[andthentherewere3]

I don't think there is much a Dr. can do for you at this point, though. Most likely you won't get Lyme Disease, and it would be too soon to test for it. Did you save the tick? You can have it tested for Lyme; most towns will do that for free, and if you want faster results you can pay for it:

The City of Stamford, CT - Health Department Laboratory: Lyme Ticks

[jjbradleynyc]

Originally Posted by andthentherewere3

I don't think there is much a Dr. can do for you at this point, though. Most likely you won't get Lyme Disease, and it would be too soon to test for it. Did you save the tick? You can have it tested for Lyme; most towns will do that for free, and if you want faster results you can pay for it:

The City of Stamford, CT - Health Department Laboratory: Lyme Ticks

Didn't save the tick... Should've though. I'll have to check that link to see how long I should wait before getting tested....

[dsh1127]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

This morning in the shower I found a very small tick embedded in my skin on my back! GROSS! I was very disgusted and pulled it out right away. Yesterday I was in the yard and the woods behind my house clearing and raking, and picking up trash, rocks, etc. Definitely got it from there.
I should most likely go to the doctor, just to be safe, I think. Reading these posts definitely makes me think I could be at risk for Lyme's disease. The tick was tiny and very flat, and probably had not been attached to me any more than 12 hours or so...no way it had been there for 24 hrs.
First time that's happened as an adult! Use to get them as kids, playing around in the woods and grass and all...yuck!

Hi - I posted earlier with the daughter that had Lyme disease - - - I wouldn't get too worried about the tick, just keep an eye on how you're feeling, and if you get the rash or feel sick, get checked. I don't think the test works if done too soon. As far as the tick being there for any certain amount of time, don't completely buy into that. No one even recalls my dd even having a tick within the last year before she tested positive (not trying to scare anyone)!

I got my first tick EVER a week ago, and I still cringe when I think about it! I never had much of a problem pulling them off kids (but for some weird reason can't get myself to pull one off a dog), it is a whole different story when there was one on me! It was on my neck, and when I realized what it was - I about died!!! Eeewww, Eeewww, Eeewww!!!!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Didn't save the tick... Should've though. I'll have to check that link to see how long I should wait before getting tested....

For the record, don't bother getting tested until you get the "rash". Mine was just starting and the test came up negative. After a few more days of agony, I went back to the Dr. and he was like okay, hop on the table...so I interupted him and said "would you like to actually SEE the bite?" "yea sure".

By the time my pants got to my knee (I got bit on the inner thigh) he was spinning back around in his chair towards the computer and said "pull em up - you got lyme".

Second test showed positive.

Something about the bacteria doesn't show up right away on the blood tests.

Like I said though, after a couple days I was good as new. No big deal.

[Tin Knocker]

If you catch it Lime is almost a nonissue. Was a big deal years ago mostly from misdiagnosis because they didn't look for it.
I wouldn't not move here because of them. I spend alot of time in our woods & have pulled plenty of deer ticks off me & never got it. I'v read the tick needs to be attached for a day or so to transfer it too.

[galliengirl]

I live in Nh and my daughter is 14 just got diasgnosed in Jan 09.It is all new to me but know nh and Ct seem to be high risks.

[silviadyson6]

Oh my got. i hate ticks. My dog has lyme and he took antibiotics but they say the lym estays in your system.
any ways. I'm worry because i'm plannin on moving to cheshire ct. And i'm worry about my daugther playing outside and getting a tick or myself or my dog.
any advises...

[vvolin]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

The tick was tiny and very flat, and probably had not been attached to me any more than 12 hours or so...no way it had been there for 24 hrs.

My daughter had a tick a week ago on her neck. It was a deer tick and it seemed so flat, we thought it must have been attached for a very short time. This morning the lab on the tick showed that, not only it was engorged, although not much, but it was also positive for Lyme. This is just to say that judging a tick by its flatness made us feel confident, but we were wrong.

[Viralmd]

You should ALWAYS remove the tick and bring it to your doctor for identification. If he/she isn't sure, your doctor can take it to an infectious diseases specialist, because we (infectious diseases specialists) are TRAINED to identify the various species of tick. It's not possible to speciate a tick based on how flat it is. All that tells the observer is whether it's been attached for any length of time.

The length of attachment of the tick is directly proportional to the risk of transmission of both Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis, another tick-borne infection. The longer the attachment, the higher the risk. And there's no finite duration of attachment BELOW which there is zero chance of infection.

[ChristieCT]

Originally Posted by JViello

I had lyme two years ago.


If you don't treat it over time - 6 months or better you can develop joint issues etc. BUT, I don't know how people can say "I didn't know I had it" I mean you feel like you fell off a building and broke every bone in your body for crying out loud.

I had to laugh at this one! I've had Lyme multiple times (yes, you can get it more than once, which I didn't know until the second infection), and so has my husband. My husband was one of those who didn't know he had it until it was pretty progressed, which is why I laughed at your post--because I thought much the same thing at the time--how can you not kjnow?

In his case, the reason he didn't know is that he trains traditional Okinawan karate quite rigorously, so he attributed the increase in soreness and fatigue to possibly overdoing it during his training time. And he just kept "pushing through it" until he simply couldn't anymore. Having also trained extensively, I knew his assumption was not unreasonable, but it was unlike him to get to the point where he couldn't go to class anymore. So, I made him get a Lyme test anyway, just in case, and we were both glad for that when he tested positive.

So, I guess in the case of someone who is accustomed to the kind of physical activity he is involved in, they might not realize that the pain they're experiencing is Lyme, at least not for awhile.

But other than that, I don't know how someone can't know either. I never missed any work, but it took extraordinary effort before the antibiotics kicked in for me to get through each day.