Ladies and Gentlemen, listen up.This is a serious post and you all need to read it.

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Well thank you very much avalancher... because of you I am now being treated for Lyme disease.

I read your post a couple of hours ago, which made me think about this round itchy rash I've had on the underside of my arm for the last two/three weeks or so... a rash different than any other I can ever remember having (it's not like poison ivy and such). That got me thinking about how I've been feeling tired and a bit off lately, a little nausea, etc... nothing I couldn't attribute to this horrible heat and humidity, but still...

Well, your post scared me a little (guess I'm a wuss) and I called the clinic. They had me come right in, looked at the rash, asked me how I was feeling, etc. Anyway, I was told the rash is a classic example of the Lyme Disease rash with what appears to be a infected insect bite right in the center of it. Told me it was way too early for any blood test reliability so they weren't gonna' waste time and money on it, just started me on the antibiotics.

So, ya' know what? Your post ain't even a day old and it may have prevented someone (me) from getting real sick... 'Course we'll never know for sure, but the Doc did think there's real good chance it's Lyme Disease. According to him, the confirmed cases of Lyme Disease in Iowa is three times higher this year compared to last year.

In all seriousness... Thank You for the warning... I always figure I'm bullet-proof until someone gives me a bit of a scare.

Well, then I am dang glad I posted about my experiences then, it seems like a very small price to pay to share my story if it resulted in you getting some help before it got bad for you and you ended up even sicker.

Unclle Mustache asked me why I didnt speak up sooner, and I didnt because of many reasons. Basically from what the other docs said, there really wasnt going to be either any hope or help for me, and I really didnt want a dog and pony show going on around here. Some of you guys might remember last winter when a member came forward and said he was dying, and as Uncle Mustache pointed out, everyone "gave the shirt off their backs" and fronted up cash, saws for raffles, etc and it was for that exact reasons I kept my mouth shut. I appreciate each and everyone one of you for who you are, what you have to say around here, and the comfort you all provide for a member that has run into trouble along life's path, but sometimes its best to hold your tongue and let nature takes its coarse.

As for now, I shared my experience not in a bid for sympathy but i wanted everyone to take warning for themselves, and to also share in my elation that things were not nearly as bad as what was forecast and that once again my saw will sing its tune in the woods. If we cant take care of ourselves then we are all a doomed lot, and sometimes it takes a good scare to be shared among us all to remind us that life is precious and needs to be guarded at all times.

Everyone, I appreciate all the kind words, the wishes for a speedy recovery, and above all taking the time to read all this.Hopefully the next time you pull one of those little buggers off you will take the time to keep an eye on yourself for awhile afterwards.
 
Av, thanks for the heads up, and I bet it feels great to be off "death row".

My brother got Lyme's back in 1990 back when it was the big news. It was a heck of a scare back then, but he's fine yet today, except for a little joint pain left over from it. Western WI and eastern MN are about as big of hotspots as they come, so I watch every tick bite carefully. Pets get it as well, if your pup suddenly loses all ambition and has pain whenever it tries to move, Lymes is a prime suspect. It's treatable in dogs as well.

Got that new splitter up and running yet?

Not to mention...PLEASE hurry up and finish that book!
 
My dog has it. He's on the meds. I suppose I should get tested, since I am out there most of the time.
 
WS - glad you wussed out and went to see a doctor. FYI - not only can you get the classic bullseye rash at the bite site, you can also start to get seemingly random rashes elsewhere, typically around joints.
 
I'll bet you're feeling a whole lot lighter these days Ed!!! And I'm damn glad to hear it! Oh, and I want a signed copy of the book when it's published... :msp_wink:
 
My neighbor who is 39 years old had a heart attack (or so everyone thought) this spring. It turned out to be Lymes disease so please take heed. I had Lymes myself in the late 80's and got very sick and it took me quite a while to get over it even though I was only 18 years old when I got it. If you get bit, notice a rash or have Lymes symptoms go in and get tested. The sooner you are treated the better off you will be.
 
i'm glad to hear every thing worked out OK, avalancher.

every one should take your OP serious since many of us work in the woods. your "heads up" was worth a million bucks!

the site would not the the same without you here and i have always found your posts to be the most interesting.:rock:
 
Glad to hear you now know whats wrong with you and how to over come it, stay strong, keep going to church and Im sure you will be out in the bush again real soon.....

Roy
 
I'm glad to read that things are getting sorted out and that your on the mend !
I'm look forward to new chapters in the AV Adventure series !

