To all who have wished me a speedy recovery: Thank You! I am feeling steadily better (1 month out), and expect to be back to full strength shortly. @Alisande, If you think you may have babeseosis at the moment, then insist on being tested. Same with anaplasmosis, both are less-difficult than Lyme to diagnose from blood smears, I believe. (The issue with the blood supply, aside from the traditional head-in-the-sand attitude of the blood industry, and of course the cost, is that there is no rapid-enough test for babeseosis -or possibly the other tick-borne diseases -to work with the need for fresh blood.) But as I mentioned, anaplasmosis has distinct, characteristic, changes in routine blood work that are almost diagnostic. I can check next time I am in the medical library if there are specific changes in the case of babeseosis. I may have that info for erlichiosis, if you'd like to know it. Anaplasmosis has distinctive mullberry shaped artifacts (morullae) in the disease-specific blood smears (as does erlichiosis, I believe). Babeseosis is different but unless you, like I, have had malaria it's pretty distinctive in the blood test for it. The tests aren't inexpensive (the unadjusted street price for them is $500-$1,000 -each- but my insurance company whacked both of them down considerably. Since you're on Medicare, you'd only pay a percentage of the CMS-negotiated cost which is likely to be as aggressively moderated as that of my own insurance company's contractual rate. Since all three are bacterial, not spirochete, -caused it doesn't require the complex analysis of PCR bands that Lyme does. But frankly if I was on my second continuous month of Lyme I would have pretty awful constitutional symptoms from that lengthy treatment alone. I can barely make it out the 30 days of a single course before I have disturbed sleep, night sweats, muscle aches and pains, etc. Part of my fierceness about discovering ticks early is to avoid the need for the lengthy course of anti-Lyme doxy. Since doxy won't really do anything for babeseosis - and other drugs will - why keep taking what may be the wrong cure? I don't think you would experience symptoms from babeseosis or anaplasmosis (or even Lyme) infection before locating the tick. The incubation time needed to get sick from a still-attached tick would have resulted in a deer tick as big as a green pea, a nasty pearly-grey tight blob. It's hard to imagine you wouldn't have noticed it well before getting sick if it was still attached. Don't you itch like mad when you have a tick attached for more than a few hours, not to mention days? I'd be wild! BTW, the tick-hours-of-bite measurement has a built in problem: the aging relies on analysis of stomach digestive contents. But that assumes, and it is not always true, that the bite the tick was discovered making is the only bite, not a second one. Also you mentioned you squashed the critter in removing it. You might want to consider beginning more intensive searches for ticks on your body twice a day in order to not miss one. I have hair so long I can sit on it so I do realize it can be hard to check your scalp and hair. I have also found attached ticks under my breasts, in my belly button, on various unmentionable parts of my bottom, and even larval ones between my toes and fingers. I usually keep my long hair tied up in pigtail outdoors. I tuck the pigtail down the back of my shirt to minimize the likelihood of ticks getting caught in my hair. Of course I always have a hat on outside for sun protection, so my head and scalp are less-common tick areas. I do tick-checks at least twice every day of the year, unless I am away from home overnight in the city. It's just like brushing your teeth. I'm not convinced that Lyme "lurks in your body" but given that it is caused by spirochete I suppose it's possible. (Another spirochete-caused illness, syphillis, has a proven habit of lingering on and re-occurring, often despite treatment.) I know, for certain, that I have had Lyme (from clearly positive blood tests), been treated successfuly and subsequently had lengthy periods of profound physiological, and mental stress, without Lyme popping back up and adding to the problems. And I still have one band for Lyme on the latest PCR, which indicates an old, resolved infection, so there's no question it's still visible in my blood, but not thankfully making a pest of itself. I also still have serological evidence of malaria in my blood and I haven't had any illness from it in more than fifty years! But the bacterial diseases (anaplasmosis, babeseosis and erlichiosis) seem extremely unlikely lurkers and later-pouncers, especially if treated. What I definitely think they can do, however, is damage other organs and systems resulting in consequential, long-term problems (like the poor fellow described above who lost his spleen as a result of a babeseosis infection.) Your description of high fevers, muscle aches and pains, etc., sound much more like anaplasmosis than Lyme. Did you have any "regular" blood tests done at the time? The average time from bite to onset of symptoms with anaplasmosis is 8 days. I could look that time up for erlichiosis and babseosis, if needed. I don't know enough about Fibro, but aren't night sweats and aches and pains part of that, too? You may not need to go to any doctor more specialized than your primary care doc to check for the bacterial tick-borne illnesses. And then you'll be able to know, and treat, any that are there. I didn't get any hint that the tests for them lead to confusing, or contradictory results, as I know the Lyme test can, because it is a different, and more complicated test.. If you test negative for them, including having normal routine blood results, you can cross them off your list of worries and look elsewhere. (And get off the wretched doxy!) HTH, L.

