Possible Lyme or Related

Hi all,

I noticed a tick on me about 2 weeks ago, I believe it came from a dog in NYC. I removed it right away and I'm pretty sure it was less than 24 hours on me.

about a week ago I started having weird tingling sensation in one leg and then in both. Both my legs hurt and my arms feel very fatigued and weak. I have weird sensation in my face (pressure like) and have headaches. Also now I started having back of my neck and shoulders pain.

Last week I was very fatigued and didn't want to come out of bed in the morning, I am a bit better now but still getting tired and want to go to sleep at 6pm. I'm also yawning about 4 times a day which is weird.

I used to have this kind of episode but milder about a year ago and I also have migraines since I was 5 so I'm not sure it's tick related but I did some blood work and it all came back negative except for Band 58 Reactive H.

My pcp just says I'm b12 & D4 deficient and it's most likely anxiety.

What to do?

Yes, I was bitten. I noticed the tick on June 27th.

I woke up today (and past week) with numbness "asleep" both my hands and legs. Don't want to get out of bed, feeling tired. My left leg (where I got the bite) is in pain. I feel my face and neck has stretching feeling.

When I first went to urgent care a week ago I was prescribed doxyciline for 21 days but the doctor said to wait until lab results which now I know can't be conclusive anyway. What are side effects of doxyciline?

Thank you for all the help.

Hi and Welcome!

“ My pcp just says . . . . it's most likely anxiety.”

There’s no nice way to say this. Your pcp’s an idiot.

The symptoms you described have been described on this forum by many others with tick borne infections.

The yawning could be air hunger, which is a common symptom of babesia. Tick bites transmit multiple infections - borrelia (Lyme), babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia/anaplasma, and many more. Strongly suggest you get to an LLMD (Lyme literate medical doctor) who follows ILADS guidelines.

Yes, sensitivities while taking ABXs are very normal. Just wait for your test results and keep taking the Doxy.

Make sure you take the full course; do not skip, forget or alter the prescription unless you suspect an allergic reaction of course.

Keep in mind, that Lyme seldom infects with a tick thats only been attached for under 24 hours so you are probably in the clear. However, knowing what I know now, it was the coinfections that made me far sicker than Lyme itself (and these can be transmitted under 24 hours with or without Lyme).

If within a few weeks or months you dont feel completely better, then you might fall within a very small minority of patients that with whatever the tick gave you probably didnt escape destruction and you will want to reseek a medical professional.

dont take d3 without checking your d25 levels first - you could induce hypercalciemia, especially now since you've became symptomatic

“ Keep in mind, that Lyme seldom infects with a tick thats only been attached for under 24 hours so you are probably in the clear“

I wouldn’t say they are in the clear

https://canlyme.com/2018/09/27/lyme-disease-can-be-transmitted-from-tick-in-12-hours-new-research-shows/

“ Moreover, Borrelia-infected nymphs were able to infect mice as early as 12 h of tick attachment. Our study shows the need to remove ticks as early as possible after attachment. “

Girlie said...
“ Keep in mind, that Lyme seldom infects with a tick thats only been attached for under 24 hours so you are probably in the clear“

I wouldn’t say they are in the clear


“https://canlyme.com/2018/09/27/lyme-disease-can-be-transmitted-from-tick-in-12-hours-new-research-shows/“

yep - whilst its true that the longer a tick is attached the more chance it has of transmitting lyme - this is a general rule and assumes the tick has not bitten anything else in the recent past

before more was known about ticks this seemed like a fair general assumption in that, on the whole, the ticks lifestyle is to go long periods without meals - often only taking one meal then drop off the host and moult from lava to nymph or nymph to adult.
however, as in many things in nature, this is not a hard and fast rule - and more recent studies have found that ticks are actually far more likely to take partial meals and bite multiple hosts if they are infected with borrelia - and that the borrelia are actually modifying the ticks behaviour in this way to aid their transmission and survival.

the borrelia inside a tick will not have migrated into the gut or transformed into dormant states if the tick only just took a partial blood meal from another infected host - and so in theory transmission is possible almost instantaneously - its just less likely.

its not well researched - but other biting arthropods and insects likely transmit lyme also - these other arthropods have different lifecycles to ticks - and its not yet clear how this relates to the chances of them infecting new hosts - but they do typically bite more often than ticks and typically bite more hosts in succession so there could be a mechanism their that avoids the need to them to be attached for hours or days.

there are two documented instances in the scientific literature of horse flies transmitting lyme disease in humans - one by a medical doctor who was infected and had a bulls eye rash at the bite site.