Hi Avalanche
Sorry to hear about your problem with Lyme . I was diagnoised with stage 4 Lyme, it has been a battle now for some time. I would like to exchange what I have learned with you, It might benifit both of us. Feel free to call me @ 812- 332-8828. Jim

Second post since joining and it's a big one , Rep sent !
 
Very good heads up, amazing how alot of doctors blow it off. I'm pushin for lyme tests and results also as of lately. Glad to see you have gotten on the right track avalancher! :clap:
 
Sorry to hear that you are sick but very glad to hear that it isn't far worse! I wish I could say this is the first time that I've ever heard this story..but it isn't. I've heard similar tales over the past 20 years and can't imagine the number of cases that never get properly diagnosed. The worst case ever was a guy I knew that was a firefighter and was diagnosed with MS. They started him on a heavy dose of steroids to suppress his immune system...the absolute worse thing to do with Lyme's. He continued to get worse and was put in a nursing home at the ripe old age of 38. Finally someone figured out is wasn't MS but Lyme's disease. Unfortunately the correct diagnosis came too late and he died from the Lyme's and improper treatment.

So people, let's be careful out there and take care of ourselves! If you develop that bizarre collection of symptoms, think "Lyme's Disease" and get checked. The diagnosis is not always easy..frequently the common (read--"cheaper") test will show a false negative. Do not be afraid to advocate for your own health and seek out a Lyme's disease specialist.
 
Wow so glad your getting better thank you for sharing that story !! I always heard its the tiny deer ticks that carry it not the big ticks I have gotten bitten handfuls of time over the last 4-5 yrs as they have gotten so bad in our area and I also cut in the woods. I have only seen large ticks I think they just call them brown ticks around here. Anyone know for sure which ones carry and transmit this?
 
Here in Wisconsin and Minnesota there is a new threat carried by the ticks, and I do mean brand new as it is a brand new bacterium never categorized before. Mayo clinic in Eau Clare was the first to pick up on it and they sent it up to Rochester,Mayo Clinic for confirmation.
"New tick-borne bacterium discovered in Wisconsin, Minnesota"this takes you to the info
 
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lymes

Mods, This is such an important thread that it really should become a sticky

Av, You have a gift with words. Sometimes it takes a person of your articulate ways to bring important subjects to light.

Sorry to hear about your battle with Lymes, but glad to hear you were finally correctly diagnosed. So many doctors in the US are in the dark when it comes to diagnosing and completely treating Lymes. Its kind of ironic that a doctor from out of country correctly diagnosed your problem.

Lymes is at epidemic levels on the East Coast and the Central States. There is a lot of good information on the website LymeDisease

Keep in mind that you do not always get the bullseye rash when you contract lymes. Lymes affects different people in different ways and the symptoms vary, as do the effects.

Most of the average doctors prescribe an antibiotic for thirty days. A lot of times that is not enough treatment to wipe out the lymes. If you still feel you still have any of the symptoms,continue with more meds and take the time to find a doctor who is familiar with lymes.The doctors that successfully treat patients with Lymes are around, but it usually takes time and effort to find a knowledgable one.

The first time I had found out I had Lymes was a fluke. I had been rear ended by a van when I was making a left hand turn. The trauma from the accident brought out some strange reactions, one of which was a paralasys(sp?) of the left side of my face. The doctors could not figure it out. It took a woman I knew that did taxadermy to correctly tell me to get checked for Lymes. She had some of the same symptoms, including the facial paralysis when she got lymes doing taxadermy. The facial paralysis is actualy called Bell's Palsy Syndrome. It took 30 days of intraveinous antibiotics, in this case, Rocefin, to treat the Lymes.There was no followthrough from the doctors clinic after the treatment. Knowing what I know now, that was a mistake on my part. I should have insisted on a secondary testing to see if the antibiotics fully treated the disease. I honestly feel that I still had residual lymes in my system.

I have been treated for Lymes twice since then. I finaly found a Lyme literate doctor in Waupaca, Wiscomsin who has extensive experience successfully treating Lymes. I have been taking an antibotic called chlarythromicin for the last 75 days and feel that I am bringing the Lyme under control.

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep your sugar intake, white sugar, sugary fruits and products with yeast to a minimum while taking the antibiotics to treat Lymes. I actually take a product called an acidophilus to counter affect the antibiotics.

The main things to keep in mind are that Lymes affects people in different ways. There are basic symptoms such as the aching joints and headaches to varying degrees, light and/or noise sensitivity and the list goes on. Learn to be Lyme literate and realize very few doctors are successful in diagnosing and treating Lymes disease. -ken
 
Vaccine (or was)

The CDC advises the vaccine is no longer available Vaccines: VPD-VAC/Lyme/main page. The manufacturer discontinued it due to low demand, and those that were vaccinated, it has worn off. I checked into this when it came out $500 for the vaccination (and they wondered why demand was low), and insurance would not cover it. I even asked my doc about "high risk" patients since I am in the woods a lot, hunting, cutting, mowing, goffing off, but still no dice. Oh well...