Hi, I've been waiting to post for a few days so I could give a fair assessment of exactly 'how I am responding' to treatment. I can now say, with absolute clarity and conviction so that no one is confused here, that I do have episodic migraines 2~4 times a month. I can usually head those off at the pass with Imitrex shots or pills; I switch up depending on how soon I can get to the headache. A pill if I'm not nauseous or vomiting. A shot if I am over the edge. THAT being said, I want to tell you where I am with treatment right now. For migraines: 1) The neurologist told me that the 50 mg of Imitrex tablets that I was using was probably not strong enough and told me to use 100 mg tablets or double the 50 mgs. I couldn't believe it, but I've already had an opportunity to use this new dosage and I had less side effects from taking this amount -Vs- taking the lower amount! No kidding. (2) He also put me on Topamax as a prophylactic. It's too early for me to tell how this will work. So far, no side effects that I can tell. It's quite involved to start taking this medication as they increase the dosage, so it takes a series of increasing dosages over three weeks to get to a target amount to start. I'm still in those parameters. For this current chronic headache: Having been in a constant headache state such that I have been since March, I could not eve differentiate with clarity the pain levels. I felt so inadequate and sickened trying to explain the pain levels without sounding so ridiculous, exaggerating, or needy... to a doctor, when you can see that there are other people with more serious medical needs than mine in the waiting room. Anyway, when they ask, "What is your current pain level?" I answer something RIDICULOUSLY conservative like, "6 or 7," out of a 10 point scale, with 10 being the worse. NOW that I have had some success with this pain, I can tell you I was like a damn 30 and I am NOW a 6 or 7 on the pain scale as I type right now.~~ !!!! So, how have I improved this much? Well, I had the occipital nerve block last week. I believe you'd call mine the 'greater nerve block' -Vs- the alternative 'lesser' nerve block. If you Goggle it, you will see what I mean. Before I continue, I have to tell you, this is a treatment that I believe every single doctor and NP in America should know how to do. It is that amazing. But please, pay attention closely to my description of my experience. I say this because with some of my key words you **might** find some phrases or explanations in medical journals online, but it's not easily out there to tell you from a lay-person's perspective, how this feels and how it has affected me. Also, without going into boring details, I have to say that here in Jacksonville, FL, I could only find ONE neurologist to do this occipital nerve block and he was is associated with Shands Hospital. Even the neurologist that referred me to him did not do them. Now I know he's not the only game in town, but doctors just don't do these things like I think they should! SO MANY people could find relief, I am sure. OK, here's what happened. The doctor comes in after getting approved (by insurance) for the procedure (2 day, 2 hr. wait), and explains that he is going to put in 8~10 shots in my neck and upper shoulders. He WARNED ME that if he did "not hear certain sounds", that he would "stop the procedure" because "this is like a truth serum; I can tell if you are really in pain or not... nerves speak and they can tell me exactly what kind of pain that you are in." The needles were not inserted into my brain or spinal column. I sat in a chair, leaning my head on a pillow on a table in front of me. The doctor felt for the base of my skull and within 6 ~ 8 minutes had injected all shots. Two or three down the left side of my neck, then two or three down the right, and four places across the top of my back shoulders, with two being to the left of my spine and two on the right, rather evenly spaced. What was AMAZING was when he put in the first needle on my right side of the neck upper at the base of my skull. As he inserted the needle, it sounded like it was going into Styrofoam. The sounds that came out of that nerve as the needle and medicine went in would have made you think I was possessed and demons were crunching their way out of my body. It hurt like a blank-blank because he rubbed each shot sight's medication in with his thumb after shooting in the meds. All I could say the entire time is, "OMG. Lord Jesus, come," over and over. My nerves made audible sounds like chewing Cap'N Crunch cereal, and lesser sounds like Rice Crispy's in the beginning. Let me clarify this for you: the nerves made a **CRUNCHING SOUND** AND **SNAP, CRACKLE, POPPING SOUNDS**. The doctor said that these were "some of the worst/best sounds he has ever heard come out of a patient...up there in the top three." He also assured me I would feel 100% better when I left; clarifying that I would not feel 100%, just 100% better. Boy, do I know what he means. The occipital nerve block was quick easy and AMAZING. It was painful, but after what I've gone through the past few months, it was tolerable and worth it. I'm going to have another one in 11 weeks. He also said that some Migraneurs find relief from this, too, even though I'm doing this for my head injury swelling and trying to stop the pain cycle. Also, I left the office after