anyone know anyone who got Lyme disease?

wolf noir

wolf noir

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i was listning to the Stern show and Dyral Hall who was a big hunter, and outdoorsmen got Lyme disease really bad, and he was going on how bad Deer are, and how much they spread it because of thier tics.
anyone hear anything like this? or have any experience it? he got me a little paranoid :runaway:
 
Many years ago(15) I knew a woman who had lyme disease, they didn't detect it for over a year. She was in pretty bad shape for awhile, but i think that once they figured it out she slowly got better.
 
Lyme disease.

Caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgodorferi. Spread by the Ixodes genus of ticks.

So, if you get bit by a tick that happens to be carrying this organism there is a chance that you would be exposed.

There are, as I understand it, to phases to the disease. The initial phase is one of infection. This is the point at which some individuals will exhibit the 'target' shaped skin rash at the site of the tick bite. I believe that most individuals clear this infectious stage themselves.

However, there is a later stage that may be immune mediated, that is much more serious than the acute phase. I'm not sure if there is actually organism in your system at this point or not. The organism may have just acted to 'vaccinate' you against some of your own tissues. Hence, antibiotics won't help at this point. I think it is generally believed that if you treat the acute, infectious, stage of the disease early enough and aggressively enough, you can reduce the likelihood of going to the chronic phase. I don't know if anyone has actually substantiated this with real data though.

In terms of your relative risk, you should consider

1.) Are there ticks in your area
2.) are they of the sort that have been documented to carry B. burgdorferi
3.) how frequently are those ticks actually shown to carry the organism
4.) what is your exposure to these ticks (consider areas you are in and time of year)
5.) what personal factors do you have working for or against you (protective gear you wear in the bush, immune status, etc).

I think a talk with your local public health people would probably get you some of the answers you are looking for.

I would also suggest that if you do get bitten by a tick, you keep it (public health can probably direct you on how to collect and transport the tick) so that you can get it cultured for B. burgdorferi. See your physician if you are worried.

Beyond that, hit the literature. A great deal of information is available on the net. Just be careful of the source. I wouldn't put much stock in "Uncle Ed's Lyme disease webpage". Look for reputable sources (large faculties of medicine, health canada, CDC, etc).

Fat
 
yea, my cousin got it... my dad diagnosed it (unoficially) and then cured her for it.
she went to 3 (yea, Three) :eek: specialists who diagnosed it for some other virus of some sort. by the time she was done w/ the 3rd Dr., she was partially paralyzed. so my dad met up w/ her for coffee, asked all the right questions, then ordered her to get a spinal tap w/ one of his friends dntn Vancouver. turns out if they hadn't of caught it in time, she'd have been confined to a wheelchair. iirc, antibiotics stopped the disease in it's tracts, but she's still has a permanent limp :(
she was bitten on her lower back/ upper butt cheek. i don't stay in contact w/ her, but if you really need information, i can see if i can contact here thru my aunt!! :)
 
A fellow I knew got Lyme from a tick bite in the Kootenays about 15-20 years ago, before anyone really knew anything about it. He got sick, real sick. For him it has become a recurring problem with 3 relapses after it was first diagnosed. He was on heavy antibiotics, the I.V. drip kind for weeks each time.

He was a big strappin' guy, tough as hell, before the disease. Last time I saw him he was skinny as a rake and looked twenty years older than his age. Could hardly walk, had to ride his lawn mower to get around his yard.

Very real threat, do not mess around with getting a test done if you at all suspect Lyme after a tick bite.

Cheers.
 
I know of one person that picked it up hunting a few years ago. He went to a number of specialists around the world before he was diagnosed correctly. By that time he correctly diagnosed he was in rough shape. He has trouble walking, can’t shoot anymore, and is off work, possibly for good.
 
apparently the methods used to detect lyme disease in Canada are quite unreliable. I can't remeber the specifics but there a numerous cases where its gone undetected in the canadian system, so much so that people have gone to the states for testing where they've been correctly diagnosed with the disease. The number of reported cases in Canada reflect this as the number of cases in the states is exponetially higher. Sure they have more people, but keep in mind that the only americans exposed to the diseased ticks are those who live along the border. Unfortunatly my area has become a host to ticks in the last couple years.
 
Yes, I had Lyme Disease (or possibly Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Colorado Fever if I recall what the doctor said correctly) that I got from a tick on a camping trip in the Glacier National Park (U.S.) some years ago. I developed a high fever, chills, the whole bag, and had the typical "bulls eye" around the tick bite site and was dragged off to a hospital in North Dakota by my wife. They did blood tests but because these diseases are endemic in the area they did not wait for the results and immediately put me on a massive dose of an antibiotic which was used for any of the above diseases. Within a few days I was fine and have had no re-occurence of the disease in the ensuing years. After we returned home, I mentioned the experience to a friend and it turns out his neighbour had been horribly sick since a camping trip to the states and the doctors here were unable to diagnose what was wrong. I asked about the "bulls eye" and it turned out she had a really good one on her thigh. After much arguing, she finally forced her doctor to check for Lyme which it turns out she had, however, because the treatment was delayed for so long she is apparently still suffering from various side effects of the disease and will likely be for the rest of her life.
The warning here of course is that quick aggresive treatment is needed which is standard protocol in most of the states where the disease is common. The problem in Canada, at least in Eastern Canada, is that the disease is relatively new to us and our doctors have no experience with it, so in many cases they misdiagnose it as a flu type sickness. Its not something they can really be faulted for in my view, but if you have any indication that you may have had a tick bite and have the appropriate symptoms (check out the web for possible symtoms), absolutely insist on a test for Lyme Disease and, if possible, insist on getting the necessary antibiotics (I know, easier said than done).
Sorry for the long post, but I thought the info might be of use since Lyme Disease is now found in parts of Ontario and Quebec. As an aside, that 4 hour visit to the hospital in the Dakota's reminded me of the importance of extra medical coverage insurance - the final bill for it was $800+ U.S. when the US dollar was worth a lot more than the Canadian $.
 
NHL goaltender Nolan Schafer's wife was diagnosed with Lyme Disease and she went several months and quite a few doctors before she was finally diagnosed. Nolan and his wife have started an organization called UnMaskLyme.com.If you want to find out more about it check out the website. Nolan and his NHLer brother Peter grew up in Yellow Grass ,SAsk,and there father Peter Sr was my grade 12 Phys Ed teacher.
 
An ex-GF's Dad got it playing golf at the Hamilton G&CC in Ancaster. He had some real bad symptoms - the worst of them being severe joint inflammation.

I worked a year at Club Med in the jungles of Mexico for a year and got bit alot by those f'n gnats. There not hard to spot/feel (unlike a flea) and it's not like a malarial mossie where it's wham bam you've got some killer disease - with a tick you've got a good 24 hrs to take action before there's a chance of being infected - don't just try to yank it off though cause you might break the (potentially) infected head off - get some rubbing alcohol and drop it on the critter so that she unclamps her liplock and then use some tweezers & pull straight up.
 
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Lyme disease

Neighbour got it in 1985 while living in northern California. Went undiagnosed for to long which required her to walk with a cane. Just recently she became confined to a wheelchair due to damage of her spine caused by the disease all those years ago. She's only 60.
Geoff in Victoria
 
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