New a friend that had/has it I thought it was incurable and stayed forever.

First thing I always do once I am back home is head to the bathroom mirror, get into my b-day suit and do the tick dance...

dw
 
Thanks again to all the kind words of encouragement, you all have been a blessing to me, and I thank you all.

I have spent a lot of time this week reading about Lyme disease, and thinking about all that has happened in the past few months.After one week of antibiotics, I am happy to say some of the worst symptoms are disappearing. Heart racing is almost gone, and for once my blurry vision has dissipated enough that things snap into focus without me having to strain to see something. Although there is still a lot of joint and back pain, I find myself looking forward to life once again as a normal guy. Although I have still been able to work every day, it has been taxing, and often find myself heading home earlier than usual and crashing in my chair. My wife told me last night as i sauntered in at 7pm she is not so sure she likes the idea that I return to full strength, because at least in the past few months she has evening time with me, but still is overjoyed that I am on the mend.

However, I cant help but think of someone else in my life many years ago that suffered an unknown illness, and how it could have been avoided if folks were a little more careful with taking care of themselves, and if our doctors in this country were a little more educated in dealing with illnesses experienced around the world. This is the story of my grandfather.

My grandfather was a Swede in every sense of the word. Short, strong, stubborn as the day is long, worked hard all his life, and had very little patience for lazy folks, liars, thieves, and men without honor. He adored my grandmother, and insisted that women be treated as women.

As grandpa aged, he eventually dropped his axe and life in the lumber camps of the pacific northwest, and bought himself a small dairy farm and retired at the ripe old age of 74. As in any farm, grandpa had chores to do, hay to haul, manure to spread, and be all accounts was a pretty successful farmer. That all came to a crashing end in 1981.

One evening Grandpa showed a sliver in the palm of his hand to grandma, and she spent several hours attempting to dig it out with a needle, but never could retrieve the entire thing.She insisted that grandpa go see a doctor the next day, but in his usual style grandpa refused to see a doc for something as trivial as a splinter.The days dragged on and his palm grew swollen and painful, and eventually three days later he agreed to go in and see the doc.

At the clinic, the doc looked at his palm, then advised him to go home and soak his hand in warm water and continue to pushing on the palm in the effort to push the splinter out. The wound was still open, and the splinter was still visible to some extent. Then he was told to wrap the hand after applying some antibiotic cream to the open wound.

Grandpa returned home and followed the docs orders for another week, and eventually the wound healed over.But then strange things began to happen. While eating, his jaw would often spasm, and he would kid grandma about her cooking. His chest felt tight, and abdominal pains began to occur.Finally after a week of grandma riding him hard about seeing the doc again, he caved and went into the clinic.

At the clinic, they told him he had a fever, and the doc figured he had some infection of one sort or another, and gave him some antibiotics and sent him home. Six days later grandma called an ambulance when she found him unconscious in the bathroom.

In the hospital, the docs had no idea.Iv's were strung, and he got worse.His legs turned black, and in an effort to save his life they amputated both his legs.Then his arms turned black as well, and those as well were amputated. Docs were certain at that point he had rabies, and treatment was rigorously applied to save his life.

I was eleven at the time, and was not allowed in the ICU, but we all spent many long hours in the waiting room as the adults took turns sitting with him. The docs admitted that the medication that was pumped into him was having little effect, and death seemed eminent. Finally in desperation, the docs overseeing his treatment invited several visiting doctors to take a look at him, and here is where the irony comes in.

The visiting doctor was from India, and was spending time in the US to learn from our doctors to complete his education. He spent thirty minutes looking over grandpas chart, and declared that the treatment was wrong, he didnt have rabies, he had tetanus.

Our doctor scoffed at the idea.Who gets tetanus anymore?Its as common as scurvy. But grandma, remembering the splinter, insisted they run the test for tetanus and 24 hours later it came back positive.

It was to late to save his life, he passed away without ever regaining consciousness, but now as I think about all the quack doctors that overlooked some of the most obvious signs of my symptoms, I cant help but think how things went so wrong for my grandfather. If he had taken the time to get proper treatment right away, he might have lived many more years.If the doctor had taken the time to properly treat him, he might have lived many more years.It all could have been so easily avoided, but nobody including my grandfather took reasonable precautions.

