I never found the tick bite. There was no bulls-eye, no rash (at first) and no sign of a blood bloated arachnid sticking to me just waiting to send its poison into my blood stream.
It was a few days after July 4 of 2010 when I began to feel sick. I thought I had a sinus cold or the flue. The afternoon headaches were annoying, as were the sore knee joints that followed a few days later.
When I eventually came down with a fever and cold chills, I took some cold medicine and actually began to feel better after a couple of days. The fever, chills, sweats and body aches broke, but the daily pounding headaches remained, especially during the afternoon.
The following week I noticed some red blotches on my legs. They were more pinkish actually, were about the size of my fist, warm to the touch and were all over my body. That's when I suspected I had Lyme disease as those rash-like blotches are known as erythema migrans, an early symptom of the disease. Then it was off to the doctor's office.
I was prescribed an antibiotic called Doxycycline and was scheduled to see an infectious disease specialist. Meanwhile the medicine was working. The rash cleared up and I felt better overall, although a bit tired at times and still experiencing afternoon headaches.
My blood work confirmed an A-positive diagnosis. I had Lyme disease. By the time I saw the specialist I was just about done with the medicine and was feeling much better. He told me the medicine kills the bacteria but, like chicken pox, it will remain in my body and I will test positive in the future. He also said I would continue to experience some of the symptoms for weeks, maybe months, to come, but in shorter and less severe cycles. He was right about that.
I was lucky in that I had caught the disease early enough and that my symptoms were minor compared to what others have experienced, including heart issues. I was very interested in backtracking to try to determine when I was bit by a Lyme-agent-carrying deer tick.
Two weeks prior to July 4 weekend I had been camping in Raquette Lake where we got into the black flies pretty heavy. In the weeks that followed leading up to the holiday weekend I spent some considerable time in my garden, working on my lawn, washing our vehicles and swatting insects. The only thing I can pin-point is a bleeding bug bite near my scalp which I blamed on the black flies and/or mosquitoes. I could've been bit just days before the symptoms showed up.
Deer ticks can be small and as I found out, they commonly go undetected in the nymph stage. Even by someone as picky as myself about looking for them and even treating some of my outdoor cloths with tick killing repellent. But then again, I spent some time working on my lawn and garden while wearing shorts and crocks. That's where I believed I picked up the hitchhiker, but in all honesty, I really don't know.
Contracting Lyme disease once makes any future diagnosis of the disease confusing. I may have flu symptoms and think that I've been bit again, or I may have Lyme disease and think it's the flu. This is the challenge I'm faced with entering the heart of summer. On one hand I hate to let tick-phobia interrupt my routine. But on the other I don't want to deal with Lyme disease again on short term and, especially, a long-term basis.
The tick season remains upon us and tick infestation continues to move north. I've already had two ticks crawling on me this year. Although I spend my share of time in tick-infested areas, unless you stay indoors, you can get Lyme disease just as easily as I did. You can pick up a tick on your own lawn, walking the dog or going on a hike. So, keep an eye out for these pesky arachnids.
It was a few days after July 4 of 2010 when I began to feel sick. I thought I had a sinus cold or the flue. The afternoon headaches were annoying, as were the sore knee joints that followed a few days later.
When I eventually came down with a fever and cold chills, I took some cold medicine and actually began to feel better after a couple of days. The fever, chills, sweats and body aches broke, but the daily pounding headaches remained, especially during the afternoon.
The following week I noticed some red blotches on my legs. They were more pinkish actually, were about the size of my fist, warm to the touch and were all over my body. That's when I suspected I had Lyme disease as those rash-like blotches are known as erythema migrans, an early symptom of the disease. Then it was off to the doctor's office.
I was prescribed an antibiotic called Doxycycline and was scheduled to see an infectious disease specialist. Meanwhile the medicine was working. The rash cleared up and I felt better overall, although a bit tired at times and still experiencing afternoon headaches.
My blood work confirmed an A-positive diagnosis. I had Lyme disease. By the time I saw the specialist I was just about done with the medicine and was feeling much better. He told me the medicine kills the bacteria but, like chicken pox, it will remain in my body and I will test positive in the future. He also said I would continue to experience some of the symptoms for weeks, maybe months, to come, but in shorter and less severe cycles. He was right about that.
I was lucky in that I had caught the disease early enough and that my symptoms were minor compared to what others have experienced, including heart issues. I was very interested in backtracking to try to determine when I was bit by a Lyme-agent-carrying deer tick.
Deer ticks can be small and as I found out, they commonly go undetected in the nymph stage. Even by someone as picky as myself about looking for them and even treating some of my outdoor cloths with tick killing repellent. But then again, I spent some time working on my lawn and garden while wearing shorts and crocks. That's where I believed I picked up the hitchhiker, but in all honesty, I really don't know.
Contracting Lyme disease once makes any future diagnosis of the disease confusing. I may have flu symptoms and think that I've been bit again, or I may have Lyme disease and think it's the flu. This is the challenge I'm faced with entering the heart of summer. On one hand I hate to let tick-phobia interrupt my routine. But on the other I don't want to deal with Lyme disease again on short term and, especially, a long-term basis.
The tick season remains upon us and tick infestation continues to move north. I've already had two ticks crawling on me this year. Although I spend my share of time in tick-infested areas, unless you stay indoors, you can get Lyme disease just as easily as I did. You can pick up a tick on your own lawn, walking the dog or going on a hike. So, keep an eye out for these pesky arachnids.
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