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CFS and Brown Recluse Spider Bite
I have the EBV/CFS and recently someone asked me if I ever told my doctor about my brown recluse spider bite (it happened about 10 years ago) and I said no, not my recent doctors. She had a friend whose doctor claimed that the cause of her illnesses, autoimmune diseases was from her brown recluse spider bite. I have just started looking this up on the internet but wanted to post here because, frankly, this forum is more informative. I am wondering if anyone has heard of this. We have all heard of Lyme disease in connection, so it makes some sense. Thanks!
I am not familiar with these forums (nor technically proficient). I also note that I am responding to a message from 2009. I hope however, that this forum is still active, as I respond to the post by Ivfrogs. I was bitten by a recluse/brown widow/violin spider a year ago and have struggled with my health ever since. After an initial (mis-diagnosed) Steven Johnson Syndrome response to the medication, I was administered an additional 4 different anti-biotics back to back; and subsequently an accumulation of symptoms over the past year...yesterday, I was diagnosed with a vascular auto-immune disease. I'd be very interested to know if any research has been done wrt the correlations between recluse/brown widow/violin spider bites and auto-immune diseases; correlations between anti-biotics and auto-immune diseases; and any alternative and natural remedies or lifestyle regimes have been successful for others with vascular auto-immune diseases. Thank you, kindly
an interesting correlation. many years ago (40), i was in the mexican mountains and was bitten on my hand by a spider of unknown origin (while sleeping). i became very ill and was hospitalized for a few days. my hand swelled, turned brown, with the entry mark was visible and a characteristic large oval blackish discoloration.
after returning to the states, i developed classic cfs symptoms. my dr. performed many tests, including a bone marrow. it was determined that i had some alteration in my blood and developed autoimmune issues, but the labels were not as clearly defined as now. as time passed, the symptoms became more like fibro. and a rheumatologist Dx that and started treating me for fibromyalgia. i had the classic pressure point pain and a tiredness that caused me to sleep for many hours at a time. this has gone on for years and included many different types of meds. for women, i found that menopause seemed to cause the symptoms to improve or perhaps it was coincidence. the most helpful actions were anything that caused more oxygen to go through ones body. this really came down to exercise, stretching or keeping active. massage is the best, though painful at first.
i still have bouts that "knock me down" and that is when i rely upon an anti inflammatory med.. my biggest worry now is how so many years of inflammation and burning has affected my cells.....esp. my brain!!!
of critical consideration is how one is treated when they develop this Dx.. I was fortunate to encounter a tropical disease specialist when i had to get prednisone iv for poison ivy. i also had a severely abscessed bite on my arm that i was told was from a spider. this dr. told me that my serious reaction was likely from the alteration of my blood and the original poisonous bite, thus causing the fibro. quite a relief, as it is still common for physicians to see fibro. in my records and assume a biased "psychological" implication. so.......keep searching for answers, it will serve you well in the future. good luck!
after returning to the states, i developed classic cfs symptoms. my dr. performed many tests, including a bone marrow. it was determined that i had some alteration in my blood and developed autoimmune issues, but the labels were not as clearly defined as now. as time passed, the symptoms became more like fibro. and a rheumatologist Dx that and started treating me for fibromyalgia. i had the classic pressure point pain and a tiredness that caused me to sleep for many hours at a time. this has gone on for years and included many different types of meds. for women, i found that menopause seemed to cause the symptoms to improve or perhaps it was coincidence. the most helpful actions were anything that caused more oxygen to go through ones body. this really came down to exercise, stretching or keeping active. massage is the best, though painful at first.
i still have bouts that "knock me down" and that is when i rely upon an anti inflammatory med.. my biggest worry now is how so many years of inflammation and burning has affected my cells.....esp. my brain!!!
of critical consideration is how one is treated when they develop this Dx.. I was fortunate to encounter a tropical disease specialist when i had to get prednisone iv for poison ivy. i also had a severely abscessed bite on my arm that i was told was from a spider. this dr. told me that my serious reaction was likely from the alteration of my blood and the original poisonous bite, thus causing the fibro. quite a relief, as it is still common for physicians to see fibro. in my records and assume a biased "psychological" implication. so.......keep searching for answers, it will serve you well in the future. good luck!
