This summer, (apparently supposed to be one of the worst summers for ticks in years), my girlfriend asked me to come to Minnesota with her to meet her family.

I have been diagnosed with Lyme & Mycoplasma, and am pretty terrified to go to a pretty bad state for Lyme. She is offended and sad that I'm saying I can't go.

I don't want to get re-infected or pick up something else, and I'm just starting treatment this month, but seeing that level of disappointment that you can't control really sucks, as I'm sure most of you understand. Should I just bite the bullet and go?

if you take precautions you should be OK.

Check yourself daily if you go outdoors. even if you end up with a tick, it takes 48 hours of it feeding before an infection can occur, because it happens once it fills and regurgitates it's own body fluids back into you.

https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/tick.html

Don't fear going outdoors, but be vigilant.

caramba said...
if you take precautions you should be OK.

Check yourself daily if you go outdoors. even if you end up with a tick, it takes 48 hours of it feeding before an infection can occur, because it happens once it fills and regurgitates it's own body fluids back into you.

https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/tick.html

Don't fear going outdoors, but be vigilant.

Actually, this is not true about the attachment times:
"While the longer the tick is attached, the higher the risk of transmission, it is possible to get Lyme disease even if the tick is attached for less than 24 hours. The salivary juices of the tick, which contain anticoagulants, anesthetics, and immune suppressors, also contain microbes that can be injected at the time of attachment. Transmission of bacteria by ticks attached less than 24 hours has been well documented in animals, and a recent paper last year documented that this can occur in humans as well."

www.ilads.org/lyme/what-to-do-if-bit-by-tick.php#sthash.xACohcZn.dpuf

Astro- sorry, but that's absolutely not true. The north east is well-known for their very high tick population, especially in the wilderness and deer ticks. All the way from Maine down to Below CT and NJ/PA/NY are very, very high for ticks.

This may help or it may sound awful, so I'm going to give myself the benefit of the doubt.

1) I understand your fear of tick-infested areas. However, I'm from PA, so to me it's just routine. There are ticks. Everywhere. Be prepared. Always. I am now afraid of the woods and even walking barefoot through the plushy squishy grass that I used to love so much. Permethrin and DEET and coverage are your friends. I don't think being in MN or anywhere else should make your precautions any more or less: ticks are out there, be diligent always.

2) relationships will be tested to the limit with Lyme. My marriage feels like crap sometimes, and we should still be in the honeymoon phase. Lyme has the power to ruin relationships, but it also has the power to build up a rock-solid foundation of understanding and support.

Your girlfriend, and her family, need to be educated about the insane things that Lyme can do to a body. She absolutely has to realize that you are not in control of your life right now. You can power through it, try to be open with them about the scary things you face and the roller coaster the next year is going to be. Hopefully they know someone who has/had Lyme and will be sympathetic to your situation.

But if you don't feel up to it, please do not stress yourself into going. I have a hard time meeting people because I feel like I am not myself right now. I am afraid of the first impression I'm going to make in this weird state of mind, and the paranoia that comes with it can be harmful to both sides. Stress exacerbates everything, and you have to weight the pros and cons of the stress of going and the stress of not going.

Make sure your gf is aware of everything that Lyme is (watch the documentaries and interviews and read the articles). Even so, my husband doesn't *get it* sometimes. I finally explained to him spoon theory and that helped for now. The more they understand, the better they get at supporting you and not blaming you.

When I had full blown lyme there is no way I wanted to meet people. I was a basket case mentally with brain fog so very bad I could not complete a sentence.

The fear of the outdoors was not what was scary for me. I got bit and was on a concrete patio by a swimming pool.

Would you look at how many California bay area people are bit.... Oh my gosh that is a huge city and if you look at the number of LLMDs, they are all congregated there. Why? the demand.

When I was a little girl my sister got a tick on her ear. She got it swimming across a river. Evidently a deer had swam there also. My dad burned off the tick with a match. This was in 1958! We knew nothing about lyme then. But, it just goes to show you that ticks can be anywhere and it might not even be a tick, but some other monster.

Only you can decide if you should go. Just be open and honest with your girlfriend. And remember she wants to show you off as her special guy. (here I am thinking like a gal does) So be honored that she wants you to be with her. Praise her for that.

Pretty pricey but we are using this at our house now.

www.jnutra.com/protection-shield-lotion/