NO TREASURE, BUT A MUST READ POST: HORROR STORY OF A TICK AND EHRLICHIOSIS

[port ewen ace]

GOT NAILED BY A LARGE BLACK LEG TICK COMMON TO NORTHEAST , ON 10/27. FOUND AND REMOVED IT ON 29TH. IT WAS DEAD AT REMOVAL AND NOT ENGORGED, SO I GAVE IT NO THOUGHT. ON 11/4 WENT ON A HUNT AT 1 PM AND BY 3 PM NOTICED I HAD NO STRENGTH TO DIG PLUGS, HAD TROUBLE WALKING A STRAIGHT LINE AND FELT TUNNEL VISION AND LIGHT- HEADED. GAVE UP AT 5 PM AND DROVE HOME 10 MILES ALL THE WAY WITH THE HEAT ON. 11/4 WAS NEAR 60 DEGREES ALL DAY. GOT HOME, RAN THE PELLET STOVE UP TO 76 DEGREES AND I'M STILL SHIVERING. NEXT DAY I GO TO A SCHEDULED VISIT TO THE DOC ON ANOTHER MATTER, NURSE TAKES MY TEMPERATURE AND SHOWS IT TO ME-----102.1 DEGREES. AFTER TELLING THE DOC ABOUT THE TICK, DOC SENDS ME HOME SAYS TAKE SOME TYLENOL AS IT'S FLU SEASON. I SPEND THE FULL DAY AND NIGHT IN BED UNTIL 5 AM THURSDAY MORNING WHEN I GO INTO FULL BODY UNCONTROLLED SPASMS. I CALL 911, DRINK A QUART OF WATER AND THE SHAKING STOPS BEFORE THE RESCUE SQUAD ARRIVES IN 10 MINUTES. THE EMERGENCY DOC PUTS ME ON IV SALINE DRIP WRITES A SCRIP FOR DOXYCYCLINE, MY TEMP AT ARRIVAL IN THE ER WAS 101.9. FULL BLOOD WORK WAS TAKEN TO CONFIRM THE PARTICULAR VIRUS AND THEY SEND ME HOME AT NOON. KEY DETAILS ARE -- AROUND 7 DAY INCUBATION BEFORE SYMTOMS, THERE IS NO RASH OR "BULLS-EYE", AFTER THAT, IN 1 TO 2 DAYS YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GOT HIT BY A BATTLESHIP AND LASTLY THE FINAL SYMPTOM AFTER THE CONVULSIONS IS------COMA. THIS BEATCH IS RIGHT UP THERE WITH EBOLA AND LYME. NOW I KNOW ALL TYPES OF TICKS CAN WREAK HAVOC ON YOU. BETTER NOW, SO BACK DIGGING ON TUESDAY.

 

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[doc-d]

Thank you for sharing this important information..

 

[Ahab8]

Wow glad you're ok bud. Scary stuff

 

[Jim in Idaho]

So what was it? I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever 18 months ago. Hit me the same way, but I was watching for the initial symptoms, and when they showed up, I hit the Doc's. I had really bad headache, fever, and extreme fatigue. Doxycycline killed it, but I was weak and tired for another 10 days.
Jim

 

[Rich jaws]

Hit a local historic park last week. Came home and found ticks crawling all over me. I think I found them all but it really sleeved me out. Signs all over the park telling you that the ticks have Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Keeping ,my fingers crossed and will stick to the grass fields for now.

 

[port ewen ace]

THIS BUG IS VERY SIMILAR TO RMSF. ALSO WANT TO MENTION IT SUCKS MOISTURE CAUSING SEVERE DEHYDRATION, ALSO CAUSES LIVER ENZYME ISSUES, CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM ISSUES INCLUDING EXTREME WEAKNESS AND FATIGUE. MY THOUGHT PROCESSING WAS GREATLY IMPAIRED AND SLEEP WAS NOT POSSIBLE. THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY IT CAN INCREASE CHANCES OF DEVELOPING PARKINSONS OVER TIME, ACCORDING TO THE RN. THERE IS NO IMMUNITY SO YOU CAN BE RE-INFECTED. EHRLICHIOSIS IS SNEAKY SINCE THERE IS NO RASH OR PAIN AT BITE SITE AND IT IS JUST ONE MEAN SUCKER PUNCH

 

[pepperj]

Seems that these little buggers will get us all, got bit earlier this summer and I spent two hours digging a hole in my thigh making sure I got it all out.

Glad you feel better and called it in, too many family Dr.'s seem to have no idea when it comes to ticks.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

clad to hear you got through it all right Ace. I hate those little buggers.
ZDD

 

[Pointman]

Wow, glad you made it. Prayer needs to be said for you because folks TYPICALLY have symptoms for years.

This past Spring, I was moving furniture for someone and got a red bite on my chest. I itched, swelled up in a knot and hurt for weeks and after week 2 turned into a bulls-eye. I didn't display any symptoms other than the bite, but I was concerned. I've had thousands of tick bites, but thankfully nothing of concern resulted from them as far as I know of.

Take care.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Anybody that KNOWS they were bitten by a tick needs to be watching for ANY flu-like symptoms for the next 14 days. If anything shows up, get your butt to the Doc. And DO NOT let the Doc tell you it's flu. Every day that treatment is put off increases the risks of lifetime problems. This IS a BIG deal, for outdoor people.
Also, treat your outdoor clothing with Permethrin. It's cheap, and easy. Once treated, you're good for a month, even through several washings. Then treat again.
Jim

 

[etex]

Another symptom is it causes you to forget to take the all caps key off

 

[cjon455]

holy crap ace, good thing you got treated when you did!, sorry that happened to ya but thanks for the heads up

glad youre feeling better, a few keepers will make ya feel even better!!

