Asking for Lyme disease tips

[Toocrazy!!]

DH found a tick on himself last Tuesday. The spot is very red, no bullseye, it itches. It looks better than it did last week. Appears to be healing. It was embedded when he found it. He thinks though less than 24 hours it was on him,  but he was in the woods for several days before he found it. But it was in a place he would notice, so he doesn’t think it was on him too long. 
He sent the tick for testing and it was positive for Lyme. 
He has no symptoms right now. 
What’s the protocol on this? 

[Katy]

Go to a walk in clinic, get antibiotics, and grab extra gatorade and water and ibuprofen on the way out of the pharmacy because the antibiotics make you feel bad, and worse when dehydrated. The entire course should fix the lyme since he caught it so early, but send him today. 

[Spryte]

What Katy said.

And — 28 days of abx would be optimal. To cover the entire lifespan of the spirochete.

 

[Toocrazy!!]

The tick testing place said they could tell it had been on him for 7 hours. 
Is a course of antibiotics still required for that short time frame? 

[Katy]

17 minutes ago, Toocrazy!! said:

The tick testing place said they could tell it had been on him for 7 hours. 
Is a course of antibiotics still required for that short time frame? 

I don’t know, but I’d get the antibiotics now, when it’s easily treated rather than risk it.  The antibiotics are bad, but lyme disease is a million times worse. 

[BlsdMama]

I’d insist on thirty days of the big boy - ceftriaxon / Rocephin. 
 

i wouldn’t miss a dose and no less than thirty days in ANY circumstance. I am so sorry. 

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

I don’t know, but I’d get the antibiotics now, when it’s easily treated rather than risk it.  The antibiotics are bad, but lyme disease is a million times worse. 

I have had Lyme three separate times, and I didn't have a problem with the antibiotics, except for when I was on them for 2 1/2 years straight. And even then, I had some nausea, but that was about it. I think it really depends on the individual, although I tend to have stomach issues from medications and I was still mostly okay.

I agree that it would be very ill-advised to wait to take the abx. Once a person gets symptoms, it's a lot harder to get rid of Lyme disease than it is if they take a full month course of abx before any symptoms appear -- because catching it early usually means that the person will never have any symptoms at all. 

If I knew for sure that a tick had tested positive for Lyme, I don't care if that thing was only on me for an hour -- I would be getting the antibiotics! And the fact that the area around the bite is red??? Ummm... just get him the antibiotics and have him take them for a month. And do not listen to a doctor who says one large dose is enough, or that the protocol is one or two weeks. Listening to that kind of idiotic advice is one of the reasons I was sick for YEARS. I don't want to see anyone go through that, when there is such a simple solution.

[Faith-manor]

Get the abx, and "we think it was only there" statements are pretty well guesses. They don't have that down to a great accuracy.

28 days. Watch the diet, do not take with high calcium foods which can inhibit absorption. Prioritize rest, probiotics to help with the abx if it bothers him.

Just smack it down before there is any chance of symptoms beginning.

[MerryAtHope]

I agree, I would not hesitate to do a month long course of anabiotic’s. My husband is disabled from late stage Lyme disease that went untreated for years. You don’t want to wait for symptoms to show up to decide what to do with Lyme disease.

[Catwoman]

1 hour ago, MerryAtHope said:

I agree, I would not hesitate to do a month long course of anabiotic’s. My husband is disabled from late stage Lyme disease that went untreated for years. You don’t want to wait for symptoms to show up to decide what to do with Lyme disease.

How is Dave doing now, Merry? 

[MEmama]

When DS was on doxy for Lyme, I gave him Good Belly juice and kiefer to drink for gut health. He never had any problems from the antibiotic.

I'll chime in too to insist that you get at least a 28 day rx. The couple weeks they will try to give you isn’t long enough.

Don't fool around with Lyme.

[MerryAtHope]

10 hours ago, Catwoman said:

How is Dave doing now, Merry? 

Thanks for asking. Better than the first few years after his diagnosis, but never the same again. He was diagnosed 21 years ago, but likely infected another 15 years before then, so it had a lot of time to wreak havoc. He slowly got sicker over that time, starting with joint pain and memory issues that doctors dismissed, until he couldn’t work any more. His symptoms today are like a combo of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and PTSD (light, sound, motion, and chemical sensitivities). Short outings to a store or things like 30 minute conversations usually leave him needing to rest for hours. It’s hard to be around people (and he’s an extrovert) and he can’t go to church, which has been the hardest part for him. But homeschooling was a huge blessing and he has good relationships with our kids…we try to count our blessings! God has carried us through so much and provided for us all these years.