my dog at all this season and he runs in the high grass of a neighbor's pasture quite a bit, too. It's DEET-free and smells a little bit like Pledge.

They also carry a plastic band that's been - imbued? - with the stuff. It's the closest thing to a flea and tick collar for humans. You wear it and then roll it back up and store it in it's plastic container.