Lyme Diease in Idaho?

[Robinqueen]

There is definately Lyme disease in this area. My doctor tests many people here and many have been positive. I had a young 20 year old girl who lived with me for a time who got the disease from a tick on her horse here in Post Falls. Lyme disease is in every state in the country. It is also in most countries in the world. You really can't get away from it, so we better find a cure!!!!

The television show "The Doctors" is going to do a show about Lyme disease and they need as many stories as possible from those of us that suffer. PLEASE WRITE TO THEM, GO TO THEIR WEBSITE www.thedoctorstv.com and post your story!!!!

Tick awareness week is this week. Learn about Lyme disease as much as possible. The internet has some wonderful sites and information.

May is Lyme disease awareness month. Those of you with the illness need to do your best to inform others.

[Robinqueen]

Be aware that Lyme disease is in 49 states of America. Hawaii is the only state that I am aware of that doesn't have Lyme disease.

Many folks here in Kootenai county are being tested and some are positive. I was just tested again after another round of antibiotics. The gal that drew my blood said that she receives quite a few requests for blood tests for Lyme by doctors in this area. My blood was drawn here and sent to Igenex Labs in California. Even with their special testing, it can be hard to find, but this lab is the best I have found. 3 different type tests were done. One was negative, one indeterminate and one positive. So frustrating!!!

I live in Kootenai county and I have chronic Lyme disease. I had a 20 year old girl living with me a short while who contracted the disease while riding her horse, a tick bit her. She is having serious complications from this illness. My doctor is the only one I can see who will treat me here in northern Idaho. I thank God for him. I still suffer from this illness and it is VERY DIFFICULT to irradicate. Many are being misdiagnosed with everything from chronic fatigue to fibromyalgia to Multiple Sclerosis. If you need any more info., please email me at castlerobinb@yahoo.com.

[carlymac]

This really surprises me. Are doctors really that illiterate about something so common? My husband had it- rash, severe headache, fever, and was treated within a week. He was on antibiotics for a month and has no hint of it since. That was 5 years ago. And this is Mayo Clinic in MN, But lyme disease has been around for a long, long time. Are doctors in Idaho really that out of date on their education? What are we getting ourselves into?

[banjomike]

Just ask a veterinarian. Lyme disease is everywhere in the US, and horses mostly to get it first.

Sure, doctors are unaware of how widespread Lyme is. Even though it is widespread, it is still uncommon in the West. Back in New York and other north-eastern states, where there is a lot of forest and very high deer populations that are conditioned to living in metro areas, out here a person has to go outside towns and cities to become exposed to the ticks.

But since our population is low, and wilderness surrounds us here, it is not a big deal to go out in the boonies where the ticks live. The ticks do quite well on any critter with warm blood- they like the family dog or a feral house cat just as much as a deer. Horses and deer are both thin skinned and close coated, big attractors for ticks.