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Here's to Your Health:  I had a tick bite and...  |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
 Posted - May 23 2011 : 07:16:16 AM
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and I lost a month of my life! But I count myself lucky because it could have been much worse. I'm lucky because I had a virus I caught from my granddaughter and thought I was not getting better from that. I would have delayed going to the doctor if I had not already been sick for over a week. Turns out I had Erlichiosis from a tick bite. I was down and i mean down for 3 weeks. I have never been so sick. I've been hospitalized and not felt so bad!
I wanted to let you all know that I am back and did not just disappear out of lack of interest.
I also want to encourage you all to be vigilant about tick protection. I have rarely used deet because i don't like spraying my body with chemicals. I used various natural repellents over the years and never found anything that really worked so I went without. I did do a body check daily but I missed the one on my right shoulder blade till it started itching, probably 24 to 48 hours after it bit me. My doctor was receptive to my concern about the tick bite and started me on doxycycline right away. I refused the test for tick borne diseases because it cost $400. When I started getting better so quickly after taking the med she asked me to come in and be tested at her expense because she wanted to write my case up for publication and needed the verification. I did and I had it. I worried about Lyme but had no idea this one even existed.
If you have flu like symptoms a week to ten days after a tick bite go to the doctor! Tell them you were bitten. A few years ago we had a 24 year old healthy soldier at the base nearby die of this disease because no one realized it was not the flu until it was too late.
If even one person benefits from reading this it will be worth having had this disease.
Tell your children and grown up loved ones to tell you if they have been bitten so you will know to watch them as well.
Love you all,
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2011 : 3:40:23 PM
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Connie, I was wondering where you were. I am so sorry you had to go through this but so glad you caught it so soon. I saw a tick on my leg in the garden a few weeks ago. I used to haev guineas but gave them all away because they were getting so mena to the hens. I think I may have to get some more. They are so good to keep ticks and fleas away. So glad you are ok. I hope there are no lasting effects from the bite. Thanks fo letting us know about this.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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embchicken
True Blue Farmgirl
1487 Posts
Elaine
Ocean
NJ
USA
1487 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2011 : 3:40:30 PM
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Connie~ You are right - we need to be vigilant about tick bites. I have been reading about the damage a tick can do to the human body - especially the nervous system. Some of these bugs are packing nasty diseases.
~ Elaine
Farmgirl sister #2822
"Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things." ~Saki
http://embchicken.blogspot.com
http://gusandtrudy.blogspot.com |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2011 : 6:05:06 PM
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Tell me about it Elaine! All the tick borne diseases have some level of Neurological effect. I was in tears constantly the day I finally got treatment. I'm an army brat of the fifties. We don't do that. LOL Hopefully I got help soon enough that there won't be any lasting effects. You guys will be the first to know if there is.
Kris-As sick as I was I missed being on the forum and talking with you all. I am thinking about guineas too. I figure they will be critter food around my place but if they could get some ticks cleaned out before they go it would be worth it. Where do you get them? Do they have to be babies or can you get full grown ones? I obviously need to read up on this!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2011 : 7:14:03 PM
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Connie, it's best to get guinea chicks and raise them. If you get older ones they tend to want to leave. You'd have to keep them put up for a few weeks to make sure they'd stay. I always got mine from the feed store. You might find some on Craig's list. I'm going to look there. We have a Ga. market bulletin that comes out every few weeks and they are always in there.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 23 2011 : 7:50:31 PM
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Thats what I figured. Well, at least the small coop is empty now so i have a place to keep them till they know where they live! Do they go back to the coop at dusk like my chickens did? Or do they stay out once they are let out?
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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82kygal
True Blue Farmgirl
548 Posts
Laura
Somerset
Kentucky
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 08:29:00 AM
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My husband got bit two years ago and is now disabled. He can't hold down a job because he is to tired and sore all the time. He has highs and lows mostly lows. Please watch those ticks.!!!
With God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)
What ever you are, be a good one. (Abe Lincoln) |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 08:40:26 AM
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Hey Laura, Which disease did he get? How long before he was treated? It's fair to say I am scared. I'm still feeling really tired, but I don't hurt as much any more. Tomorrow is my last day of antibiotics so I am still a short timer as far as treatment goes. Wondering what the future holds. Good thoughts, prayers, light and love are requested ladies.