How do I post here my blood results from Stony Brook?

Ar.Pi said...
How do I post here my blood results from Stony Brook?

You can put them on an app - photo bucket.

And then post a link to the photos in this thread.


Or you can type them in a post on this thread

My current symptoms:

Muscle aches much better but still pain
Numbness much better
Still have sensitivity and neuro symptoms in my face
Started having twitching in random areas about 2 times a day
Started having a lot of pain in ear area and much worse sensitivity to sound - always have to make everything quieter and have pulsating pain in ears when music or sound is on - this could be related to Doxy? I think I read somewhere here in forums that someone has Tinnitus and it made it worse. I believe maybe I also have that since I damaged my ears about 10 years ago but this is something new and started to become worse since Doxy.


Here are my Stony Brook results:

https://imgur.com/a/0c3bhbo

The doctor said that my symptoms look like something Lyme related but since results don't show anything (beside some other mild bacteria) he isn't sure.

He prescribed me:

Zithromax (Azithromycin) 250mg - 4 times a week for 21 days
Doxycyline - Said to take only 100mg twice a day (already on 200mg twice a day for about 14 days now)
Lyme Vitamin package
Grapefruit Seed Extract 125mg twice a day


Should I do this regiment? Should I drop Doxy to 100mg if so? my ear and around ear pressure really bothers me.


Thank you all for all the help

unfortunately - lyme testing is far from straight forward

first - because it takes the body time to make antibodies - testing for lyme via serology within 2 weeks of a bite is pretty pointless - even the most conservative sources will tell you this
your PCP should also know it - as its lyme 101 - but many do not
typically 4-6weeks to be positive ( if it is going to be positive - not all will be - even if infected )
"https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/faq/index.html#:~:text=In%20this%20case%2C%20if%20the,is%20likely%20to%20be%20positive."

even after 4-6 weeks - because of the known issue of poor sensitivity of serological testing for lyme - a negative Lyme test does not mean you do not have Lyme - this is why the disease is supposed to be a clinical diagnosis - again - your PCP should know this and should not be indicating otherwise.
testing accuracy is not symmetrical in lyme - to learn more look up sensitivity and specificity -

stonybrook have a decent reputation - but the issue is serological tests have approx 90+% specificity but only 25-50% sensitivity - no matter who does them.
this means they miss more positive cases than they detect - a positive test is useful - but a negative one does not mean anything useful

the low vit D can and often is an issue that needs to be addressed - as its a very complex "vitamin" hormone involved in immune regulation - in combination with lyme and co-infections it should not be overlooked

the so called lesser infections can and often are major infections for people with suppressed immunity - as in people with lyme and other disorders - they need to be taken seriously

if it were me i would

1, find a knowledgeable lyme literate MD ( or begin the long and taxing journey of self education and self treatment many of us here find ourselves on )
2, keep taking the antibiotics for now

OK so I continue with 100mg 2x days and Zithromax 250mg.

What to do with the Vitamin D deficiency? And do you think my Hyperacusis are related to taking Doxy?

I've stopped taking the antibiotics for now (I was taking doxy for around 30 days now). I have big pain in my ears and around areas and developed even greater intolerance to sound, which gives me headaches and weird stabbing like sensation at times in my head.

My condition as of now:

Fatigue - low
Muscle Pain - low
Still have mild buzzing sensation on my feet
Occasional muscle twitch on elbows, knees and sometimes body (2 times per day approximately)
Neurological Issues - Mild in face

Biggest concern - My ears feel like they are muffled and have pain around ears and jaw, Intolerance to Sound (pulsating pain to a lot of different frequencies).

I read in this forum that someone has tinnitus and doxy made it worse so I'm concerned that i'm having the same thing. I'm going to see in a week my situation and update.