I hope this thread is still active since I could really use some support. This past month has been probably the worst of my life. On August 28th of 2019, I was traveling Thailand with my boyfriend and I got bitten by a monkey. My skin did not break and I could not find any blood or even the wound. I suffer from anxiety and get paranoid very easily, so I decided to begin the rabies vaccine course. In Thailand, it is 5 shots and, although this seemed like an inconvenience to my trip, I did not think much about it. I didn’t think about the risks since I have been getting vaccinated since I was a baby and have had no (known) side effects or complications. This was probably the worst mistake of my life since I now experience symptoms like burning toes, non existent water drops on my legs and side of my head and a weird prickly sensations throughout my body and some muscle weakness. I began with a tingling sensation on my fingers and toes after the second shot on August 31st. That night I was laying down and the left side of my body went numb and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. At one point, I felt like I fainted. I went to a nearby clinic and they told me that it was, not related to the vaccine. I am not sure if what happened was a panic attack but this is when I started to experience all the symptoms that i previously described. Also, the night before this incident, I drank with my friends to the point of intoxication. Mind you, I had asked the doctor at the place where I got the first shot on the 28th if I could drink and he said it was okay to drink a day after the shot. Even with the doctor’s approval, I understand how irresponsible of me it was to drink after beginning a vaccine course.

I took the third and fourth shot in Thailand and the fifth shot in Japan on September 25th. I got back to the U.S on the 3rd of October and saw my doctor the day after. He told me it was completely unnecessary for me to have taken the shots. I also made the mistake of telling him I had severe anxiety over this situation and he basically dismissed everything I said as symptoms of anxiety. He refused to write me a referral to a neurologist and, instead, made me do a bunch of labs to rule out Lyme disease, diabetes, and other infections. He also put me on hydroxyzine, which I have taken before, and I’ve been taking it for 4 days. He wants me to wait 4-6 weeks for progress, but I still experience burning toes, feeling of water drops on my right knee and right calf, and random prickly feeling on my legs, feet, hands and arms. I also feel random twitches on my knees and calves and my knees feel a bit weak. I can still walk with no problem but it feels a bit awkward. None of these symptoms are consistent since they happen randomly and go away soon after. However, they are all very concerning and I’m scared that I suffer from neurological damage and that, by delaying treatment, I am just letting my condition get worse. What should I do? Should I just wait to see if my symptoms get better, as my doctor advises, or should I look for another doctor?