WinchesterStalker
Member
Last week I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I was lucky because my doc was familiar with the symptoms and recognised it immediately, so we caught it within a couple of weeks of the first sign.
Fortunately, if like me, you diagnose it quickly, a 14 day course of antibiotics solves the problem for good. However, some people go undiagnosed for ages, years even, and then it can cause problems and be much harder to treat.
My symptoms were a red mark, looked like a mosquito bite to begin with. No sign of a tick, or a bite at all. Gradually it got bigger and bigger - then ended up about 6 inches diameter, with concentric circles, looking rather like a target.
I also had a fever (very mild) in the night about four or five days after I first noticed the mark. Other than that, nothing at all - felt fine. Even felt silly mentioning it to the doc.
Apparently, the red mark goes away on its own without treatment. However, that doesnt mean the Lyme disease is gone. If left untreated, that's really when the trouble starts because you then have a year of two of other illnesses, headaches etc with no obvious signs of Lyme. Then its much harder to diagnose.
So, if you get a red mark, which grows a bit, go to the docs and mention Lyme disease to him/her. Its a simple blood test and then anti biotics - no problem. Its very common down here in Hampshire, and apparently incidence of it recently has dramatically increased.
Just wanted to warn people again - I know its on all of our radars, but doesn't hurt to be reminded - to be honest, my attitude was "it will never happen to me" - well, it obviously has!
Cheers
WS
Fortunately, if like me, you diagnose it quickly, a 14 day course of antibiotics solves the problem for good. However, some people go undiagnosed for ages, years even, and then it can cause problems and be much harder to treat.
My symptoms were a red mark, looked like a mosquito bite to begin with. No sign of a tick, or a bite at all. Gradually it got bigger and bigger - then ended up about 6 inches diameter, with concentric circles, looking rather like a target.
I also had a fever (very mild) in the night about four or five days after I first noticed the mark. Other than that, nothing at all - felt fine. Even felt silly mentioning it to the doc.
Apparently, the red mark goes away on its own without treatment. However, that doesnt mean the Lyme disease is gone. If left untreated, that's really when the trouble starts because you then have a year of two of other illnesses, headaches etc with no obvious signs of Lyme. Then its much harder to diagnose.
So, if you get a red mark, which grows a bit, go to the docs and mention Lyme disease to him/her. Its a simple blood test and then anti biotics - no problem. Its very common down here in Hampshire, and apparently incidence of it recently has dramatically increased.
Just wanted to warn people again - I know its on all of our radars, but doesn't hurt to be reminded - to be honest, my attitude was "it will never happen to me" - well, it obviously has!
Cheers
WS