I am not advocating that every time you get a boo boo to rush off to the doc, because you and I both know that aint happening. If I rushed to the doc every time I got a gash instead of stitching it up myself I would have to pay rent at the docs instead of a house payment. But, are you up to date on your tetanus shot? I know I aint, but I can tell you one thing. The next time I go in to the doc, I am going to request one!

As I grow older, I have realized that if I want to be around for another 44 years, I am going to have to take better care of myself, at least REASONABLE better care.Get your tetanus shot if you havent had one in the past five years. If a wound looks bad, forget the suture kit and see a doc. If what the doc is telling you sounds unreasonable, go home and do some reading and get a second opinion. Go see that second doc armed with some education and ask lots of questions.

It appears to me that in this day and age, the only one really interested in your health and welfare is yourself, so take care of yourself.Looks like, to me anyway, you are about the only one that has a vested interest in you being around for a few more years.

Take care everyone and again,thanks for sharing your experiences and your kind words. You are all appreciated.
 
Don't know if you guys are into vitamins and supplements, but one thing that is supposed to be wonderful for taking care of infections and viruses that antibiotics don't is called collodial silver; google it and check it out. There are some websites and people that claim it to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, others who don't believe it and some in between, but read about it and decide for yourself. I never used the drinkable kind but have used the nose spray for sinus problems and it does seem to work; just don't go nuts taking it-take only the recommended amounts. There have been about 13 reported cases over time of people that took WAY too much for too long and their skin turned blue permanently, but that's rare and only if abused....check it out.
 
Well, Avalancher....I sincerely hope you are doing better....and don't end up sterile over all of this.

Took my 93yr old father into the ER in May for stitches in his fore arm....and I asked the Dr. and nurse...if the tetanus shot might make him sterile....the Dr. had to stop stitiching....yes, I am evil.

Glad you went to the Dr. We like your avatar...........
































































And your great posts.

Take care
 
been using it for years

Don't know if you guys are into vitamins and supplements, but one thing that is supposed to be wonderful for taking care of infections and viruses that antibiotics don't is called collodial silver; google it and check it out. There are some websites and people that claim it to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, others who don't believe it and some in between, but read about it and decide for yourself. I never used the drinkable kind but have used the nose spray for sinus problems and it does seem to work; just don't go nuts taking it-take only the recommended amounts. There have been about 13 reported cases over time of people that took WAY too much for too long and their skin turned blue permanently, but that's rare and only if abused....check it out.

I make it myself, the CS, and have used it, for me and the critters.

Silver kills germs, fullstop. They use it in high end water filters, silverlon bandages, etc. It's woven into fabrics and is the main ingredient for those no stinky socks, socks.

Big pharma and their governmental regulator puppets don't like it..proly because there ain't no patents to it, and it can be made *cheap*. I even use it on the cutting board, just slosh some on it once in awhile, rub it around evenly, and let it soak in.

Had two kittens, both got some nasty eye infections, I mean nasty looking. their eyes swelled up and got blue like marbles. Managed to get some in there with an eyedropper and some fancy cat holding techniques. One cleared up completely-and fast-the other one, one eye completely, the other "good enough". That latter cat, a female, is still around and apparently sees just fine. The other one was a tomcat and one day just never came back..that happens with tomcats sometimes, they get that wanderlust, even after neutering.

Had a cow, big ole sore on her leg, just getting bigger and bigger, full slimy rot, she starts limping, I put some in a spray bottle and every day walked by her and gave it a spray. About a week later it started clearing up, finally healed over.


I have all sorts of anecdotals like that, bottom line, it's a great antiseptic, and in some last ditch emergency, if I needed some mass antibiotic action quick and had no means for anything else.... heck ya I would "take" some. And I dose the pets water bowls with it every other month or so, as a "backup" to their shots.
 
Thanks again to all the kind words of encouragement, you all have been a blessing to me, and I thank you all.

I have spent a lot of time this week reading about Lyme disease, and thinking about all that has happened in the past few months.After one week of antibiotics, I am happy to say some of the worst symptoms are disappearing. Heart racing is almost gone, and for once my blurry vision has dissipated enough that things snap into focus without me having to strain to see something. Although there is still a lot of joint and back pain, I find myself looking forward to life once again as a normal guy. Although I have still been able to work every day, it has been taxing, and often find myself heading home earlier than usual and crashing in my chair. My wife told me last night as i sauntered in at 7pm she is not so sure she likes the idea that I return to full strength, because at least in the past few months she has evening time with me, but still is overjoyed that I am on the mend.

However, I cant help but think of someone else in my life many years ago that suffered an unknown illness, and how it could have been avoided if folks were a little more careful with taking care of themselves, and if our doctors in this country were a little more educated in dealing with illnesses experienced around the world. This is the story of my grandfather.

