View Full Version : Lyme Disease
ShoelessWanderer
07-14-2009, 18:53
So, this morning I was officially diagnosed with Lyme disease. And while everything is going to be fine...I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that the ticks are HORRIBLE this year! So, make sure you are checking yourself regularly for ticks. And also, if you're like me and get lots of tick bites, make sure you are keeping an eye out for rashes!
On the funner side of it, the doctor asked me if I had been bitten by any other ticks this year...I replied "yeah, a few", "how many's a few" I looked up and replied "20-30, I lost track after number 5." The doctor almost passed out. Apparently he's not a hiker :)
Snowleopard
07-14-2009, 20:15
Sorry about the Lyme, Shoeless. Where do you think you got it?
puddingboy
07-14-2009, 21:26
Me and my dad both had about 20 ticks on one hike, and my dog had over 30.
ShoelessWanderer
07-16-2009, 16:03
I was hiking up in CT and got a total of 2 ticks the whole week. Which is pretty good for me, it's normally like 10 a weekend. But one of them was what caused the Lyme.
Pedaling Fool
07-16-2009, 16:07
Are these the really small deer tick or the larger species, normally known as the "dog tick"?
ShoelessWanderer
07-16-2009, 18:37
Are these the really small deer tick or the larger species, normally known as the "dog tick"?
Normally (hiking in VA) I get dog ticks, the one that gave me lyme disease was a deer tick (that I got in CT). I didn't see him for at least 2 days because he was so small. A lot of times with deer ticks they have to feed for a few days before you see them.
Old Grouse
07-16-2009, 19:12
Not one of the things we Nutmeggers are proud of.
gravy4601
07-16-2009, 19:15
how did you no to go to the doctor what are the symptons of lyme disease and what did the rash look like
ShoelessWanderer
07-16-2009, 20:42
The rash is a bulls eye. Red circle around the tick bite, with a white circle around that followed by another red circle. The rash doesn't ALWAYS appear. But when it does it's a tell-tell sign.
http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/a/0/7/b/global_9701083.jpeg
Symptoms are normally flu-like symptoms and then aching/swollen joints.
Downhill Trucker
07-16-2009, 21:00
I got mine in CT as well. Hate that state!
ShoelessWanderer
07-16-2009, 21:16
Ahh, the state was great! Lots of fun, minus the tick! Of course, it was my first experience with New England hiking...so maybe it's just all that "rock climbing" that I enjoyed?
Snowleopard
07-16-2009, 22:39
Well, Lyme (the town that the disease is named after) is in Connecticut. I love NW CT and SW MA; maybe I'll wait till fall to hike there again. VT, NH, ME have less Lyme than CT and MA.
ShoelessWanderer
07-17-2009, 11:34
Well, Lyme (the town that the disease is named after) is in Connecticut. I love NW CT and SW MA; maybe I'll wait till fall to hike there again. VT, NH, ME have less Lyme than CT and MA.
hmm...interesting, did not know that! Being a southern girl we don't (normally) have to worry about Lyme disease so much. :o
Old Grouse
07-17-2009, 14:28
Maybe we need a new motto: "Welcome to Connecticut - the Bullseye State."
Blissful
07-17-2009, 14:55
The ticks must be jumping over the NY border -
Sorry to hear that. Get well soon.
Rocky Mountain Spotted fever is spreading in Tennessee. I have a buddy who just had it.
Check yourselves!
HikerRanky
07-17-2009, 15:38
Lyme disease is also showing up over here in Middle Tennessee....
ShoelessWanderer
07-17-2009, 16:12
In the south, in general, it is Rocky Mountain Spotted fever that we all worry about. I am starting to see more deer ticks pop up though...who knows...global warming, maybe.
leeki pole
07-17-2009, 16:20
We just had a healthy 28 year old male in Oxford, MS who died of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever this week. Evidently it was misdiagnosed as swine flu (H1N1) and progressed rapidly. This is spread by the wood tick (dog tick) and not the deer tick. If you get bit and get sick, get help quick.
ShoelessWanderer
07-17-2009, 17:01
We just had a healthy 28 year old male in Oxford, MS who died of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever this week. Evidently it was misdiagnosed as swine flu (H1N1) and progressed rapidly. This is spread by the wood tick (dog tick) and not the deer tick. If you get bit and get sick, get help quick.
I hadn't heard about that, that's insane!
Slack-jawed Trog
07-18-2009, 11:20
Hey Now, Folx!
Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are only two of the nasties ticks spread. Watch out, too, for Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Erlichiosis and Q Fever (among others). Albeit, they are less prevelant than Lyme Disease. I recently heard from an aquaintance in Mass. who is being treated for Erlichiosis, aquired from a tick bite.
In CT I worry not only about the dog and deer ticks but also the lone star tick. It has expanded its range into CT. For crying out loud, I get ticks in my yard.
ShoelessWanderer
07-18-2009, 18:50
For crying out loud, I get ticks in my yard.
I lead a hiking group that is 500+ members strong. Granted lots of them show up for one hike and never come back...they all freak out when I mention checking yourself for ticks when you get home after a hike. Being a country-born girl, I've never understood why they freak out :eek:...I thought everyone knew if you were outside there are the chance for ticks...even in your own back yard.
But that's why they have no idea their leader has lyme disease :o None of them would ever come back! :)
ShoelessWanderer
07-19-2009, 08:25
Interesting map I found online:
http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/Maps/index.html
FritztheCat
07-19-2009, 09:11
Shoeless,
Wife got lyme last year*. She took the anti-biotics for six weeks and it wasn't until week six that she started feeling better. Glad you caught it early and hope you feel better soon!
Sorry I wasn't able to meet you yesterday at First Landing. It was a great hike!
*I owe a huge thanks to this site for the information on lyme. I was reading threads on lyme when my wife came down with her symptoms and the information I learned here is what prompted me to tell her what I thought it was so she could get checked.
ShoelessWanderer
07-19-2009, 12:25
Fortunatly it hasn't been bad. I've just been REALLY tired. Not 100% sure if that's the Lyme or just life in general! I had a pretty rough day yesterday though, horrible headache, felt like the room was spinning, was sick to my stomach...just not a good day in general.
Which is why I didn't make it to first landing, but...That's always a very popular park and we normally get a huge turnout there. Amazed we didn't have more sign up for that. May have been that it was planned last minute. Anyway, hopefully I can meet you in person sometime soon!
And I hope the group took good care of you!!