What is the Best Treatment for Lyme's Disease?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around Lyme disease, including its symptoms, potential treatments, and the origins of the disease. Participants share personal experiences, concerns about tick exposure, and various treatment approaches, including conventional and alternative methods.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration about their recent Lyme disease diagnosis and discusses symptoms such as joint pain and fatigue.
  • Another participant mentions the significance of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases in their area, highlighting the role of deer and mice in the tick lifecycle.
  • Some participants propose various treatment options, including Tetracycline, Amoxicillin, and Doxycycline, while others mention homeopathic remedies.
  • There is a discussion about the transmission of Lyme disease, with some participants correcting misconceptions about the role of deer and deer ticks as vectors.
  • One participant shares their experience with a tick bite and the early stage of their Lyme disease, noting that they are still able to perform physical activities.
  • Another participant humorously suggests a homeopathic approach, indicating skepticism about its efficacy.
  • Participants share links to external resources about Lyme disease and tick management.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best treatment for Lyme disease, with multiple competing views on both the disease's transmission and treatment options. There is also disagreement on the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies versus conventional treatments.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect personal experiences and anecdotal evidence rather than established medical consensus. The discussion includes varying levels of understanding about Lyme disease and its treatment, which may depend on individual circumstances and local prevalence.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in Lyme disease, tick management, and treatment options, as well as those seeking personal accounts of living with tick-borne illnesses.

Chi Meson
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Freakin' ticks!

I just got diagnosed this morning with Lyme's disease. Not too surprising since I live just three towns over from Lyme, but dang! Talk about throwing a monkey wrench into my plans! I'm doing a half marathon in three weeks and all my joints are grinding, I've got "sand" in my eyes and I'm fatigued all the time.

Where did this disease come from anyway? It simply didn't exist when I was a kid. [CONSPIRACY]Was it really created by the government on Plum Island?[/CONSPIRACY]
 
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Sorry about that, Chi. I've never heard about this disease apart from hearing it on a radio advert.
 
We want pics of the juicy bits!

Whats it look like?
 
Chi Meson said:
Freakin' ticks!

I just got diagnosed this morning with Lyme's disease. Not too surprising since I live just three towns over from Lyme, but dang! Talk about throwing a monkey wrench into my plans! I'm doing a half marathon in three weeks and all my joints are grinding, I've got "sand" in my eyes and I'm fatigued all the time.

Where did this disease come from anyway? It simply didn't exist when I was a kid. [CONSPIRACY]Was it really created by the government on Plum Island?[/CONSPIRACY]
Are you ok? What stage are you in?
 
Chi Meson said:
I just got diagnosed this morning with Lyme's disease. Not too surprising since I live just three towns over from Lyme, but dang! Talk about throwing a monkey wrench into my plans! I'm doing a half marathon in three weeks and all my joints are grinding, I've got "sand" in my eyes and I'm fatigued all the time.

Where did this disease come from anyway? It simply didn't exist when I was a kid. [CONSPIRACY]Was it really created by the government on Plum Island?[/CONSPIRACY]
Sorry to hear that. Lyme disease, Babesiosis and erlichisosis are significant problems in our area. Deer are a final stop after mice, which are probably the principal vector for the ticks.

Lyme Disease and other Tick-borne Diseases
http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/environ/lyme/home.htm

http://www.dhss.mo.gov/TicksCarryDisease/

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_diseases/en/erlich.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/ehrlichia/Index.htm
http://www.ento.vt.edu/HotStuff/Tick.html

It sounds pretty advanced if the joints are aching and and you are fatigued all the time.

I have to be careful around our property. At certain times, I can walk around the periphery and find several ticks waiting to catch onto an animal. Our dog periodically picks up a tick or two, so she must wear a flea collar. And I always check clothes and skin before I step into the house. I however missed a tick a few weeks ago, and found it embedded one evening, and promptly removed it. There was a slight reaction, local swelling and itching, but I have not have any subsequent illness, so I assume I do not have one of the tick-borne diseases.
 
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lunarmansion said:
It comes from deer. You have to be careful if you live around the woods. One of my friends caught it and did not know he had it for years and it had a terrible effect. You are lucky you got diagnosed right away.
Actually, that's not true. It comes from deer ticks, which pick it up from deer mice. Deer do also carry deer ticks, but they aren't the vector for Lyme disease, they just help drop the ticks off in your back yard.
 
Moonbear said:
Actually, that's not true. It comes from deer ticks, which pick it up from deer mice. Deer do also carry deer ticks, but they aren't the vector for Lyme disease, they just help drop the ticks off in your back yard.
I think our cat (who is a champion mouser) is bringing the ticks into the house. We do live adjacent to wetlands, and I have been collecting firewoord, so I can't be sure.

