tick sickness

I was recently brought low by a tick.  The V.A. started me on the CDC protocol for Lyme Disease on Monday night (Monday, June 3th).   We caught it early so hopefully some of Lyme’s weirder long term effects will not appear.

Here’s the timeline in case it helps someone else:

• Sat the 19th of May - picking dewberries. Pulled off a tick

• Mon the 21st - found another tick on outside of right calf, just below the knee.  Due to the curve of my leg and the flat attitude of the tick I didn’t see it before.

• Thurs the 24th - missed day of work.  Low fever and general crappiness.

• Monday the 28th - noticed large sore at site of 2nd tick bite.  Angry red circle around it.  Not a normal tick bite reaction for me. Not particularly painful, which was weird given how infected it looked.

• Friday the 1st of June - lighter rash extending out from bite site, across and over knee.  Muscles are sore under the rash like you pulled something or someone punched you in the leg.

• Monday the 4th - soreness and rash extends to mid-thigh.  Having trouble getting up from a kneeling position due to leg weakness and muscle soreness.  Sore is not healing the way I usually heal.   I go to the E.R. and am prescribed the  doxycycline round.  Followup on Wed to see if I.V. meds are needed.

• Tuesday the 5th - awful arthritis-like pain in knee joint when I wake up.  Severe neck pain, eye pain, headache.   Feels like like flu + arthritis + pre-migraine.  I’m not eating.

• Wednesday the 6th - followup at E.R. so I can see original Doctor.  Pain and rash now up to groin.  Cognitive problems:  slowness, confusion, inability to focus;  that was scary.  Knee swelling in weird pockets.  I am worried, but the doctor sees improvement and says I’m on track.  I disagree and am irritable/scared.

• Thursday the 7th.  She was right.  By the next morning symptoms (except the original bite wound and knee pain/swelling) are diminished.

• Friday the 8th.  Returned to work, perhaps too early.  Exhausted by lunchtime.