 

[coinman123]

I hope you feel well soon, hopefully because you treated it so soon the symptoms will not last for a while.

 

[port ewen ace]

BLOOD WORK RESULTS CAME TODAY, POSITIVE FOR LYME, POSITIVE FOR ANAPLASMOSIS, BOTH CAN BE CARRIED BY BLACK LEGGED TICK COMMON TO NORTHEAST.

 

[Greylock]

BLOOD WORK RESULTS CAME TODAY, POSITIVE FOR LYME, POSITIVE FOR ANAPLASMOSIS, BOTH CAN BE CARRIED BY BLACK LEGGED TICK COMMON TO NORTHEAST.

Hope you get that taken care of. One of my dogs got anaplasmosis and he was pretty sick for a while until the antibiotics kicked in.

 

[beez0404]

Rich, are you sure Frank hasn't been kicking your butt AGAIN and you're using this as an excuse to get out of hunting with him? LOL I'm sorry you were tick bitten but glad you got medical attention in time and are on the road to recovery. Be careful out there my friend.

 

[terpfan]

So sorry to hear your news. All four of us in my family have had Lyme, as it is all-too-common around here. I'm glad you got diagnosed early, as that usually means a quick recovery. On a trusted doctor's recommendation, our family now insists on a full month of doxycycline. Good luck!

For those unfamiliar with Lyme disease, be aware that the symptoms vary greatly. Most doctors are slow to diagnosis it. Here are the symptoms we experienced:
Wife: Swollen, painful knee that was hot to touch.
Daughter: Bedridden with one continuous migraine headache that last nine full months.
Son: Heart condition with rapid variations in heartbeat rate (between 40 beats per minute to 190 bpm), and sensitivity to light. Hospitalized a week at Children's Hospital with no diagnosis. (Original Lyme test came back with a false negative). Took doctors months to correctly diagnose.
Lucky Me: Early diagnosis because of the bulls-eye rash.

 

[Gold Maven]

Good luck with your recovery.

I had a tick on my back for two days, wasn't engorged, no red ring, no rash, no symptoms.

Wife insisted I go to the doc, he looked at the tick, and the bite, said 100% certain you are ok.

She works at the Health department, her boss, a doc, looked at the tick said no worries.

Jenny sent the tick to the CDC anyway, 2 days later a very nice tick specialist called me and filled me in.

Turns out it was the adult female that carries Lyme. Red rash or bulls-eye red ring only occur in about 40% of the cases, and no symptoms for at least 30 days, and up to a year after the bite.

She said get on antibiotics immediately.

Most Doctors know a little about everything, but few are up to speed on ticks.

 

[Valley Ranger]

GOT NAILED BY A LARGE BLACK LEG TICK COMMON TO NORTHEAST , ON 10/27. FOUND AND REMOVED IT ON 29TH. IT WAS DEAD AT REMOVAL AND NOT ENGORGED, SO I GAVE IT NO THOUGHT. ON 11/4 WENT ON A HUNT AT 1 PM AND BY 3 PM NOTICED I HAD NO STRENGTH TO DIG PLUGS, HAD TROUBLE WALKING A STRAIGHT LINE AND FELT TUNNEL VISION AND LIGHT- HEADED. GAVE UP AT 5 PM AND DROVE HOME 10 MILES ALL THE WAY WITH THE HEAT ON. 11/4 WAS NEAR 60 DEGREES ALL DAY. GOT HOME, RAN THE PELLET STOVE UP TO 76 DEGREES AND I'M STILL SHIVERING. NEXT DAY I GO TO A SCHEDULED VISIT TO THE DOC ON ANOTHER MATTER, NURSE TAKES MY TEMPERATURE AND SHOWS IT TO ME-----102.1 DEGREES. AFTER TELLING THE DOC ABOUT THE TICK, DOC SENDS ME HOME SAYS TAKE SOME TYLENOL AS IT'S FLU SEASON. I SPEND THE FULL DAY AND NIGHT IN BED UNTIL 5 AM THURSDAY MORNING WHEN I GO INTO FULL BODY UNCONTROLLED SPASMS. I CALL 911, DRINK A QUART OF WATER AND THE SHAKING STOPS BEFORE THE RESCUE SQUAD ARRIVES IN 10 MINUTES. THE EMERGENCY DOC PUTS ME ON IV SALINE DRIP WRITES A SCRIP FOR DOXYCYCLINE, MY TEMP AT ARRIVAL IN THE ER WAS 101.9. FULL BLOOD WORK WAS TAKEN TO CONFIRM THE PARTICULAR VIRUS AND THEY SEND ME HOME AT NOON. KEY DETAILS ARE -- AROUND 7 DAY INCUBATION BEFORE SYMTOMS, THERE IS NO RASH OR "BULLS-EYE", AFTER THAT, IN 1 TO 2 DAYS YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GOT HIT BY A BATTLESHIP AND LASTLY THE FINAL SYMPTOM AFTER THE CONVULSIONS IS------COMA. THIS BEATCH IS RIGHT UP THERE WITH EBOLA AND LYME. NOW I KNOW ALL TYPES OF TICKS CAN WREAK HAVOC ON YOU. BETTER NOW, SO BACK DIGGING ON TUESDAY.

"Go back digging on Tuesday." LOVE that attitude my friend! Glad you're on the mends.

 

[jewelerguy]

a good many years ago I got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever from a tick. I think I got within walking distance of the Pearly Gates. It was no fun at all. I HATE TICKS