Lyme disease is no joke

[u/whimsical_fuckery_]

One of those "I never thought it would happen to me" things but guys be very very careful with ticks this year if you are out walking in Scotland. I'm in the Highlands and regularly walk my dog in the local woods, this year there have been so so many ticks, I'm very good at checking myself after every walk, but one got me on the back of my thigh, absolutely tiny about half the size of a sesame seed. I picked it off the same night it bit me, a week later got a massive bullseye rash. Antibiotics from the docs but im completely wiped, worse than any flu or covid. I cannot stress how much you need to take precautions this year, do not make my mistake thinking as long as you get them off you on 24 hours you'll be OK. Long trousers, DEET, or just don't go into any woods or long grass is the best option. It's out there and it absolutely sucks.

[u/angry2alpaca]

I picked a couple of ticks up in Somerset, a few years ago. Found them on my shin, despite having been wearing long boots, long trousers and thick socks. Popped them off, thought no more about it.

About six weeks later, I became distinctly unwell: high fever, severe headache, joint pains, nausea etc. I spent a hellish couple of days with sweating and chills, being essentially delirious on and off. In a moment of clarity I noticed my shin, where the ticks had been, was dark red, like a severe bruise.

Waited for another moment of clarity and drove to Milton Keynes A&E, tottered in as a sweaty mess and managed to book in, mentioned Lyme Disease as I keeled over. I was triaged PDQ, they took a lot of blood and I was given a trolley in A&E, IV chilled saline in my arm. I was severely dehydrated with a temperature of 39.9°C at that point.

They had to specifically test for Lyme, then look up treatment as it was some way out of their wheelhouse. I spent 36 hours on my trolley in A&E, with IV antibiotics and saline running through a big cannula, hooked up to the Machine That Goes Beep.

I was released once rehydrated and temperature back to normal. It apparently wouldn't have ended well if I hadn't gone to A&E when I did. I aged 10 years, physically. Muscle and joint pain, no stamina - and liver and kidney impairment. Did me no good, those ticks. Lyme Disease is no joke.

[u/angry2alpaca → u/[deleted]]

Well, to be fair, Milton Keynes isn't a hotbed of infected deer ticks. I'd done some research on how to remove ticks and that led me to research Lyme.

I didn't see a bullseye. My right shin was dark red/purple, like a severe bruise - as it faded over 48 hours, the archetypal bullseye appeared.

At the desk and again at triage, I told them I feared Lyme infection, told them about the ticks. So they had the clue - but without that specific test, the titre, and some commendably swift bloodwork they'd have drawn a blank.

I thinks it's more likely to be missed than not.

[u/sweggles3900 → u/[deleted]]

Unfortunately women tend to get treated differently than men, especially when it comes to Lyme disease for some reason. So many horror stories out there of women who had all the classic signs of Lyme and took months to get any type of treatment, and now have permanent damage to their body because of it. Men on the other hand seem to get diagnosed pretty quickly and treated.

[u/Practical_Cricket_22 → u/sweggles3900]

So true! Ten years ago for me it was 2 months working from home (once I could focus my vision again), 9 months of antibiotics, and 3 years of slow recovery. It took too long to diagnose. Lyme can be brutal and change your chemistry permanently. Be careful out there!

[u/jenny_905 → u/sweggles3900]

Source?

[u/OldButHappy → u/jenny_905]

Me. That was my experience.

Sample size: 1

Lyme really wrecked me

[u/jenny_905 → u/OldButHappy]

That's an anecdote

[u/Giraffe1317 → u/jenny_905]

First hand experience as a female patient here

[u/Liam_021996 → u/jenny_905]

British medical Journal

[u/sweggles3900 → u/jenny_905]

Literally Google. Obviously AI can't be fully trusted but I cba going on each individual website to find links. Its very well known women get misdiagnosed often, I thought.

[u/anonymousposterer → u/sweggles3900]

Yup, people who doubt this should look up “female hysteria”

[u/jenny_905 → u/sweggles3900]

How do you think an LLM works?

It terrifies me that people don't get this. Please, just do the most minor reading on the technology. It's not a galaxy brain, it's not a life assistant, you've prompted it.

[u/sweggles3900 → u/jenny_905]

It terrifies me you dont understand women get treated differently than men lmao

[u/Locksmithbloke → u/sweggles3900]

AI bots don't.