Viral infection from tick bite?

[Andy677]

I live near Sydney , Australia, 49 years old, normally very fit and healthy.  8 weeks ago I was bitten by a large adult tick on right shoulder while hiking. It was on me for about 24hrs before I noticed, killed and removed it.   A week after bite, chronic dull headaches started, sinus pain focussed on left side with whitish foamy post nasal drip, neck like a pepper grinder when I turn it, jaw joints clicking and stiff, darkened hollows around eyes, extreme unnatural fatigue.  Have been to 3 separate GP doctors and local hospital ED several times and they were at a loss except to give me painkillers and antibiotics. Given 4 blood tests and all returned completely normal with no markers for inflammation, serology negative for infections.  Had sinus x-ray: normal. Had brain MRI: normal  Have taken sofar in sequence, Doxycycline 100, then Amoxycillin Forte with Clavulanic Acid, now on Cephalexin and Metronidazole in combination with grape seed extract.  None have made much difference except to lessen the headaches and I suppose rule out bacterial infections, so what I have is probably viral. Taking loads of vit C, garlic, horseradish, etc and resting in bed but nothing is helping. This going on for 6 weeks now, very debilitating. Any ideas appreciated!

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[Gemfly]

Patients treated with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely. Antibiotics commonly used for oral treatment include doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil. Patients with certain neurological or cardiac forms of illness may require intravenous treatment with drugs such as ceftriaxone or penicillin.

In a small percentage of cases, these symptoms can last for more than 6 months. Although sometimes called "chronic Lyme disease," this condition is properly known as "Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome" (PTLDS). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has funded several studies on the treatment of Lyme disease which show that most patients recover when treated with a few weeks of antibiotics taken by mouth. For details on research into what is sometimes referred to as “chronic Lyme disease” and long-term treatment trials sponsored by NIH, visit the NIH Lyme Disease web site.


Standards Of Care
There is significant controversy in science, medicine, and public policy regarding Lyme disease. Two medical societies hold widely divergent views on the best approach to diagnosing and treating Lyme disease. The conflict makes it difficult for patients to be properly diagnosed and receive treatment.

One medical society, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), regards Lyme disease as “hard to catch and easy to cure” with a short course of antibiotics. IDSA claims that spirochetal infection cannot persist in the body after a short course of antibiotics. The group also denies the existence of chronic Lyme disease.

In contrast, the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), regards Lyme disease as often difficult to diagnose and treat, resulting in persistent infection in many patients. ILADS recommends individualized treatment based on the severity of symptoms, the presence of tick-borne coinfections and patient response to treatment.


Early Lyme
ILADS doctors are likely to recommend more aggressive and longer antibiotic treatment for patients. They may, for instance, treat “high risk” tick bites where the tick came from an endemic area, was attached a long time, and was removed improperly. They may treat a Lyme rash for a longer period of time than the IDSA recommends, to ensure that the disease does not progress. They are unlikely to withhold treatment pending laboratory test results.

Late Or Chronic Lyme
Experts agree that the earlier you are treated the better, since early treatment is often successful. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of patients treated with short-term antibiotics continue to have significant symptoms. The quality of life of patients with chronic Lyme disease is similar to that of patients with congestive heart failure. Doctors don’t agree about the cause of these ongoing symptoms. The primary cause of this debate is flawed diagnostic testing. There is currently no test that can determine whether a patient has active infection or whether the infection has been eradicated by treatment.

physicians believe that ongoing symptoms probably reflect active infection, which should be treated until the symptoms have resolved. These physicians use treatment approaches employed for persistent infections like tuberculosis, including a combination of drugs and longer treatment durations. The ILADS guidelines have just recently been updated using a rigorous review of the medical literature.

The ideal antibiotics, route of administration and duration of treatment for persistent Lyme disease are not established. No single antibiotic or combination of antibiotics appears to be capable of completely eradicating the infection, and treatment failures or relapses are reported with all current regimens, although they are less common with early aggressive treatment.