I got Lyme's disease 5 years ago... got bitten in the Pine Barrens of NJ.

I thought I was dying for 4 months. Whole body ached, zero energy, could barely get out of bed. Fortunately the company I worked for let me work part time from home for that period and paid me my full salary. I recovered in just enough time to not have to go on disability. Even though the worst part was for only 4 months, I felt the effects for over a year after. I think some fatigue issues I have today are attributed to my time with Lyme's.

Lyme's is very serious. I never knew how serious is was until I got it. I ended up in the emergency room on one of my worst days. It's a scary thing when you are so fatigued that you can barely walk, but everything else is fine. I was expecting to be diagnosed with leukemia at the time.

I grew up in Lyme (yes, the namesake of this illness). My brother was one of the first to contract Lyme disease in the early 80s, and was paralyzed by Lyme-induced meningitis. Since we both played outside a lot and owned several dogs, we had extensive anti-tick protocols: pants tucked into socks, anti-tick spray for clothes, tick examinations for both kids and dogs after coming in, and so forth. IIRC, once you get it you have it forever.

As for my brother, he got better, and as far as I know hasn't had a flareup in decades.

RedEye9 wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 18:37:

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 17:09:
Blue, like Brian said get yourself checked out. In the meantime, it's best not to self-diagnose. Not even real doctors do that shit, and for very good reason.

Nonsense, that's what WebMD is for, and you should always be your own lawyer.

Haha, reminds me of a resident who is threatening us because one of our grills violates his OSHA rights.

RedEye9 wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 18:37:

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 17:09:
Blue, like Brian said get yourself checked out. In the meantime, it's best not to self-diagnose. Not even real doctors do that shit, and for very good reason.

Nonsense, that's what WebMD is for, and you should always be your own lawyer.

I'd say overall, self-diagnosis is a bad plan. It is way too easy to say, "I have all these symptoms, THAT MUST BE IT!" However, it is certainly reasonable to educate yourself. One of my two sisters is a bit of a health nut. And often researches her problems and more than once suggested to her doctor the idea of, "what about this?" and turned out to be right. But we are talking about someone who has regimented her eating and exercise to near professional athlete levels...

VaranDragon wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 17:09:
Blue, like Brian said get yourself checked out. In the meantime, it's best not to self-diagnose. Not even real doctors do that shit, and for very good reason.

Nonsense, that's what WebMD is for, and you should always be your own lawyer.

Blue, like Brian said get yourself checked out. In the meantime, it's best not to self-diagnose. Not even real doctors do that shit, and for very good reason.

It is funny and odd, that I have had the same general symptoms as Blue has expressed, starting at the exact same time; and the same apparent getting better and then worse again.

Mine I blame on an airplane trip a few days before.

Missed this, good luck and feel better soon!

Blue wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 13:07:

Necrophob wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 12:23:
Sounds like the flu.

Not sure what would prompt that comment. I am missing about half the symptoms of the flu.

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Here's to hoping it's not Lyme and is just one of life's mystery's/miseries.

Necrophob wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 12:23:
Sounds like the flu.

Not sure what would prompt that comment. I am missing about half the symptoms of the flu.

"It's NOT uh TOOMAH!"

Blue wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:55:

sauron wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:44:
Definitely a good idea to see a doctor. As Brian mentioned, you should check for bull's eye (erythema migrans) rash which is present in 70-80% of cases (ie most but not all). Here are the symptoms (from the CDC website):

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/

Then again, it might just be a cold, but definitely best to check.

Good luck!

Yeah, I see no rash, but I have had the fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

Sounds like the flu.

Glad you are getting tested and hope the results are negative. Not trying to be chicken little but it's one of those diseases that can be easily controlled if caught early but can be devastating if diagnosed late. Good luck!

Blue wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 11:12:

Cutter wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 11:01:
Do you give the Gunnar-man a trick treatment each spring? You know the stuff you drop on the back of their neck?

He wears a prescription flea collar my vet swears by as being better than those drops. I'm not wild about an insecticide collar, but it seems preferable to infusing the dog's entire skin with insecticide. But maybe I just think to much about these things.

Our (standard) poodle wore a flea collar, worked well enough. Still found ticks all over that damn dog. He was a trooper though, always let us get at the ticks with rubbing alcohol and tweezers. Very patient dog.

My Dr. told me I had markers for Lyme, but don't have the disease. Said likely that I had contact with Lyme at some point, but I don't actually have lyme. Whatever that means. Gathered I probably picked it up in Georgia while I was down there for OSUT (basic + AIT). I do have achy joints quite a bit, but that also could be from my service in general.

Wife keeps badgering me about my hands being shaky a little bit, but it's only when flexing my hands; at rest there's no shake, and hands still do what I tell them to at all times.


I dunno.

Cutter wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 11:01:
Do you give the Gunnar-man a trick treatment each spring? You know the stuff you drop on the back of their neck?

He wears a prescription flea collar my vet swears by as being better than those drops. I'm not wild about an insecticide collar, but it seems preferable to infusing the dog's entire skin with insecticide. But maybe I just think to much about these things.

Blue wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:55:
Yeah, I see no rash, but I have had the fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj6Vg5Mirg4

There isn't always a visible bite showing. Also the problem with symptoms for Lyme disease are very similar to a lot of other conditions like meningitis - which ticks can also cause, encephalitis, hyperthyroidism - magnesium deficiency, anemia - iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, etc.

However, Lyme disease has been on the rise in NA - the northern part at least - for years now. We actually had warnings from the gubment last year. My bro and I took a road trip down to Long Point last year and they had huge signs up everywhere warning people about the tick problem there. Funny thing is doctors in NA are more aware of things like malaria than they are about lyme.

If you're going to get tested, make sure it's the right test, as they get it wrong a lot of the time. Here's good information from the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation....

Lyme Disease Testing

Do you give the Gunnar-man a trick treatment each spring? You know the stuff you drop on the back of their neck?

Blue wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:55:
Yeah, I see no rash, but I have had the fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

The problem is that not all the signs can be an indicator. You can have lyme disease for years before anything even begins to show up, the whole "it doesn't show up for a long time after" is very similar to the whole chickenpox/shingles response. Get the first in childhood, get the latter when you're old.

sauron wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:44:
Definitely a good idea to see a doctor. As Brian mentioned, you should check for bull's eye (erythema migrans) rash which is present in 70-80% of cases (ie most but not all). Here are the symptoms (from the CDC website):

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/

Then again, it might just be a cold, but definitely best to check.

Good luck!

Yeah, I see no rash, but I have had the fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. Probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

sauron wrote on Jun 8, 2016, 09:44:
Definitely a good idea to see a doctor. As Brian mentioned, you should check for bull's eye (erythema migrans) rash which is present in 70-80% of cases (ie most but not all). Here are the symptoms (from the CDC website):

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/

Then again, it might just be a cold, but definitely best to check.

Good luck!

It's serious when The Dark Lord is giving you a PSA, Blue!

edit: dear god, my spelling...

This comment was edited on Jun 8, 2016, 10:05.