Reged: 08/06/04
Posts: 4381
Loc: Within stray mortar fire of DC
Hey Michele,
My bf was diagnosed with Lyme in March 2000. I saw the red bullseye marks on his arm and legs and pleaded with him to go to the hospital. He said no, and he stayed flu-like sick in bed for 2 weeks before his parents finally called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He spiked a 105 degree fever, and they packed him in ice his first night.
He was laid up in the hospital for 10 days, where they did a spinal tap and confirmed that it had spread to his spinal fluid. They counted 36 bullseye marks on his back, arms and legs, and the doctors concluded he must have had deer ticks all over him in his bedding. They'd never seen so many marks on a lyme sufferer.
He received 4 weeks of IV antibiotics (penicillin) through a catheter in his left arm (to keep the vein open). He had one bad remission in February of the following year, where the bulls-eye marks came back on his right arm and hand. He went through 3 weeks of Cipro orally for that bout.
It's something he'll have for life. His joints, especially his knees hurt in the mornings, and he'll be at risk for premature arthritis. Sometimes he just gets dead tired. Every 4-5 monhts or so, he'll have a bout of vomiting, and run a fever and turn grey and clammy. No explanation. Doc says that unless the bulls-eyes come back, they won't treat him with antibiotics.
In a twist, his mom got Lyme a few years later (they lived in a deer infested area) and they gave her injected antibiotics through her stomach lining. Part of her stomach had to eventually be removed because of the damage it caused. Guess Dbf got lucky they caught it in time to treat it.
I hope your mother is coping ok. That's quite a trifecta of ailments to be saddled with! All my best to her and to you--
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Re: Well YIKES AND DOUBLE YIKES!!!
