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Dr. Hive: Acute Lyme for the second time. Any experience?


RegGuheert
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DS19 has a bullseye rash.  If this is Lyme disease, then this is the second time for him.  I remember when DS19 had Lyme the first time since he had one bullseye and then a day or so later he had them all over his body!  Then he got arthritis and crawled around the house for a few days until the antibiotics got the upper hand.

 

I have read that you can certainly get Lyme more than one time, but this is the first time we have experienced it.

 

Has anyone in the hive had experience with Lyme for the second or third time?  If so, is there any difference in how it should be handled versus the first time?  Does this indicate the immune system did not build up enough antibodies during the first infection?  Something else? TIA!

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My dad has had it twice (being treated currently for the second round in fact).  It was pretty much the same both times.  Both times it was caught early.

 

I had rashes all over by the time I was diagnosed.  My mom was diagnosed at the same time and only had a single rash.  The doctor said to expect it to be worse for me.  He was right.

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My youngest has had it twice.  The first time he was 3 or 4 years old (we saw the tick and then two days later a rash) and was given amox because he was too young for doxy.  He got it again a few months ago (never saw a tick but did see a huge bullseye rash) and was given doxy.  So it was the same protocol for treatment even though it was a separate infection.

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Our family doc is an LLMD.  Like, the kind that has a waiting list that spans up to a year.  She generally only accepts patients that are referred by other patients, at this point, she's in very high demand.

 

One doesn't end up with the family doc being a renowned LLMD unless Lyme has severely impacted a family... :)

 

So here goes: 

 

DH has had acute Lyme, and been adequately treated, at least twice over the years.  It might actually be more than that, as he's been preventatively treated several times.  

 

DS had Lyme at about 3 years old, was treated adequately, and enjoyed an almost ten year break.  We were extremely cautious, and watched like a hawk for any signs that his treatment was inadequate.  Last summer he had Lyme again, along with babesiosis and viral meningitis.  Courtesy of ticks.

 

I am just a perpetual soup of TBDs, sadly, though I seem to have been in remission now for a lot of years.  Knock on wood.  Though I was preventatively treated after a tick bite last summer (adult male deer tick, embedded, in a Lyme endemic area, in a Lyme patient with a daunting history of TBDs).

 

My LLMD has contracted Lyme multiple times, and treated it, and contracted it again (she is active outside, and is exposed to ticks regularly).

 

One can absolutely contract Lyme more than once, it's not like chicken pox or some other illnesses, we don't develop antibodies to it that stick around.  Plus, there are many, many strains.  

 

Did you see the second tick?  I do sometimes wonder if a second round of Lyme could be that the first round wasn't adequately treated.  When was the first round of Lyme?  Any symptoms between then and now?  Was it a full recovery?  Were co-infections treated?

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I have had Lyme three separate times -- it's absolutely possible to be infected again by a new tick bite. Your son needs doxycycline (again!).

O.K.  Thanks everyone!  That seems to be the consensus.

 

Sorry he is sick again, but thankfully you're taking care of it immediately. :grouphug:

Hopefully that is the case.  He is not here right now, but MomsintheGarden told him to go get it treated immediately.  But he's 19...

 

Did you see the second tick?  I do sometimes wonder if a second round of Lyme could be that the first round wasn't adequately treated.  When was the first round of Lyme?  Any symptoms between then and now?  Was it a full recovery?  Were co-infections treated?

No, just a bullseye, AFAIK.  We *think* the previous infection was in 2004, so 13 years ago when he was about five years old.  It was acute Lyme with multiple bullseyes and severe arthritis.  No symptoms after treatment (probably with amoxicillin).  He was not treated for co-infections.  Frankly, we didn't even know that was a thing back then.

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Re exposure to Lyme can sometimes have very long term debilitating side effects.  I would try to find an expert and not just do antibiotics.  Also look into Stevia, the plant not the store bought stuff.  There are some things out there that say it helps Lyme.

 

The study that has been all over the news for a couple years now certainly looks promising, but it is not yet anything close to a cure.

Study link https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681354/

 

That having been said, this is also a good article about it.

http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/stevia-lyme-disease/

 

As to the OP, sorry, but I would have him back on doxy asap and I would also use Buhner's protocol

http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/

This is what we do every time.

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Good news! DS19 went to a walk-in clinic today and the doctor gave him a prescription for four weeks of doxycycline. :hurray:

 

Now for the bad news: DS19 has lived with DS27 all summer. When discussing this with MomsintheGarden today, DS19 told her that DS27 has had a bullseye in the past (not sure when) and chose to do NOTHING about it! :ohmy: This is beyond comprehension to me given that DS27 knows what DS17 has been through with his chronic Lyme. But since he didn't live here at the time, perhaps it just didn't seem so bad?

 

He's an adult, but that is just plain foolish, IMO. If he ever gets Alzheimer's, ALS, Parkinson's, or MS, I will suspect Lyme.

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The study that has been all over the news for a couple years now certainly looks promising, but it is not yet anything close to a cure.

Study link https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681354/

 

That having been said, this is also a good article about it.

http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/stevia-lyme-disease/

 

As to the OP, sorry, but I would have him back on doxy asap and I would also use Buhner's protocol

http://buhnerhealinglyme.com/

This is what we do every time.

It's interesting that Buhner is so negative about Stevia. I do like his focus on in vivo experience rather than in vitro studies. Of course, both types of research have their merits.
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It's interesting that Buhner is so negative about Stevia. I do like his focus on in vivo experience rather than in vitro studies. Of course, both types of research have their merits.

 

It is.  His protocols have much more to do with helping the body fight more than anything.  But we have used his basic protocol along with doxy now for years to good effect.  They make sense to me and he really understands how the body responds to the various tick borne diseases.  I have all his books on my shelf.

We also use his poultice of diatomaceous earth and astralagus on every new tick bite for 48 hours.

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All I know is that I've been told that yes, you can get it again (and again). So far as I know it is *at least* as dangerous the second (and third, etc) time around. 

 

I'd get him to the DR immediately (TODAY) to start on doxy immediately (TODAY). 

 

I'd plan to treat for at least 4 weeks of high dose doxy (200 mg twice a day). I'd probably treat longer, but that's me . . .

 

If your DR doesn't RX at least that high dose doxy for at least 28 days, I'd take what they give you today, start immediately, and then I'd find a better Lyme doctor ASAP. 

 

I'm so sorry. 

 

Go get it treated. Today. 

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Good news! DS19 went to a walk-in clinic today and the doctor gave him a prescription for four weeks of doxycycline. :hurray:

DS19 went to the pharmacist to pick up his prescription, which he was told would be $18.90, only to be told that the prescription is for "Lyme" doxycycline and it cost him $120.   :ohmy:   I'm sorry, but that just sounds like the pharmaceutical companies gouging for a cheap product that people really need.  :rolleyes:  Even if the pills contain more doxycycline, they likely don't contain six times as much!

 

Am I wrong?

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