I recently tested positive for Lyme disease. Test was .90. Evidently not a 100% positive. However my home area is a "hot bed for Lyme." 4 of the indicators were present. CDC wants 5 for a definitive positive. Starting Amoxyl(?) regimen.
I was in North Central Namibia in '05 and am wondering if any of the "biters" etc. could have sent me home with something that would trip some of the indicators in the test.
MD thinks that long term Celebrex use may have masked symptoms re: aches and pains.
Thanks for any info,
Scott

you could have tick fever, but lyme is nothing to fool around with. get on the antibiotics now

One of my Bird dogs , got Lymes this year in South Africa, only the second such case ever

Vets says it could have been ticks brought in by one of my bord hunting clients, whose bird vests were not cleaned properly

Your hunting clients are bored? Bad show!

Sorry to hear that Scott. You will be in my prayers.

Ahh Heck, Yes Marty I shoot a helluva lot better than I can type

Bird Hunting Client

the drug of choice is doxycycline: 100mg 2x daily for 14-21 days. Then repeat the drug therapy 3 weeks later.

lyme disease is serious. Don't take it lightly.

Your best bet is to find an Infectious Disease specialist and have an immediate consult.


dale

I suspect that your prior trip to Africa is not related. Still, your doc makes a good point that celebrex may have screened the arthritic symptoms for some time.

As you probably are aware, a general feeling of fever & "a bad cold" are also indicators. How long have you been feeling that way?

+1 on dale's comment to take it seriously & consult another doc. My grandfather had lymes diagnosed in the mid-late 80's, and its symptoms had been masked for a long time by his chemotherapy & general arthritis.

My son had lymes in the summer of 07; he was 4 at the time (he's fine now). Caught in the beginning, Lymes' is relatively easy to treat. The longer it goes untreated, the more difficult it becomes.

Either way, get started with antibiotics asap, and keep talking to the docs!

God bless & best wishes,

friar

No fever/cold symptoms. I was in to get another celebrex scrip and mentioned that I had tried to drop from 200-100mg. and the muscle/joint ache was off the chart. (2 knee reconstructions and I passed on a laminectomy 15yrs ago. Started celebrex then.) So he suggested Lyme test.
500 mg. amoxicillin twice a day, 14 days. He thinks it's easier on the liver than doxy.
Just thought I'd ask if there could be some other cause for the pos. test result.
Thanks all,
Scott

Don't know if amoxicillin works on Tick bite fever, but doxy seems to be a drug that works on both.

There is some lack of specificity to the testing, so results require interpretation. Frustratingly, you just can't say anthing for sure just from the test.
If you are from the Boiling Springs just down the road from me, I would really be surprised if it wasn't locally acquired. I've done a lot of tick work around here and Ixodes scapularis (the Lyme vector) has become one of the most common ticks I've collected here. It began appearing in my collections in the mid eighties and now predominates in my collections. Lyme disease is quite prevelent in the area.
If you spend time outside walking around here, your potential for exposure is very likely. Just as a point of reference, I attempted to collect ticks in Namibia, just east of Windhoek, near Outjo, and in Etosha and found none.
Good Luck, any of these rickettsial diseases can be a bugger.
Bfly

Scott, when they treated my son for Lymes, they used amoxicillin too. I was sceptical at first if that would be strong enough, but the doc assured me it was the treatment of choice.

Perhaps to my surprise only, it worked exceedingly well, and he's not had any problems since.

friar

The tests are not reliable. But take the drugs religiously. It is nothing to mess with.

May cause very bad debilitating joint diseases years later.

I had it a few years back, but caught it early due to the classic "target reaction." Three weeks of amox seems to have done the job.

Doxy is the way to go. It will hit your liver a bit more than amox but it is the safe shoot. Be sure you take your medication with care Lyme fever is serious

I fought it off back in 2004. I had to take 2 rounds of doxy. I had recurring symptoms for about a year. Lyme is something that should be taken seriously....now I'm absolutely fanatical about taking all the precautions before heading to the woods. Duranon, DEET, you name it - I use it. Have had one tick on me in the 7 years since, and it scared the sh!t out me.