about 10~15 minutes and of having the ONB and have had no real side effects that I can tell other than soreness and a slight bruising in one area. What did it do for me? My chronic headache throbbing stopped within five minutes of the ONB (Occipital Nerve Block). Now, my head still feels like I've been battered and hit hard, very, very tender, but at least the headache is gone. I had a slight thumbprint size bruising in one area on my neck from the shots. Other than that, all has been good. Two days after I had this done, I awoke with a migraine, not sure what kind of a headache it was, I took the Imitrex 100 mg dose and in 30~40 mins. it was gone. So, I talked to my FP doctor who followed up after the block. I explained the still extreme tenderness when I showered and walked and wind in my hair, but the throbbing WAS GONE. But now, I just felt 'damaged'. I also explained I was still had the issue of not being able to sleep and was still nauseated. He understood. He gave me a 'cocktail prescription' of Benadryl, Reglan, and 20 mg. of Prednizone to take three times a day for swelling and nausea. I have never, ever been able to take Benadryl because it will knock me for a loop. But, honestly, I've taken all five days and I actually slept every night except for last night, which I was up about five times. The meds have not made me sleep during the day at all either. So, I'm waiting right now for another Prednizone prescription for maybe another 10 days. We'll see. Thank you all so much for your suggestions and sharing your sites. I am going to keep all info and I have read some of the sites already. I pretty much follow the low tyramine diet as is and miss chicken livers. Here is a link that might be useful: Occipital Nerve Block

Hello people here is the story that is currently unfolding as of 6/12/17: My 72 year old mother was telling me during a Mid June phone convo that her allergies had gotten the best of her. Headache, chills, nausea, bones hurting, etc. I told her, "mom that really doesn't sound like allergies." She then said, "well maybe I have the flu then?" I told her it would be really strange to be getting the flu in the middle of June. Mind you, just a few days before this I had read a news article online about a little girl who died from Rocky Mountain spotted fever and the rise of the powassun virus due to tick bites. I warned mom about prevention since she is always out in the woods and became a bit paranoid myself about those creepy little black legged ticks. I saw her a few days later and she was still out of sorts : fatigued, couldn't eat dinner, sunlight bothering her, and a bit loopy. I told her she better go to the doctor asap. She was now claiming that she must have gotten food poisoning. I asked her if she noticed any ticks on her lately and she said yes but the bite didn't have a red ring around it so she was not worried. I told her I was worried because the symptoms she was suffering from seemed a bit out of the ordinary even for the flu or what not. I told her how she was feeling sounded a lot like Lymes disease and she sort of agreed. I saw her the next morning and she seemed really out of it and had developed a red rash on her legs. I begged her to go to the doctor that very minute but she gave all kinds of excuses like....have to take a shower, have to sort my pills, etc. I told her I would call her in 2 hours and if she was not already in the waiting room i was gonna call the paramedics on her ! (but that was just really a joke to show how concerned I was and that she really needed medical attention) she went to the hospital, got her blood tested, received negative results, and they sent her home saying she probably just had little virus or something. she said she was feeling a little better next couple days but still fatigued and could not eat. I told her she better go see another doctor because there was clearly something amiss and I had heard too many stories of people thinking things will be just fine if they wait it out and end up really needing help. we live on a reservation so she decided to go to the IHS for a second blood workup... this time the doctor clued into the tick info and sent out for a bunch of additional tests. Results : she has had anaplasmosis for at least 2 weeks now and just started taking antibiotics. It is a serious tick borne disease and people can die from it (very few do but still very scary) morals of this long winded minimally punctuated re telling of my poor mom's run in with a disease carrying tick: 1. If you are feeling sick for more than a couple days with all kinds weird intense symptoms and you got bit by a tick: GO TO The Doctor ! And tell them you were bit by a tick! 2. Just because the word "hospital" seems to carry more clout than the word "clinic" don't believe the hype. Sometimes smaller is better. Always ask for a 2nd opinion if you are not feeling comfortable with the diagnosis or lack of diagnosis. Healthcare professionals in all environments no matter what background can misdiagnose even if they mostly give stellar care. Find a doctor with a good reputation and one who cares more about you than the ten minute rotational schedule or fiscal parameters they are forced to navigate due to a broken American healthcare system.

Casey takes vividly beautiful pictures ... ... don't tell me that she tells vividly beautiful stories, as well? o j