Finally when I was starting to feel poorly and had an episode of nearly fainting (for no reason: I was hydrated, had eaten and had plenty of sleep) I thought maybe this was somehow related to the thing on my leg. My doctor immediately put me on Doxycycline but only for 10 days . I felt very dizzy and had flu like symptoms. I was tested for Lyme and the Western Blot test and both came back negative. However, the doctor wanted me to finish the antibiotics which I did. It cleared up my facial acne and I asked him if I could continue taking it. He said yes, but cut back to once a day, which I have been doing ( when I remember). I take it with a probiotic and or plain yogurt. Its easier on my stomach and has not caused any unpleasant yeast infections.

I’ve been fighting Candida Albicans too and I’m sure this is not helping that, but I think the long term affects of potential Lyme outweigh the later.I think I should get retested based on everything I’ve been reading. I’ve had some really strange headaches lately, strange because I’m used to Migraines and these are not migraines – I’ve never really had ‘regular’ headaches so its different. I’ve had to take Advil gels to relieve my aches and pains almost nightly. I figured it could be me working 2 jobs that is making me tired but I’m not sure yet. I should be able to handle that. The thing on my leg has faded somewhat but has left a nasty mark. Oh, I was treated also for ringworm with an antifungal creme which actually burns and makes it more red and then an hydrcortisone creme during the day which seems to help more. It still hurts – my leg that is.

I get charlie horses in that leg way too often for normality. My knees make me feel like I am 80. I am only almost 40. And my memory sucks right now. Not sure it was ever that great, but I can’t seem to remember things from one moment to the next. It becoming worrisome. I think I need to get retested, but what if its still negative and I still feel this way!!!

“Hi, please I need help!

I have a bulls eye in my arm and i have skin rashes like stretch marks on my legs and arms, and i have been will all the symptoms. Is it a serious disease? Is it contagious? I don’t know what to do I’m really frustrated!”

This would most likely be Bartonella.

Bartonellosis is often mild but in serious cases it can affect the whole body. Early signs are fever, fatigue, headache, poor appetite, and an unusual, streaked rash. Swollen glands are typical, especially around the head, neck and arms. Burrascano suspects bartonellosis when neurologic symptoms are out of proportion to the other systemic symptoms of chronic Lyme. He also notes gastritis, lower abdominal pain, sore soles, and tender subcutaneous nodules along the extremities. Lymph nodes may be enlarged and the throat can be sore.

Ticks transmit way more than just Lyme Disease and most non-LLMD doctors will not even test you for them and claim that you don’t have any of them based on where you live. Google Images of Bartonella and you can see if what you have looks like what you see. If you ask your doctor and they ignore your concerns, search on the web for an LLMD in your area. They are the LYME EXPERTS. Please, all of you may continue to have weird symptoms/Medical problems that no doctor will relate to Lyme. IT IS LYME. Do not bother with an infectious disease doctor, they have not updated themselves on this disease.

I know this information from personal experience. I tested positive and treatment from an infectious disease specialist failed…I continued to get sick. Since 7+ months of treatment, I have been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis as well as Scleroderma. Please find an LLMD ASAP. I went only 4 months without treatment before diagnosis and I’m afraid I may never get my life back. I know deep down inside that what I have is Lyme EVEN THOUGH most of the medical world will tell you its not. There is a world of VALID info on the web but be careful as to what you read. This is a serious disease that will infect your brain if not treated promptly. Just google the truth about Lyme disease.

Hope Jaimi sees this post and gets the treatment she needs.

The tightness in my joints, lumps under my skin (like a small cyst) hairloss & muscle pain & nerve sensitivity started about 6 months later, gradually worse on & off to this day. I went into the GP who referred me to a rhumatologist because the Lymes test came back negative. From there I had another Lymes test at the Rhumatologist, among a variety of other test, even though I told both of them about the bite but they ignored that because it wasn’t a tick. So far, tests for everything from Lupus to MS to Lukemia & rhumatoid arthritis. X-rays & MRI’s to determine that I had arthritis & where – ok, I was in my early 30′s at the time. It was degenerative arthritis so He said, still would not prescribe antibotics because the test for Lymes came back negative. I proceeded to blow through pain & NSAID prescriptions for about a year going back every 3 months for more Lyme’s & other bloodwork, still nothing.