Thanks,
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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82kygal
True Blue Farmgirl
548 Posts
Laura
Somerset
Kentucky
USA
548 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 10:34:03 AM
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Hey Connie, it went for about a month. He asked me one day what I thought of a little lump on his leg and I said looks like a tick bite. He, being a man said oh no biggy. Well he started feeling tired all the time and not being able to make it to work. I told him he needed to go get blood work done so he did. He went to Urgent care and they told him he had rocky mountain spotted tick fever and gave him a two week supply of antibiotics. Well, he felt better for a little bit and when the prescription ran out he was well enough to go to work. At that same time both my dogs were found to have lyme's disease and got put on antibiotics. About a week later he started feeling bad again and a few weeks after that went to his real dr. who said yes he still had RMSTF. He said he should have been put on antibiotics for two months at least not two weeks. So back on the antibiotics he went but by that time he had developed Epstien Barr virus. And it just went all down hill from there. He is now diagnosed with Fibro and cronic fatique. And this is where we still sit. We think he has lymes but there is no accurate test for that. So that is it in a nut shell. It has been a long tiring two years. Right now he is in bed sleeping. He sleeps about 15 to 18hrs a day on a good day. I hope it doesn't get this bad for you. I don't mean to scare you sounds like you are on the right track. If you start feeling the least bit bad after your antibiotics are done get back to your dr. ASAP. Dont let them tell you it is all in your head. My poor hubby about went nuts with all the Dr.s telling him he was crazy. Even his parents didn't belive he could be that sick. Very sad. He finally went to the hosp for a week and ran every test that could be run. And fibro and cronic fatigue is what came out of that. Good luck hope this helped a little. If you have any more questions please let me know if I can help in anyway. I don't want to see anyone go through what we had to.
Take care I am praying for you!
Laura
With God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)
What ever you are, be a good one. (Abe Lincoln) |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 12:46:07 PM
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Thanks Laura. I will be very firm if I think I am still sick after the antibiotics. I learned that lesson between the virus I had and the development of symptoms of Ehrlichiosis. When the virus would not go away (I thought it was still the virus) I thought I was crazy! I even questioned why I still "needed" to be sick. I could feel that my loved ones were out of patience with me too. Believe me I will sit in the doctors office until they do what needs to be done or the security guard drags me out!
I hope your husband has a remission of Epstein Barr. It can happen! I'll send him some good thoughts.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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ddmashayekhi
True Blue Farmgirl
4739 Posts
Dawn
Naperville
Illinois
USA
4739 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 3:30:24 PM
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Thank you for the information Connie. I volunteer at the Morton Arboretum and my little boy got a tick on his tummy after we finished hiking the trail I monitor there. Fortunately the tick hadn't dug in yet, but it was a good reminder to me to check us over very carefully after hiking in the woods. I had to attend a tick seminar at the arboretum a few years ago and it was amazing the diseases they carry. Very scary and to be taken very seriously.
I'm glad you feel better and hope everyone has a safe summer!
Dawn in IL |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - May 24 2011 : 3:55:39 PM
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I rarely if ever take or recommend antibiotics for any one or myself. However, with a tick bite it is really monumental that you go into the dr and get SHOTS of antibiotics immediately and ask for antibiotics. When you take them for "real" things, like tick bites you are not very likely to become immune. It's when you over use them for things your immune system can handle on it's own that you could become immune.
Things like Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever, Lyme Disease etc are not things your immune system can handle and can KILL you! I know of three people here where I live with Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever, my grandmother had it at the young age of 20 and battled with it's after effects the rest of her life. A little boy I knew only 15 years ago also got it, they didn't know that this was a risk for people in Kansas. (my grandmother had had it decades before him, he was the first in our area to be reported as having it) Any way, he was a vibrant little foster boy of mine, played soccer, was humorous, was active, was striving to reach a goal of becoming a ordained minister, every thing you can imagine a very very bright 8 year old could be, since Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever, he lost both his legs, most his fingers, and has the mind of a three year old permanently. He is blind, and can't speak, and will be in a wheel chair the rest of his life. When he was hospitalized for the disease they gave him less then 1 percent chance of even living. That was only 2 weeks after being bitten by the tick. This is serious stuff folks. Don't mess around when you are bitten by a tick.
My step mother is a doctor, we were just discussing the ticks (as tick season just began here) last week she said if we are bitten by a tick we should go into the drs office immediately and get a shot of antibiotics and put on a oral antibiotic right away. She said if we do that we have a very high chance of not getting what ever disease the tick may be carrying.
Again I don't antibiotics lightly in fact, I can't even remember the last time me or my family have taken them. But, I will tell you, after seeing the people I know and love be so gravely effected by tick bites, I will go in and get antibiotics right away! That's what they are for, those emergency situations where your own immune system just can't handle what the disease will do to you. I think that's what they are for at least. They aren't in my opinion for every little bug/germ that comes by, but for those major ones that our immune system has no defense against, that's when we really need them, and I think should use them.
