Do you need to taper off?

Good luck with the new plan. I hope Herb can rescue you.

Thanks! No tapering needed. The prescription would have run out in about a week. The smart thing would have been to have a plan in place before I stopped, but I reached I've had it! status yesterday.

I'll see if my Lyme doctor does anything with herbs, but I doubt it. I have Steven Buhner's book on healing Lyme with herbs, and just bought his book on co-infections. I live in a medically unsophisticated area, but am fortunate to know two skilled homeopaths.

Please don't part company with your medical doctor and replace him/her with a homeopath and or herbs and leaves you find in a health food store.

Homeopathy is quackery with unproven results. I understand your decision to end taking the antibiotic but I hope you will continue treatment as directed by your MD.

I found the link below with a quick search, there are probably better and worse things to read, but it's a start.

Homeopathy - The Ultimate Fake

Snidely, I've known for some time how you feel about homeopathy, but I don't agree. Neither does Queen Elizabeth, by the way. I've had some excellent results with homeopathic remedies over the years. The homeopath who successfully treated my 10-year-old daughter's long-standing crippling migraines was an MD board-certified in cardiology and psychiatry. No quackery involved.

Queen Elizabeth's beliefs give it credibility? Oh my.

No need to rerun the same discussion, I'll let it drop, I just hope you continue with your doc.

I was first helped by homeopathy in the 1980s. I read about QEII's homeopathic physician much later. I thought it was interesting. She is, after all, quite elderly and maintains a rigorous schedule.

Unfortunate update: During my shower this evening I discovered two tick bites. I guess this isn't an ideal time to break up with Doxy after all.

Susan...what do your tick bites look like?

They're slightly raised, slightly red, and have a black dot (the tick) in the middle.

Oh, Alisande....I am so sorry.

no ticks for me but the wild poison ivy has kept me inside and out of the garden for ages...dr shopping is a pain but once you find one i'd see them at least one a year...it wouldn't hurt to have blood tests, as well...and of course for we ladies boob squish....AND! they are now finding a mammo can also lead to checking the veins can be an early heart smart test....calcified veins show up on the mammo...(nbc local news here in Detroit)

Geez, I'm so sorry. I know you have pets....but....can you put down a granular insect killer? There's got to be some way to "save you".

No granular insect killer that I know of. We might consider getting guinea hens, but that's more of a project than I want to undertake. Limited energy because of tick illnesses . . . a Catch-22.

I've been particularly cautious this year. I gave up my vegetable garden and most of the flower beds. I bought a riding mower and have been good about keeping the grass short. I haven't walked through any tall weeds. And if I were any more covered up, I'd be wearing a Hazmat suit! If I have sandals on, I don't step off the porch. But maybe the ticks are on the porch too.

I'm very sorry. I hope you can find acceptable but serious and effective measures to take to make your home safer for you.

Wise choice on alternative medicines. Progressive MD's are now buying in where the research supports it. I hope any changes you can make work for the better for you.

Our exterminator comes tomorrow afternoon to spray for ticks. They are awful this Spring. I've pulled 3 off of our little dog in the last 2 days. And I've picked up 2 walking on the floor. I'm sure they fell off the dog.

Normally, I don't have the chemicals put on the yard, but I don't want to risk Lyme disease for any of the family.

Ever since I pulled a tick off my neck in early March, I'm freaking out all the time. My backyard is a jungle...my doing. I love trees and bushes, have no grass, just groundcovers like pachysandra, ivy and myrtle. Just a breeding ground for ticks. My tick bite only cost me 15$ co pay but 100's for the insurance company for doctor visit , blood work and analysis. Hate to tell you Susan, but you probably already know, our state is the number one in the country for Lyme.

What states are you in?

Alisande is in PA - and I'm guessing so is Lily.

Please click on my "GRANULAR" link. That's what I've been putting down for the last 25 years. DH sees ticks on the baby deer....but I've never seen one. It's just a matter of time before my luck runs out, now I own a cat......at least try it....please.......

Yep, PA has the unwanted distinction.

Nicole, I checked out the link and read some reviews by satisfied customers. The active ingredient is Bifenthrin. A few years ago the CDC did a study in which a large number of residential properties were sprayed--some with Bifenthrin and some with a placebo. The chemical significantly reduced the number of ticks. However, the Bifenthrin group and the placebo group reported the same number of tick bites and the same incidence of Lyme disease.

I can see how this happened. In my doctor's words, I am a tick magnet. Ticks find me. They don't seek out my son and his family (knock wood), but they go after me. If I reduced the number of ticks by half, the remaining half would find me for sure.

The CDC concluded that given Bifenthrin's toxicity to wildlife and the lack of any demonstrated reduction of infection, they don't recommend using it. I would also be concerned about seepage into my well.

I appreciate your concern though. You're in Colorado, yes? Be glad deer ticks haven't made their way there yet!

I wonder if altering your scent through food would help. There is a Journal of American Medicine research article where researchers had success using garlic:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/08/27/garlic-tick-repellent.aspx#!