How Does Lyme Disease Progress and What Are Effective Treatment Options?

[BicycleTree]

So I apparently have lyme disease. The splotch I mentioned in the flu thread has been getting larger and darker (4 inches across by an inch and a half to 2 inches wide). Also my fever has been up to 103 a couple times in the past few days. And I have a couple more baby splotches on my arm and leg. Strangely, most of my previous symptoms seem to have disappeared over last night and today, and now I have nausea and joint stiffness instead.

I went to a doctor today (yes, july 4) and got some antibiotics. 2x daily for 3 weeks.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Wow! I'm glad you saw the doc. How long does it take to recover usually?

 

[pattylou]

So I apparently have lyme disease. The splotch I mentioned in the flu thread has been getting larger and darker (4 inches across by an inch and a half to 2 inches wide). Also my fever has been up to 103 a couple times in the past few days. And I have a couple more baby splotches on my arm and leg. Strangely, most of my previous symptoms seem to have disappeared over last night and today, and now I have nausea and joint stiffness instead.

I went to a doctor today (yes, july 4) and got some antibiotics. 2x daily for 3 weeks.

Wow, I'm srry to hear this! Don't skip any antibiotics. Lyme disease can be really, really nasty. I understand it requires a long course of antibiotics, and a long recovery (if memory serves) - PLEASE do not skip any doses of medications.

The alteration in symptoms that you've seen in the last 24 hours does not mean you are getting better - it means the bacteria (Borrelia burgdorforei, I believe) is getting into other parts of your system.

Please, if you haven't told the doctor of your new symptoms, do so - and stay in touch with the doctor over the upcoming weeks. These symptoms may indicate the progression of the disease.

Did you see the tick that got you?

 

[Andy]

Don't want to be too negative about this but i heard of an old chap around my part of the world that died from lymes disease, he didnt go see the doctor about it though.

 

[Evo]

Andy, you are a ray of sunshine.

BT, Patty's right, don't be afraid to call the doctor if any other symptoms appear.

 

[Knavish]

Dang, that really sucks. My friend had it a couple of summers ago from going to camp--he recovered just fine, but it took him a little while. Get well.

 

[Andy]

sorry mum, was just trying to make sure that he realizes how serious it could be.

 

[hypatia]

Glad to hear you saw a doctor. The multiple red spots are a sure sign things are getting worse. My son had it a few years back, it took several courses of antibiotics{six weeks I think} because he didn't go to the doctors when he should of.
Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Monique]

It is good that you caught it at the beginning of the symptoms, it is hard to treat when the symptoms have progressed to neurological problems. Be sure to take all your doses of antibiotics, do NOT stop taking it even though all your symptoms disappear (!). I hope you feel better soon :)

And, always keep close attention to an area of your skin where a tick bite has been, when a rash appears always see a doctor. Don't remove ticks by dousing them with alcohol, the best way to remove them is with a special tweezer. Do disinfect with alcohol afterward.

 

[Moonbear]

Glad you went to the doctor and have gotten treatment started. Lyme disease sucks. One of my step-nephews had it one summer, though I think they didn't catch it as early as you did; poor kid was down for the count most of that summer. Hopefully you caught it early enough that you'll recover faster than he did.

I think everyone has already covered the proper "motherly" advice a few times, so I won't repeat it again...just listen to Patty and Monique especially, they're right on there. Feel better.

 

[BicycleTree]

At this point I'm actually hoping that it really is Lyme disease, or at least a bacterium curable by antibiotics. The doctor did not impress me as very knowledgeable about the disease; for example, he seemed to be under the impression that only the second-stage patch that I have was called erythema migrans, and the original bullseye was not, an issue that came up when I mentioned that the first time I noticed any blotch was after the onset of other symptoms. My symptoms do not seem to match exactly the expected order for Lyme disease.

I must have about ten blotches on me by now, between my chest, hands and wrists, legs, and the original one on my side. All of them are irregularly shaped; there are no circles.

 

[Monique]

Do you know whether you've had a tick-bite at the original spot on your side?

An antibody test might aid the diagnosis, but I don't know whether that is regularly done http://my.webmd.com/hw/arthritis/hw5113.asp

 

[BicycleTree]

No--I've only found one or two deer ticks on me in my life, and they were not attached where the blotch is. Anyway, I noticed it _after_ the onset of other symptoms.

For tests, the doctor plans to do a test in 3 weeks to see if the antibiotic has worked. He indicated that a test at the moment would not be useful because the results could not return for a month--not what the page you linked to says about ELISA. The only tests he actually performed in his diagnosis, besides listening to overt symptoms and looking at the rash, were taking my temperature and blood pressure and peering in my ear.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't think it's that the results won't come back for a month; and ELISA usually only takes a day to run, 2 tops, but the antibodies your body generates to the bacteria won't be detectable yet. So, the test wouldn't be to check if the antibiotic worked, but to confirm the diagnosis at a time when you might have a high enough antibody titer to detect it. Once you've been exposed though, you'll likely test positive for a very long time, so the test won't be helpful for diagnosis if you are exposed a second time. But a rash at sites other than that of a bite doesn't sound quite right. I could be wrong about that; I'll see if I can find anything else on it, either to help ease your mind or to indicate you should get a second opinion (it doesn't hurt to get a second opinion anyway, especially if you don't feel comfortable with your current doctor's diagnosis).

 

[zoobyshoe]

The only tests he actually performed in his diagnosis, besides listening to overt symptoms and looking at the rash, were taking my temperature and blood pressure and peering in my ear.

What did he say about your ear? Did he find any cause for the blockage you experienced? Old bicycle tire, maybe?

 

[honestrosewater]

The only tests he actually performed in his diagnosis, besides listening to overt symptoms and looking at the rash, were taking my temperature and blood pressure and peering in my ear.

Did he see anything?

 

[brewnog]

Did he see anything?

Daylight.

 

[BicycleTree]

No, earwax. He removed it using warm water jets with a syringe, thereby allowing me to hear through my left ear. Strangely, although he said my right ear was also very clogged, and it also took several squirts to remove the earwax from the right ear as well as the left, I heard about equally well (fine) from my right ear both before and after the treatment.

He also prescribed an antibiotic ear solution, which I have not been faithful in taking due mainly to the difficulty of producing "three drops" when it's impossible to both drop them in my ear and determine that I have squeezed out three. I need a separate syringe to apply them.

The disease was pretty definitely at a stage where antibodies would have been present. If the symptoms I had were being caused by Lyme, then the Lyme would have had to be second-stage.

 

[Moonbear]

The disease was pretty definitely at a stage where antibodies would have been present. If the symptoms I had were being caused by Lyme, then the Lyme would have had to be second-stage.

If you don't feel comfortable with your doctor or that he/she adequately answered your questions, get a second opinion (you may even decide to stick with the second doctor as your primary care physician if he/she is someone you're more comfortable with). Your health is too important to stick with someone who doesn't leave you feeling confident in their diagnoses.