My grandfather was a Swede in every sense of the word. Short, strong, stubborn as the day is long, worked hard all his life, and had very little patience for lazy folks, liars, thieves, and men without honor. He adored my grandmother, and insisted that women be treated as women.

As grandpa aged, he eventually dropped his axe and life in the lumber camps of the pacific northwest, and bought himself a small dairy farm and retired at the ripe old age of 74. As in any farm, grandpa had chores to do, hay to haul, manure to spread, and be all accounts was a pretty successful farmer. That all came to a crashing end in 1981.

One evening Grandpa showed a sliver in the palm of his hand to grandma, and she spent several hours attempting to dig it out with a needle, but never could retrieve the entire thing.She insisted that grandpa go see a doctor the next day, but in his usual style grandpa refused to see a doc for something as trivial as a splinter.The days dragged on and his palm grew swollen and painful, and eventually three days later he agreed to go in and see the doc.

At the clinic, the doc looked at his palm, then advised him to go home and soak his hand in warm water and continue to pushing on the palm in the effort to push the splinter out. The wound was still open, and the splinter was still visible to some extent. Then he was told to wrap the hand after applying some antibiotic cream to the open wound.

Grandpa returned home and followed the docs orders for another week, and eventually the wound healed over.But then strange things began to happen. While eating, his jaw would often spasm, and he would kid grandma about her cooking. His chest felt tight, and abdominal pains began to occur.Finally after a week of grandma riding him hard about seeing the doc again, he caved and went into the clinic.

At the clinic, they told him he had a fever, and the doc figured he had some infection of one sort or another, and gave him some antibiotics and sent him home. Six days later grandma called an ambulance when she found him unconscious in the bathroom.

In the hospital, the docs had no idea.Iv's were strung, and he got worse.His legs turned black, and in an effort to save his life they amputated both his legs.Then his arms turned black as well, and those as well were amputated. Docs were certain at that point he had rabies, and treatment was rigorously applied to save his life.

I was eleven at the time, and was not allowed in the ICU, but we all spent many long hours in the waiting room as the adults took turns sitting with him. The docs admitted that the medication that was pumped into him was having little effect, and death seemed eminent. Finally in desperation, the docs overseeing his treatment invited several visiting doctors to take a look at him, and here is where the irony comes in.

The visiting doctor was from India, and was spending time in the US to learn from our doctors to complete his education. He spent thirty minutes looking over grandpas chart, and declared that the treatment was wrong, he didnt have rabies, he had tetanus.

Our doctor scoffed at the idea.Who gets tetanus anymore?Its as common as scurvy. But grandma, remembering the splinter, insisted they run the test for tetanus and 24 hours later it came back positive.

It was to late to save his life, he passed away without ever regaining consciousness, but now as I think about all the quack doctors that overlooked some of the most obvious signs of my symptoms, I cant help but think how things went so wrong for my grandfather. If he had taken the time to get proper treatment right away, he might have lived many more years.If the doctor had taken the time to properly treat him, he might have lived many more years.It all could have been so easily avoided, but nobody including my grandfather took reasonable precautions.

I am not advocating that every time you get a boo boo to rush off to the doc, because you and I both know that aint happening. If I rushed to the doc every time I got a gash instead of stitching it up myself I would have to pay rent at the docs instead of a house payment. But, are you up to date on your tetanus shot? I know I aint, but I can tell you one thing. The next time I go in to the doc, I am going to request one!

As I grow older, I have realized that if I want to be around for another 44 years, I am going to have to take better care of myself, at least REASONABLE better care.Get your tetanus shot if you havent had one in the past five years. If a wound looks bad, forget the suture kit and see a doc. If what the doc is telling you sounds unreasonable, go home and do some reading and get a second opinion. Go see that second doc armed with some education and ask lots of questions.

It appears to me that in this day and age, the only one really interested in your health and welfare is yourself, so take care of yourself.Looks like, to me anyway, you are about the only one that has a vested interest in you being around for a few more years.

Take care everyone and again,thanks for sharing your experiences and your kind words. You are all appreciated.

I'm glad to hear you are getting better. When I got sick with it in the late 80's the tests for it were not that good so I never tested positive. I remembered having the rash but when you are 18 you are bullet proof so I did not go in till I had no energy, aching joins, flue like symptoms and later I developed trouble with my vision, facial spasams, twitching in my legs, vision problems and bladder issues. After going round and round with the docs after 3 negative Lymes tests I had to beg them to just treat me for Lymes. By the time I got treatment it took a long time to get better but I did. I hope you do too.
 
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