Oh and just a little FYI, cause it may sound like the little boy I had was a extreme case, the thing was he was very sick, his mother kept taking him to the ER, and they kept saying he had the flu and prescribed him motrin, motrin thins the blood, RMSTF thins the capulary (vein) walls. Thin capulary walls, thin blood.......meant his blood was literally running right out of his veins, he was like a big bruise. The blood pooled in his extremities (legs, fingers/hands) and formed gangreen, that is why he had so much amputation. I think it also made his brain swell cause his head is still currently about 6 times the size it was before. In fact, when I brought in pictures of him to the nurses he had in PICU they couldn't believe that was the same little boy, looked nothing like him any more! His mother, nor I knew he had been bitten by a tick. We found out after the drs found out he had RMSTF, he had been playing soccer in a field with his brothers and gotten bit, his brothers took it off him and didn't think a thing of it, as most little boys wouldn't! And so didn't tell any of us till after we found out about the RMSTF. They felt bad about it for a long time after that. Even though there was no way of them being little boys also to know that this could of became what it did.
Just another BTW, it takes 2 weeks for RMSTF to show up on a blood test, by that time damage, maybe permanent, possibly life threatening can be done. That's why it's so important NOT to wait.
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
Edited by - MagnoliaWhisper on May 24 2011 4:25:55 PM |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2011 : 03:57:24 AM
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Ny nephew got Lyme's Disease and almost a year later and a few very expensive trips to a dr in NY, he is almost back to normal.
He also had bad pain in his joints
I am constantly picking ticks off when we walk in the woods or fields. I have 2 bites now that even from those teeny-tiny things- still itch like fire.
Four days later and I'm feeling fine, so you betcha I keep a watchful eye
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2011 : 06:38:40 AM
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I posted this at another site, but wanted to share here. There is a documentary out now on PBS www.underourskin.com. Watch it!
My DD was bitten 15 years ago. The tick got her in the belly-button so we never saw it. She was misdiagnosed for over 2 1/2 years. They diagnosed her with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, a common mis-diagnosis for Lyme disease. After two years of steroids and sulpha drugs she was getting worse. I begged the doctor for another Lyme test since the first one was negative but they can be. I fought and fought for her and finally went out of my HMO and found another doctor. She had Lyme and her count was off the charts! Once you have it that long it is hard to eradicate. She will have problems the rest of her life. One good thing is that the medical community is finally recognizing it and treating early. This is so important! Early treatment can cure it, but wait too long and the Lyme spirochetes can get in your organs and spinal fluid and lie dormant only to come back with a vengeance. A few months ago, we went to see a Lyme specialist and she installed a pik-line and 30 days of an intraveinous anti-biotic. It helped quite a bit. I urge everyone to watch the documentary and prevent tick bites and get early treatment if bitten. Lyme disease has changed our lives forever.
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Happy to be a "Raggedy Ann" in a Barbie World!
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 27 2011 : 10:40:35 AM
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I think the take away on all these posts is that it CAN happen to YOU! This is not something that is limited to a specific place anymore. Granted some are worse than others but nowhere is with out it.
Nothing works as well as deet. Use it! Tuck your pants in your socks. Wear light colored clothes so you can see them. Do a body check every day. If you are bitten put it on a calendar and tell someone.
As much as I hate to admit it I am still having some problems. I have a headache everyday starting after I have been up about three hours. My neck is sore too. I'm tired and have more memory problems than usual.:) No fever or chills thank goodness.
Diane- Thanks for the info on the documentary. I'll watch it as soon as possible!
I'm sending my best thoughts and love to all affected by this problem. Wishing us all a complete recovery and return to health.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 06:55:12 AM
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i want to post a small comment here. i dont want to irritate anyone here. i agree that ticks are terrible and can be fatal. please dont let the cure bite you in the butt so to speak. if i used deet i would be so sick. there are folks that are chemically sensitive that deet can actually make them be sicker. if they are immune compromised the inerts in deet can injure them. i so agree you have to do something but i believe those ill or sensitive need a different solution. i dont know what it is. i agree the guinees are a great idea around the farm. i find we have no scorpions few snakes etc. but we feed only organic and so lots of healthy wild birds and our domestic chickens running around help too. i am so sorry you were so sick. i hope you stay well now. sending hugs love to you sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 11:19:34 AM
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I absolutely agree Sherry. I fully expect that folks know their own bodies and will honor what is best for them.
I'm in a difficult position having a farm that has been uninhabited for 17 mos (Mostly dealing with the yard area now) The ticks are so bad it is a question of spraying myself or spraying the earth. I fully intend to keep my land organic so I choose to spray me at this point. Hopefully we will get control of the problem once we are there full time and can get the chickens and guineas to work.
