Questions - is this Lyme disease and what happens next?

Welcome Koszi. I would see the doctor tomorrow and demand liquid Doxycycline ASAP! Migrating pains is typical of Lyme disease. You can't test for it yet (3-4 weeks is minimum) but the key to beating this is to treat as quickly after a bite where you suspect Lyme as possible. I can't stress this enough.

IV is probably best but they won't give it to you without a positive test. If you are able to get the doxy, be sure to take it in the middle of a meal to avoid nausea. You should be fine with it. Last word of advice is to push for at least a month's worth.

Usually only a Lyme-literate doc would give you more than a month but finding one takes time so first go to your doc and beg for the Doxy so you can get on it ASAP.

Ok - sorry for the diary-like entries, but I thought it might be a good idea to keep a log of everything in case any information is useful later.

This morning I woke up with low-level soreness and pain in my right side and back/shoulder area; if I try to move my right arm all the way across my body and up to and past my left side, as if to stretch or reach over to pick something up, there is a pain sharp enough that I can't make myself keep doing the movement. It seems to hurt more if I'm sitting upright but the sharpness comes and goes, always with movement but also sometimes even sitting or standing or lying still. Turning my neck in either direction also produces pain and it seems sore or stiff in general. Inspiring deeply occasionally hurts in the same right side area.

The pain from yesterday continued throughout the day in the same manner. Making myself run around at my dog's agility class despite the pain most likely didn't help matters.

Here is the issue - I have less extremely limited funds until next Friday the 12th. I don't have enough to pay for the $50 doctor copay and any medications prescribed and some kind of acidophilus supplement I would inevitably have to take along with the antibiotics, due to having been diagnosed with persistent cases of oral thrush before. I could use credit cards if I absolutely had to, or ask for borrowed money, but would rather not unless the situation is desperate.

Is there anything I can do or take in the meantime that might have a natural antibiotic effect? How advisable would it be to wait until the 12th, especially since a test might not even provide any meaningful information until 3-4 weeks after exposure on June 17th? Or will waiting for 9 more days, instead of going today, come with too high of a health cost?

I am also wary of talking to doctors and coming across as insincere or "medication hunting" or as having diagnosed myself over the internet. I do not want anything for pain; I just want to take an effective, standard antibiotic so I can start feeling better, if the doctor agrees that Lyme disease is likely based on the presentation of symptoms. I am quiet and soft-spoken and am not always good at non-verbal body language and maintaining eye contact, which unfortunately gives off the impression of insincerity or even dishonesty to people who don't know me. I am considering just printing off this whole set of (my own) posts when the time comes.

Can they do that test and read the results right there on the same day, or does it have to be sent out, or does it vary based on the doctor and their facilities? Or is that the one that's sent out to the lab that specializes in tick-borne illnesses? I'm sorry, I forgot the name or other details. I guess they would have to draw blood for it. And I imagine insurance likes to pay as little as possible, if at all.

Here is an update. You all convinced me to at least go in to the doctor this afternoon.

The doctor listened and observed thoroughly but still wanted to run bloodwork first before committing to a diagnosis and antibiotic treatment. He agreed it was likely to be Lyme Disease and said he would probably end up treating with antibiotics even if the tests are inconclusive. The bloodwork results are supposed to be back Friday and then I can start Doxycycline, or possibly something else he mentioned that was in the Cefaclor family - since I do not get along well with Biaxin (clarithromycin) and am allergic to Augmentin (amoxicillin).

The doctor ordered a lot of bloodwork: CBC, a "Lyme Disease Screen," a Sed Rate (ESR) test, and a Rheumatoid Panel. When I asked the nurse for more information, she said the test for Lyme Disease was the Western Blot IgG and IgM test and showed me the description in their clinical reference book.

She said the Sed Rate (ESR) test measures various markers and amounts of inflammation in the body.

And the Rheumatoid Panel will give them information on the C Reactive Protein, Rheumatoid Factor, and Uric Acid.

I liked how thorough but efficient this doctor was. He took my concerns seriously and asked about my family history for various similar conditions, and understood right away where I was coming from with my preexisting medical concerns. I wish my regular doctor had a more similar manner.

The only bad part was that the nurses who drew the 30 cc's of blood didn't listen when I told them that the veins in my arms are too small to work with and that my hands would be easier to draw from. One nurse bruised the inside of my right elbow for 10 minutes to get 15 cc's.

The next nurse dismissed my request to please try my hand because she thought the veins would blow and she was confident she could get 15 cc's more from the inside of my left elbow.

Five minutes of digging around inside my elbow and 0 cc's later, she admitted defeat and drew 15 cc's easily and quickly from my left hand. Now, four hours later, that place where she got nothing is a mass of ugly, purple and blue bruises. Both arms are still sore but I can't tell if that's from the blood drawn or from whatever this problem is that I have.

Thank you for all your kind wishes and advice. I hope it turns out to be ok to wait until Friday.

Sorry for the edit, but I meant to add that the impression I got from the doctor was that he didn't need to conclusively "rule in" Lyme Disease by ordering the blood tests but waiting on the results before starting antibiotic treatment; it seemed to me that he wanted to rule out or at least have more information on the possibility of an autoimmune or connective tissue disorder being the cause for the symptoms first.

Since I do not like taking any medications, supplements, vitamins, etc. unless they are necessary and indicated, and until I feel comfortable with their mechanism of action and potential side effects, the more cautious approach is fine with me.

