RSD & Lyme Disease
 

Yep, you guessed it. I got bitten by a tick, one that was infected.

It was about 2 months ago that I discovered blood in the inner part of my pants (on the hard seam). I had been in the garden.

It wasn't until the last few weeks that I was developing a rash on the lower part of my right leg exactly where that blood spot had been.

My parents saw the rash and immediately thought it might be a tick. There was no ring or anything (no bull's eye markings).

My doctor came and didn't think it was a tick, but sent me for some blood work, it came back positive for Lyme.

I just got a round of 10-day antibiotic for it. The rash, however, is barely budging. Yes, it has paled down a bit, but it's not budging, it is even spreading. Of course, it itches like mad and that's not helping on an RSD leg.

I have ABs until this Sunday. If the rash is still here by Monday, I'm going to call my doctor's office. My doctor is on holiday right now, but before he went on holiday was nice enough to prescribe me the ABs. He said it should be dealt with after 10 days.

I'm not so sure.

I'm not willing to put up with chronic Lyme & RSD, so does anyone here have any experience with an infected tick bite?

Just wondering...

CRPSbe,

I am so sorry you're having to deal with the additional worry of Lyme. That would be concerning to any one of us.

Here is an article from Medscape, updated June 29, 2017, on which antibiotics to use for Lyme, at what dose and for how long. The shortest duration appears to be 14 days and can go quite a bit longer. I am close to medical staff and haven't heard talk of shorter courses for what it's worth.

Lyme Disease Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, Treatment of Early Lyme Disease, Lyme Arthritis

I hope you feel better soon and have a full recovery

Thank you so much for that article, Littlepaw. I am having the doctor come round (well, a different one out of his practice as my doctor is on holiday) because the "rash" has gotten bigger. Since I vomited up my last dose (yesterday) the rash has calmed down a bit.

You'll always see when the doctor comes round that your symptoms diminish. LOL!

Yes, I've been prescribed 10-day Doxycycline and it is hell on the stomach. I am having to take something with it to keep it down - that didn't work yesterday apparently.

Anyway, she's coming round just past noon. We'll see what she says!

I visited family in OK (long ago) and got a bite (never saw what did it) on my leg. The bite swelled, but I thought nothing of it cause that always happens to me. I came home to CA and the bite turned into a rash. A bulls eye. Saw doc, they ran the test and it was inconclusive. Which meant (to them) possible Lyme, take the abx. I did 14 days (I think they wanted me to do longer?) and by then they made me SO sick I couldn't do more. The doc let me stop because I didn't have a positive test.

So sorry you are going though this. They checked me so many times for lyme thinking that would explain many of my off symptoms...but I've never tested positive for it. All the testing though has made me so scared of it. :(

I am on my second round (well, not really) of ABs. First round I didn't complete because my stomach couldn't take the ABs anymore (I vomited the pills right out twice in a row).

So the doc has been (replacement for my own doc who is on holiday) and she gave me different ones. She said the rash was "different" and not what it was supposed to be (it got bigger on the ABs) and my test, however positive, could be a false positive, nevertheless, to be on the safe side, and because I have enough issues to deal with, she put me on different ABs.

Amoxyclav 875 (aka augmentin). I seem to be digesting these well so far. I am on dose n°8 out of 20, so we'll see.

The rash, though paler, has spread on my lower leg (almost half of it is covered). Of course, the reaction might be "different" because I have an RSD leg (well 2 in fact but just the one is affected by the tick) in the first place.

If the rash is not gone, I will be calling the doc back. She might no longer give me ABs, but this has been in my system for 3 months or thereabouts. "They say" the longer it's been in your system, the longer you need ABs.

I really feel they can't take any chances here...

Tiny update.

My regular doctor was back and immediately continued the ABs. With this round, I will have had ABs for 24 days.

I am to call back if it's not gone next week. The infection should be out of my system by then, the doctor said, but... I'm not sure.

If the rash isn't gone, he might have a derm take a look at it. But really, I'm not sure about that either.

I'm so sorry this is STILL going on for you. Thanks for the update. Hugs.

Hoping and Praying you feel better soon Marleen.

Thank you for the well wishes. This is just one more thing on top of it all, you know?

Yeah, you guys know!

The rash is dissipating more and more, let's hope this round of ABs does it. Fingers crossed!

Fingers crossed! That sounds promising. Yes...we do know. I feel like every time I do anything or go to see the dr...it's just ONE more thing to add to the mess. So frustrating and just added pain/stress we don't need. Hugs...praying you are close to the end of this particular added health issue.

I am finishing up my last AB today. It has cleared up hugely, but there is still a marked line to where the rash was. And it itches upon touch. The itching at night is gone, totally, but upon touch... not quite.

We'll see what the doctor says.

All along I've also been taking cetirizine with it (anti allergy medicine), and that alone is not going to do a lot, I don't think.

But after today, I will have had 31 days worth of ABs, so that should normally be enough.

Of course, I come with a manual, I'm more than once an exception to a rule. LOL!

Glad to hear that it is mostly cleared up...I hope that changes to totally cleared up soon.

Thank you. Yes, last week I took the last round of ABs and it was mostly cleared up, so the doctor said enough is enough (I'd had 31 days of ABs by then, 3 full boxes and 2 half used, in transition to the ones I could better tolerate).

And I'm now totally cleared up of the bite, and itch-free.

It itched for a few days after the ABs, but my mom still had a gel for bug bites with menthol + camphor and that soothed tremendously. Also, I took a few days of anti-histamines and it seemed to do OK this time.

So all good now!

Thanks so much for the support, you guys! :D Appreciate it.

I'd never had a tick bite in my life, and I had to meet the only tick in the world that had Lyme it its system.

Glad to hear it has resolved completely!

Hi Marleen. I am so happy that you're feeling better now! That's is good to hear. Thank you for keeping us updated. Hoping that you can get some rest after all you've been through. Hugs.

Thank you, you guys for the support.

It was a little scary to go through, mainly because Lyme isn't that "innocent" at all, and can wreak some havoc on the body, but thank goodness I had the ABs for so long.

I hope I don't get bit again!!!

Lyme meds
I cannot tolerate Doxycycline either. I can keep it down less than 30 minutes. I told my doctor and was prescribed Ceftin. It works for Lyme disease and is easier on the stomach
at least for me. Perhaps you could ask your doctor for something that does not make you more miserable. Good luck for a speedy recovery! Lil

It's all behind me already. I took the Doxy, Amoxycillin, and Amoclane (aka Augmentin) 3x in a row. It's all gone now. No more markings on my leg, no itch, and no other things to remark on (besides the CRPS, but that's always with me. ;)).

Thanks for the recs, though. A little too late, though. ;) But appreciated nonetheless. :D