Lyme Disease

[Becks]

Yup, reinfection is a pain - especially once you know you've had it recently, because than the Western blot will stay positive for a while.

Quick removal is the best form for prevention without a doubt. Problem is, it's not the tick you see that gives you Lyme.

Rich, it sounds really rubbish. Could there be some depression/massive fed up-ness playing in with you now as well?

[Rich R]

I don't think so. In the midst of me being at my worst I was pretty depressed and can possitively say I'm a much happier person now. It was very noticable how my moods changed as I got better. Some days I can run and feel pretty much fine, other days there is just nothing at all in my legs.

[ianandmonika]

Both Monika & I separately caught Lyme disease/Borellia while living in Sweden. It significantly affected both of us for about 6 months - tiredness etc. Only recommendation we can make is to watch out for ticks and the red circle and point out the possibility to your doctor - still a big lack of awareness in the Uk compared to Sweden but that is changing with increased publicity about the risk. Suspect incidence is higher than expected with many health cases potentially linked to it as the causal factor.
Separately, both us us have regular TBE injections - essential for many places in mainland europe.

[RCB]

Rich R, Sorry to hear that you have suffered the fatigue and mood changes; I hope it is all in the past and you return to full fitness.

My own experience of Lyme disease (Borreliosis) has not affected me unduly to date. In mid 2004 (while on holiday in Austria), I was diagnosed about two weeks after a suspected tick bite in the UK (red spreading rash on my upper arm); I had been bitten many times during the previous 15 years of O. I was given two/three weeks of strong antibiotics but don't recall any undue discomfort - I did feel tired and my coffee consumption rose dramatically that year but I put that down to the birth of my daughter!

A final test in late 2004 confirmed the Austrian diagnosis that I had had an infection and my GP at the time suggested that if I developed any further rashes, joint or muscle aches, or unexplained mood changes to get back in touch (none to date less for running injuries and age related symptoms). In the correspondence there is also reference to the National Lyme disease laboratory in Southampton.

Regarding prevention, I always wear gaiters in the forest no matter what the temperature (which also helps keep a damaged calf muscle warm) and after sitting in grassy assembly areas I always check for ticks. Prior to the World Masters in Austria (2006) I had the course of three injections to guard against tick borne European Encephalitis.

[ic]

While I was living in Sweden I got a rash on the skin around a tick bite. I was at the doctor's probably about a week after the initial tick discovery, and was on antibiotics. That cleared up smartish and there were no further symptoms that I noticed, but based on a visual inspection, the doctor didn't think it was Borrelia (Lyme disease) but some other presumably tick-borne bacterial infection.

[usuallylast]

A few months back I became aware of an itchy rash on my upper inner arm. Didn't recall seeing or feeling a tick there but it came up like an egg and there was a red ring with a lighter middle. After much time spent poring over pics on the net I went to see the nurse at the local gp's. Sharp intake of breath and two doctors later (having mentioned orienteering and lyme disease), I found myself sitting there while the three of them pored over pics of rashes on the computer! Anyway, eventually it was decided that it was most likely a spider bite. I was given a course of antibiotics and advised to go back if I felt unwell - especially with flu like symptoms. Hopefully that's the end of it, but I'm pleased I went as the GP said lyme disease wasn't something they would have necessarily considered had I not mentioned it, and that they would be more aware of the possibility from now on.

[Kitch]

Rich,
I had about 4 months early this year of feeling some kind of rubbish about half the time.
Some days fine, some days rubbish.
Various trips to GP, standard tests, nothing obvious, basic 12 lead cardiogram - fine, chest x-ray fine.
GP was actively interested to help but did say that sometimes you get a virus that takes a heck of a while to shift, or the after effects drag on.
This wasn't a Lyme thing for me.
But the same point perhaps applies - it can take time.
I trained pretty well on the good days and even though consistency was missing I didn't get horrendously unfit. In fact I was surprised at my level of fitness.
So
patience
do what you can when you feel good

[plain lazy]

It's great to see some positive vibes coming from the Nope fraternity and some really good advice that I certainly will remember to follow should I or my family ever suffer.

Good luck on the comeback RichR, I'm sure it won't be long until you're flying again!

[King Penguin]

Other things which may leave you feeling flat and weary include :

calcium deficiency - a sports nutrionist identified this as being pingu's problem several years ago, after a one-off illness when he didn't eat for several days, during which he must have used up his reserves to such an extent that his normal low-dairy intake would not replenish them. Apparantly very difficult to detect via tests but easily resolved by increasing dairy intake, calcium pills etc. Thanks TASS, without which identification of the cause would undoubtedly have taken longer.

gluten intolerance - after no useful input from normal doctors, trial and error with diet indicates that this is almost certainly why fratello has not been feeling right for many months. I believe there is a test for this, but need to convince quacks it is worth doing.
More of a pain to deal with, as gluten is in so many foodstuffs apart from the obvious.

[JEP]

While in SA recently we were advised to spray our clothes (not skin) with "Bayticol" to deter the tics. We bought the aerosol from an agricultural store. Apparently the effect lasts for 7/8 washes before needing to respray.

South African orienteers swear by it. Not certain if it works on British tics. Our test over two events was successful but hardly conclusive proof.

[Siani C]

My young daughter was bitten by a tick at Barry Buddon during the 2009 Scottish 6 Days. The tick was promptly removed using the tick tweezers that I always carry in my first aid kit and I doused the site in antiseptic. She nevertheless developed a classic bulls-eye rash in the bite area a fortnight later. I took her to our GP and mentioned that the rash was associated with a tick bite but he believed it to be an allergic reaction rather than Lyme Disease. A week later the rash was spreading outwards in a ring so I returned and acted like a really pushy Mum and demanded a blood test to which the doctor reluctantly agreed. It came back positive. An intensive course of antibiotics cleared all signs of the rash. I wrote an article about the incident in our club newsletter and was approached by another club member who had also been to the Scottish 6 days and had developed a dodgy rash on the site of a tick bite. By coincidence he had also visited the same GP a few weeks after my daughter and he was amazed that the GP had given him such prompt diagnosis! My daughter often complains of fatigue but my GP doesn't think it's connected to the Lyme Disease. My advice - when bitten by a tick remove it gently, yet firmly, using tick tweezers and whatever you do don't squeeze the tick's body as this can cause it to regurgitate it's stomach contents into your bloodstream. Make a mental note of the bite site and keep an eye for any rash there over the next few weeks. Finally, don't be fobbed off by your GP - if you think that you have Lyme Disease be persistant and request a blood test.