Post Edited (Koszi) : 7/3/2013 4:31:17 PM (GMT-6)

Hi! I have the same symtoms as Kozi, which began on May 13th, 2013. We live in a rural area in upstate NY, on 20 acres of land where we have deer, rabbits, racoons, field mice, etc. all around us! Additionally, we have dogs, and have found ticks on them in the past. I should note that in late Oct./early Nov. 2012, eight months ago, I had a bite of some kind (I thought perhaps a spider)...I felt a sharp sting on the inside of my forearm, close to inside the elbow, while in bed, and knew that I had been bitten by something, but did not find anything in the bed. (My understanding is that ticks can be a small as a pinhead, and go unseen) The next couple of days, the area of the bite itched quite alot, and a small red pustule formed. I just kept it clean and applied a topical antibiotic and Neem oil at night. The area all around the bite was itchy too, and red. The itching took place in a wide circle around the bite. I took a picture of it, just incase it turned out to be something significant, but didn't rush to the Doctor (Dermatologist and GP) until the skin began to turn dark and necrotic. The tiny red dot where the bite had been, was turning brown and had enlarged to 2cm. Still very itchy too. I consulted the Dermatologist, and she took a biopsy. This turned out to be inconclusive for Lyme, but did appear to be a skin reaction to an insect bite, stating no spirochetes were seen, but reaction may be consistent with Lyme Disease. My GP gave some kind of cream to control itching. In January 2013, symptoms of Pulsatile Tinnitus began, and a series of hearing tests and MRA, MRV were done (all were normal) Sometime between Jan. and May 2013 (can't remember precisely when) a reddish, bumpy rash appeared on my chest and neck, though I had surgery in late Dec. 2012. Then, on May 13th, crippling migratory arthritis symptoms began. Followed by swelling and tenosynovitis in all fingers. Nodules began to appear suddenly on my knuckles and my knee within two weeks. The pain had started in neck and shoulders, which I had at first attributed to sleep position. But then migrated to left hand, then right, then both knees, along with swelling. I paid more attention to the rash on my chest; reddish, and made the skin feel rough, like a sandpaper texture. As mentioned, I thought I had noticed this rash months earlier, but dismissed as contact irritation from clothing, or heat. My GP tested me for Lyme Disease back in Jan. 2013, but it came back negative (which it may have because not enough time had passed for it to show up, and having taken some antibiotic (Doxycline) at time of the surgery. For some reason, because of my symptoms, I am stuck on this idea that I have an undetected Lyme Disease. I know that blood testing in NY is restricted to certain bands (I don't know why, since our area is one of the common places to get Lyme Disease) I might add that around the time I was bitten, in late Oct./early Nov., it was hunting season and both my son and my husband had deer hanging on our property, right next to our house. Our dogs are also in the house and sometimes get up on the bed. My question is whether or not anyone knows of a LLMD in our area of Upstate NY; anywhere near Syracuse/Buffalo/Rochester/Albany? If not, should I consult with an Infectious Disease specialist/Immunologist, and would anyone know of a good one in these areas? I like to go by recommendation because I have been to some incompetent, arrogant, insensitive Doctors in the past,(sorry if this is offensive) and don't have a great amount of trust and faith anymore! (My GP is good, but refers within his network, typically...however, if I provide him with a name of a Dr. I would like to see, he will refer me) I have great insurance (Blue Shield, CNY Federal Plan) PS: Rheumatic Fever and Lyme Disease share many symptoms, so I am wondering if it is a good idea for people that think that they may have Lyme, but test negative for it, to also be tested for STREP? As I understand it, STREP infections that were never treated can react very similarly. Many think primarily of STREP throat, but strep bacteria can enter cuts, wounds, and insect bites on skin and cause strep infection too. If strep goes untreated, it can result in post-strep complications such as Rheumatic Fever (arthritis, rashes, nodules, heart palpitations which may be symptomatic of possible damage to the heart from inflammation) If anyone is able to share the name of an LLMD in Upstate NY, I would be grateful! Thank you!

Geez!! What a hassle!! I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that!

We have a great link in the "New to Lyme? Start here!" thread all about taking Doxy. I'll add it in here to help you out:
www.ehow.com/how_2165217_avoid-doxycycline-side-effects.html

One of the biggest things to watch out for is digestive issues and sunburning. I'm not sure if it goes for the liquid form as well as the pill form, but no need to find out the hard way, so be sure to eat when you take the Doxy. Some only need a snack, others have to have something substantial. Eating like that will protect your stomach and will only slow down the absorption slightly.

What dosage are you taking? You will need to not rely on a doctor that has no ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) training, as they won't understand just how complex of an infection these diseases are. Unless you have one of those rare doc's that will really listen and read the things you bring in to help inform him/her of Lyme and the other tick-borne infections. If he/she is one of those rare souls, we can help you locate the papers you need.

Otherwise, your symptoms and test results are all quite typical of Lyme! We look fine and all of the tests come back not finding anything! Makes it hard to get people to believe us!

Just be sure to eat your yogurt - or any other dairy product 2 or 3 hours away (either before or after) from when you take your Doxy.

Sorry - meant to ask another question. I am new to this forum/blog idea. How do I know which forums I should subscribe to about Lyme's to get good information about it from others. Also any websites, books, etc. that you can recommend to me would be greatly appreciated.