10 days into possible infection - round rash, arm and leg symptoms

Hi all. I'm in Manitoba, Canada. So glad I found this resource. I was bit about 10 days ago, removed the tick with all parts in tact. I believe it was a dog tick, pretty sure it wasn't a black legged one, but I didn't keep it. I developed a round itchy rash. Today I went to doctor, because I'm afraid of the rash (its solid red, 2cm round, with crusty darker red central spot, the skin is rough and altered there). I've been bit before and never got one. I saw doc today and I was given 10 days of doxycycline treatment just in case it's Lyme, and cortisone cream.

Tonight I had a scary thing happen that I'm wondering could mean an infection is manifesting - woke up screaming in fear because my entire leg fell asleep and then blood came rushing back in very slowly. My arms are also very weak, and hands are tingling. Other than that I have had no fever or chills, but have had some headaches (but I have migraines anyways).

I'm very apprehensive about starting the antibiotics because I just started treating my adrenal fatigue, and healing my gut with an elimination diet. This will really set me back. Obviously if it's Lyme then that is more than worth it, but I am concernied that it may not be even be a long enough course - the 10 days - 100mgs 2x per day.

Thank you for any advice/comments in advance.

It's solid red, no bull's-eye. It's round, about 2cm across. If only start now is it possible my die off symptoms will be less?

Yes, i went through the intro info, - it's completely overwhelming, but I'm glad it's there.

How do I find a Lyme literate doc on Winnipeg, Manitoba? I doubt there is one.

Does one always have flu like symptoms, neck pain, fever etc. when infection takes hold, because I haven't had these (yet)?

What happens if I'm only on doxy for 10 days?

There's no way I can travel to bc. I can ask for more antibiotics but they won't give them to me. They're uneducated and won't take my word for it. They barely gave me the 10 days worth.

Thank you everyone for info. I'm unable to travel anywhere but locally for treatment. I'm shocked at the lack of knowledge by mds regarding this fast spreading illness. The patient being left to treat himself and educate himself is unbelievable.

But, I'm already in that mode with af so I shouldn't be too surprised.

At this point I can't afford to freak out. I have a very low tolerance for stress at this point. I will do my 10 days, and pray it was just an allergic reaction. It's stayed about the size of a nickel. If Lyme symptoms appear later I can hope that my ND who I see regularly will be willing to consult with another md if needed.

I'm not saying I won't freak at that point though, because my body can hardly handle another illness.

Please don't use the cortisone cream - it can aid in spreading the infection.

Please tell the doc that 28 days antibiotics are required for prophylaxis. 10 days is the bare minimum and least effective and may tamp down the infection but not eradicate and then you could get chronic lyme.

Ask him to add Flagyl to increase effectiveness.

Please dont only treat for 10 days. Your risk for not eradicating the infection is very high.

To help your doctor - forward him to the ILADS website.

Here is the link to the ILADS website...scroll down to page 19 - where it discusses treatment.
For anyone with a tick bite and no signs or symptoms it's 28 days of antibiotic treatment.
With a rash and symptoms - treat for one month after symptom resolution. (minimum 6 weeks)
Also, the guidelines state 400 mg per day of doxy is the treatment dosage.

You can print it out for your Doctor.

www.ilads.org/lyme/treatment-guideline.php

Scroll down until you see "Download guidelines" in a blue box.

mtmand - I think I was editing my post while you were posting yours...I added a few things in the post - length of treatment, and dose of doxy.

This is from the CanLyme site (Canadian)

Oral treatment

Oral antibiotics are commonly used to treat Lyme in the early stages. Doctors often prescribe antibiotics over a 2-3 week period which may be insufficient. Treating this disease effectively at this early stage has the best patient outcome, and importantly the risk to benefit weighs heavily on the side of effective treatment.

If you’re still experiencing symptoms after the first round of treatment, your doctor may prescribe additional oral antibiotics or move directly to intravenous medication.

In the guidelines it states 400 mg of doxycycline to be used for treatment.

cortisone suppresses the immune system making it harder to fight off the infection which in turn allows it to spread

See ilads link -
Burrascano guidelines say the following
Pg 18 - Doxycycline 200mg bid (2x a day)
Pg 19 - tick Bite - oral therapy 28 days

Borrellia is not just transmitted by a black leg tick; it can come from other vectors

This disease is 100x worse than adrenal fatigue when it goes into chronic stage. Not trying to add additional stress - as I see that is a major concern - just trying to prevent further stress from Lyme disease.

A rash is suspect and with the symptoms you mentioned it becomes highly suspect. The first 28 days are the most critical time frame with this disease to stop it in its tracks.

Girlie - thank you for the info on the natural protocols too - I will be asking my ND about them.

That's fantastic because my skin is burning from the doxy on day one - not from the sun - the fluorescent lights at work. I'm concerned about stopping them without having another thing lined up. I want to quit this pill yesterday.

I just can't see myself doing something like a chronic tonic with all those individual herbs that you have to source, etc.

The other thing is I'm very sensitive to a lot of stuff - I have AF, hypothyroidism, migraines, asthma.

I'll check out your link, thnx.
I just read a bunch about MMS - are there people using it with success still? Last post was in 2008 I read... Is it still available?

Af - adrenal fatigue. I do like the initial bite treatment of 3000mg of astragalus per day, etc - seems very reasonable.

I wish I had the courage to stop these abx. I also don't know what brand to trust - have you taken astragalus? I don't see a recommendation for any brand on buhner's site...

On another forum some people poopoo his protocol because it only puts the microbes into a dormant state - doesn't address the mechanism.

Post Edited (mtmand) : 5/30/2015 11:38:02 AM (GMT-6)

I don't know - theres one person pushing me to use his protocol, he's been banned several times apparently. He says that the immune system can't fix everything and that you need to go after the bugs where they are - hiding in our bones even - and that there's treatments that do that. He's not saying the other ones dont work, just that they don't kill the bug.

So you didn't notice your energy drain with the astragalus? I'm worried about it straining my adrenals further.. I haven't heard from my ND yet about it.

There's a lot of different brands, not sure which one to buy.

Post Edited (mtmand) : 5/30/2015 2:23:20 PM (GMT-6)