Believe me I am the last person to advocate chemical use, but in a situation like ours I have to decide what is better long term for our bodies and the earth. Two and a half months of Doxycycline will manage the Erlichiosis ( I hope) but I have to wonder what it is doing to me that is not beneficial. I think a once or twice a week application of deet, washed off as soon as possible, would have been less damaging to my body than an infection followed by long term antibiotic therapy, with no guarantee of having found it in time to prevent long term problems.
I hope folks will weigh the risks and choose a method that they feel comfortable with. I'm a bit mad at myself because I CHOSE not to use deet despite the fact I was pulling multiple ticks off of me every time I was at the farm. The odds were against me and I believe i was just being stubborn and ignored the facts to hold true to a value that proved to be a very false economy for me. I've spent a lot of time trying to understand why/how I had such blinders on since I've been sick. My goodness I'm a nurse with a masters degree. I knew the risk. How could I have been so short sighted?
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 11:59:36 AM
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I haven't tried it yet, but I had a step grandmother who was extremely sensitive and she swore by Avon's skin so soft. (I'm allergic to most Avon, so I am kind of on the fence about it!). One thing is you could really try to cover and lock out any insects as much as possible, of course that may be very hot too! So I just don't know!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 4:14:28 PM
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heather, i think i remember that being true too. i think it was skin so soft. for those who could use it it may be a lesser evil. but like was stated. it is important to do something that works for you. so in some cases as was said ya have to be aggressive. sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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rksmith
True Blue Farmgirl
858 Posts
Rachel
Clayton
GA
USA
858 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 6:38:04 PM
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The CDC just put out a report that lemon eucalyptus oil is just as effective as deet. Tons safer.
Rachel
Farmgirl Sister #2753
Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet--Dr. Kioni
http://madame1313.wordpress.com/ |
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BalancingAct
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Jackie
Hoosierville
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 8:57:24 PM
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Rachel, thank you for posting about the lemon eucalyptus oil. I've already had a tick on me that jumped off my cat to me as I was petting. I am one of those who is very sensitive to things such as deet.
Farmgirl Sister #2851 -"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 8:59:24 PM
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True sherry I was just trying to come up with something less harmful for us, and yet keeping the ticks at bay.
Thanks Rachel for the lemon eucalyptus oil idea. I will have to research that too!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 10:29:12 PM
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The CDC recommends lemon eucalyptus oil to repel mosquitos not ticks. They still recommend DEET to repel ticks. I use lemon balm to repel mosquitos. We have tons of those too. Living in a very green wooded part of the country with lots of water around has it's down side to go with the beauty. Unfortunately skin so soft makes me wheeze as do most perfumes.
We were at the farm today and I found three crawling up my white socks. Tucking my pants in my socks is helping! None found during my body check today. Heather you are right. I get very hot in long pants, tall socks and long sleeves. Look kinda silly too. But I'll do what I have to do till they are under control. Our county extension agent said it is just a really bad year for ticks. Apparently we aren't the only ones complaining. He said to get our outside dog back out there to keep the deer out of the yard. That makes sense. Only...How do I keep the hordes of ticks off him short of chemicals? Aughhhhhh!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - May 28 2011 : 11:09:00 PM
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I must admit I put chemicals on my pets, I just can't handle them getting ticks. I figure it's the lesser of the two evils, especially since ticks they have, could come in contact with me!
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, everything tucked in and where nothing could penetrate but I'm sure it's blazing hot!
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2011 : 09:15:13 AM
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I think I will have to use something on them this year. As hard as I am working to keep them off me outside I cringe at the idea that the dog will bring them inside! We are like a bunch of monkeys in the evenings, checking each other and the pets for ticks.
When I first moved to the farm there was a dog from another farm that liked to come spend time with our dog. She was a collie. I noticed one morning that she was dragging her hind quarters when she walked. I thought she had been hit by a car. I called her owner and waited for her to make the drive to get her. In the mean time the dog went down and could not walk at all. My son and I went out to be with her and put some water near her. She was covered with ticks. We sat and petted her and pulled ticks while we waited. The owner did not show up for three hours. When she got there we loaded the dog and waited for a call to tell us how she was. We were shocked to hear the dog was fine. The vet said she may have had tick paralysis. We had probably pulled the right tick off and she recovered. I had never heard of this disease so I went online to research. I'm sure that is what happened after I read up on it. I used to hate fleas more than ticks. Now I hate them both!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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MagnoliaWhisper
True Blue Farmgirl
2817 Posts
Heather
Haysville
Kansas
USA
2817 Posts |
Posted - May 29 2011 : 4:13:21 PM
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WOW I never heard of that! Poor thing. And yes as much as I hate it, I keep advantage (vet strength, not over the counter kind) on my pets regularly. I just don't want them to be hurt by ticks, and I can't stand fleas either! UHG
http://www.heathersprairie.blogspot.com |
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Here's to Your Health: I had a tick bite and... |
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I had a tick bite and...