So sorry to hear this! I wish that none of these awful diseases exist. How are you doing?
I was bitten 8 years ago & I get these blisters every year around the time I orginally got bitten by brown recluse. It took a dr three years to figure out that it was an auto immune disease caused by bite. Steroids help but a little
Lyme has many symptoms overlapping with both ME/CFS. When Lyme is not caught in early stages, the prognosis and treatment become complicated. Some never fully recover, and live with chronic symptoms. My Lyme doctor became interested in Lyme because he discovered some years ago that many of his CFS/ME patients actually had Lyme disease. It takes a skilled and caring doctor to arrive at a correct diagnosis for these conditions that can hide on ordinary tests.
The IDSA, which does not believe in chronic Lyme, supports that chronic Lyme patients either never had Lyme and really do have CFS and/or ME (or some other condition), or had Lyme at some point but go on to develop "Post Lyme Syndrome," which has no cure or treatment. Either way, they deny the benefits of long-term treatment.
A good number of chronic Lyme patients had a fibro/CFS diagnosis before or after their Lyme diagnosis. Of course, it's tough to get hard numbers about a disease that mainstream medicine denies to exist!
There is a documentary about Lyme disease called "Under Our Skin," and it's easy to find the trailer online. In it, you'll see and hear from Lyme patients who were misdiagnosed with fibro/CFS/MS/lupus and more.
The IDSA, which does not believe in chronic Lyme, supports that chronic Lyme patients either never had Lyme and really do have CFS and/or ME (or some other condition), or had Lyme at some point but go on to develop "Post Lyme Syndrome," which has no cure or treatment. Either way, they deny the benefits of long-term treatment.
A good number of chronic Lyme patients had a fibro/CFS diagnosis before or after their Lyme diagnosis. Of course, it's tough to get hard numbers about a disease that mainstream medicine denies to exist!
There is a documentary about Lyme disease called "Under Our Skin," and it's easy to find the trailer online. In it, you'll see and hear from Lyme patients who were misdiagnosed with fibro/CFS/MS/lupus and more.
Hi Kit,
I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics. It was about 10 years ago, very bad, got bit on the inside of my leg.
I just know that there is a connection between Lyme and CFS. I am still learning what I can about it and the connections/treatments etc.
Someone mentioned the spider bite to me and I thought I would throw it out here to see, thanks for answering!
Colleen
I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics. It was about 10 years ago, very bad, got bit on the inside of my leg.
I just know that there is a connection between Lyme and CFS. I am still learning what I can about it and the connections/treatments etc.
Someone mentioned the spider bite to me and I thought I would throw it out here to see, thanks for answering!
Colleen
Brown recluse bite is very toxic, that much I know. I was bitten 3 yrs ago..when I went to ER, the doc there said, unless I passed out, dead...he didn't think anything he could do for me. (I had ME/CFS for 12 yrs at that point in time). Come Monday morning, I went to my regular doc..and he gave me IV packed will every vitamin he had in his office, especially vitamin C, and B.(to flush the poison out). The swelling, black and blue, slowly went away. I doubt there's a connection between spider bite and ME/CFS...think I will check with my doctor and get back to you on this, that is, if you haven't found a satisfactory answer to it already by then.
Lyme doesn't cause ME/CFS, I don't believe (I could be wrong)...but it has many, many similiar symtoms to ME/CFS if left untreated. It could also kick start your immune system and doesn't shut down. I haven't read Lyme directly causes ME/CFS. I only know that many people who were dx with ME/CFS, but in reality they had Lyme, or vice versa. Again, I could be wrong here.
Kit
Lyme doesn't cause ME/CFS, I don't believe (I could be wrong)...but it has many, many similiar symtoms to ME/CFS if left untreated. It could also kick start your immune system and doesn't shut down. I haven't read Lyme directly causes ME/CFS. I only know that many people who were dx with ME/CFS, but in reality they had Lyme, or vice versa. Again, I could be wrong here.
Kit
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