Here’s the kicker, my husband thought He had been bitten by a tick about 5 years into this. The same doctor that I had gone to initially saw Him. Wrote out the script for doxy on the spot before the test even came back positive. Hmmmmm……double standard here…….I think so. My husband couldn’t take the prescription because he couldn’t tolerate it. By this time I was desperate for some relief. I thought it really couldn’t hurt to try His perscription. I did & 3 days later all my symptoms were gone. After taking the meds for 2 weeks I went back into the Dr that I’d been seeing & demanded another Lyme’s test after telling Him what had happened. He still gaffed me off by saying it was just because the doxy was reducing the joint swelling. Well guess what…the Lyme’s test came back positive this time. He explained that it was probably because my body had stopped fighting the Lyme’s so the test that was used to identify antibodies couldn’t see them because they weren’t there to detect.

When I started taking the antibiotic it gave my body a boost so that it started producing antibodies again. It took almost a year on antibiotics to have the test start to come back negative again. It’s been 3 years since treatment ended & while I feel a lot better there are what seem to be permanent damage to some joints & while I know that some say that it can be cured, I don’t believe so. I think it actually goes into sort of a “remission” of sorts because every so often I end up with the same, although not usually as severe, symptoms that I’ve had since 6 months after the bite. I am looking at both knee and ankle replacement because the joints are toast. Most of the issues are on the side that the bit occurred except for arthritis like symptoms & swelling in both hands. Even the gray hair that I am getting is more pronounced on that side. I tell this story for three reasons. 1) Don’t take no for an answer & put up with a double standard if you are a woman. Stand up for yourself right away. 2) Which goes along with #1 is that inist on the $27 antibotic that can save you from permanent damage right away! 3) It can come from a spider. (within 6 months of my Lyme’s test coming back positive I knew of 4 more people with spider bites that end up positive for Lyme’s.) Now several doctors around here finally believe that for some reason there are a number of spiders that carry it. We are in a area where ticks carrying Lyme’s are very common.

So now what! I’m in my early 40′s will end up having to deal with this forever. It makes me wonder if it’s shortened my life. It pops up almost every summer when it starts to get hot. It’s uncomfortable to say the least. When I tell the Dr that it interferes with my job, he says well you could just work less or find a different job. Wonder if he’s hiring (snark). I did change how I do my job so that I am not on my feet as much, but why don’t Dr.s think & apply practical solutions like the $27 month long prescription instead of solutions that obviously come from their ivory tower perspective? They need to get real.

I have patches of skin that seem to have nerve damage – numb like pressing on a callous (on my back and face), when a fingernail is rested there it starts itching horribly and feels like needles, and touching certain spots makes spots 10 inches away itch. From stuff I’ve read in the last 10 yrs (Dang ADD keeps making me forget about it before I get to the doctor) and being reminded by this page, I’m starting to wonder if it was fully treated. Hopefully when I go to the doctor next week I’ll remember. Physician assistants are better than doctors about getting you the tests you need and since that’s who staffs the clinic here I should be able to get him to test for lyme. If I remember this post I’ll come post an update after I see the doctor.

(Oh yeah, 1 tick bite that is lymes can actually cause multiple bullseye rashes elsewhere on the body, although sometimes you get no rash)

well i guess if you do it too soon like sooner then 14 days then their gonna come back negative and once you start taking antibiotics it may never show up positive!!! Hers are kinda itchy and she doesn’t seem to have other symptoms, then again she cant really talk yet either but from what i can tell she is doing okay FOR NOW other then the markings. ! day after taking the antibiotics and calidril lotion the marks are starting to dry our which is lighting up the red. I have noticed that it seems to be traveling up to the side of her hair line like right behind her ear – its getting red. I am determined to get antibiotics for her i just cant seem to find correlation with anything else!!!

i am very concernd for my babys health. we all had bug sprey on and pants i just dont get it:( even though i cought it within a week and have gotten her on antibiotice is this gonna haunt her for the rest of her life or will the antibiotices most likly clear it up since we cought it soo soon… thank you, my email is jana123456 [at] live.com and we can swap pictures — just in the subject write Lyme thank you!