The bite is on the back part of my triceps (the part of your arm you can't see too easily). It's actually very early stage; my joints aren't that bad. and the fatigue didn't stop me from chopping a full cord of wood this week.
 
3trQN said:
We want pics of the juicy bits!

Whats it look like?
Looks like THIS!
bullseye.jpg
 
Yep, looks like Lyme to me. :bugeye: That sux.

I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever when I was 11. Got bit by a tick the last day of my Girl Scout camping trip. I was very sick for 6 months.
 
  • #10
It does look just like a giant bulls-eye! :eek: I'd stay away from the Vice President for a while, if I were you.

Are you on antibiotics or anything? Hope you get better...
 
  • #11
Sounds like you need a good dose of Tetracycline.
 
  • #12
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  • #13
Gokul43201 said:
From what I read, it goes away in a couple weeks or so after you start treatment. I do think you should save the marathon up for next year.

Try this - it should make you better - I concocted it just for you!

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/8873/lymeawayoa0.jpg
:smile: :smile: Poor Chi.
 
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  • #14
Chi Meson said:
I think our cat (who is a champion mouser) is bringing the ticks into the house. We do live adjacent to wetlands, and I have been collecting firewoord, so I can't be sure.
One needs to check the cat - use a flea comb. Also, think about a tick/flea collar. If the cat is getting on the furniture, particularly the bed, then make sure ticks are not getting off.

Chi Meson said:
The bite is on the back part of my triceps (the part of your arm you can't see too easily). It's actually very early stage; my joints aren't that bad. and the fatigue didn't stop me from chopping a full cord of wood this week.
I hope your treatment goes well, and that you get over it quickly.
 
  • #15
  • #16
I thought I'd go with homeopathy this time. I put a drop of this stuff in a glass of water, then threw it into the front yard and sniffed the air over the grass where it landed. I expect to start feeling better any time now.
 
  • #17
Moonbear said:
Actually, that's not true. It comes from deer ticks, which pick it up from deer mice. Deer do also carry deer ticks, but they aren't the vector for Lyme disease, they just help drop the ticks off in your back yard.

To be precise, the most common zoonotic reservoir (not vector) in your neck of the woods for Borrelia burgdorferi is Peromyscus leucopus, which is the white-footed mouse. Deer mice (if I'm not mistaken) comprise other species within the genus Peromyscus.

Tick nymphs of the genus Ixodes (and others) infest these mice and pick up the Borrelia spirochetes and act as vectors in their transmission to people. Adult ticks preferentially feed on larger mammals like deer, and adult ticks can transmit the spirochete directly to humans. But since transovarial spread of the bacterium in Ixodid ticks is not thought to be important, deer are not as important as white-footed mice in serving as reservoirs of human infection.
 
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  • #18
Chi Meson said:
I thought I'd go with homeopathy this time. I put a drop of this stuff in a glass of water, then threw it into the front yard and sniffed the air over the grass where it landed. I expect to start feeling better any time now.
:smile: I guess that's as good as Gokul's remedy for you! :smile:
 
  • #19
Curious3141 said:
To be precise, the most common zoonotic reservoir (not vector) in your neck of the woods for Borrelia burgdorferi is Peromyscus leucopus, which is the white-footed mouse. Deer mice (if I'm not mistaken) comprise other species within the genus Peromyscus.
Doh! *smacks forehead* Thanks for the correction.
 
  • #20
I hope you feel great soon Chi Meson.
 
  • #21
Our clinic saw a child a few months ago with a dark brown foreign body in the conjunctiva. It was a tiny tick. He was taken to the OR to remove the tick but when they put in the Betadine prep the tick dislodged itself from the eye.
Here is a photo of it. The pt. wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good photo but you can see the legs of the tick.

http://home.comcast.net/~larkspur2020/tick.jpg
 
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  • #22
Astronuc said:
That's one possibility. Amoxicillin and Doxycycline are other possibilities. Hopefully, one's doctor has experience treating patients with Lyme disease, or knows other doctors who have treated patients with Lyme disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease#Treatment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease - usefuel bibliography

Back home, the *only* anti-biotics that work on 'tick-bite fever' are the tetracycline family. We use this on cattle, sheep & humans... the penicillin derivatives do nothing in that case... ouch... leaves folks with a nasty headache for around 10-14 days & the symptoms are often misdiagnosed as a spider byte... A stiff course of tetracycline gets one up in around 3 days... :biggrin:

desA
 
  • #23
For your information, the winning treatment is...
DOXY!

Doxy Cycline, come on up here! Let's hear it for Doxy.
 

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