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Lyme disease?
My husband has had a fever for almost three weeks. At first we thought he had the flu, but after a week and his fever was getting worse we went to the ER. The Doctor did blood tests and xrays. Everything was normal. She said she was almost positive that he had Lyme Disease bc his only symptoms were fever and neck pain. He has been on Doxycycline for a week now, even though his results for Lyme were negative. Is it normal to have negative results if you do have Lyme disease? Is it normal for a fever to last for weeks. When can he expect to start feeling better? Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Totally agree with JackieC. I just had my mom tested and will ask to see the test so I can look at how each band came out in the test. CDC criteria is about 30 years behind the times. If you see which bands are positive, that may help.
And Lyme may not even show up yet on tests. Hope all goes well for you.
And Lyme may not even show up yet on tests. Hope all goes well for you.
Good for you -- that's what I would do too. Lyme is a strange critter -- not just the infection itself, but also the confusion among the medical community. Just so you're aware, the infectious disease docs as a group view Lyme disease as not particularly complex or serious and often will treat with only a few weeks of doxycycline. As mentioned above, that works okay within a very short time after infection, but many of us (like your fella) don't know exactly when we were bitten, because the ticks are so tiny (like a dot at the end of a sentence) and because the red circular rash they sometimes leave around the bite doesn't actually show up at all in many people, or the bite is on the scalp and not seen, or it just didn't show up looking like a bullseye shape, so looks like an ant bite maybe.
The docs however have a hard and fast set of rules for all these things, and the infectious disease docs have firm ideas of seeing a tick burrowed into the skin, seeing the round red spreading rash, and so on. The ticks didn't sign on for that rigid a routine, but many docs still expect it. If you keep in mind that the docs are not all reading off the same page about Lyme and its co-infections, then you'll figure your way through it all.
Keep us posted! Best wishes -- and your hubby is very fortunate to have you watching over all this.
The docs however have a hard and fast set of rules for all these things, and the infectious disease docs have firm ideas of seeing a tick burrowed into the skin, seeing the round red spreading rash, and so on. The ticks didn't sign on for that rigid a routine, but many docs still expect it. If you keep in mind that the docs are not all reading off the same page about Lyme and its co-infections, then you'll figure your way through it all.
Keep us posted! Best wishes -- and your hubby is very fortunate to have you watching over all this.
Ty for the information. I do not have the actual test results but I will get them. In the ER he had a bunch of blood work done but they didn't elaborate on exactly what they were. Family doctor sent him for more blood work and another chest X-ray. ER was leaning toward Lyme bc he works outside everyday and with symptoms of fever and aching neck that's what made most sense. I will be contacting the doctor on Monday for all of his results and then contact a specialist. I will also ask him about the possibility of other infections. Ty so much for the much needed advice
Ty for the information. I do not have the actual test results but I will get them. In the ER he had a bunch of blood work done but they didn't elaborate on exactly what they were. Family doctor sent him for more blood work and another chest X-ray. ER was leaning toward Lyme bc he works outside everyday and with symptoms of fever and aching neck that's what made most sense. I will be contacting the doctor on Monday for all of his results and then contact a specialist. I will also ask him about the possibility of other infections. Ty so much for the much needed advice
Welcome to MedHelp -- sorry to hear about how your husband is feeling. Do you have copies of the blood tests the doc ran? It's often valuable going forward to have those to show to future docs, if needed.
If you have the test results, what tests were they? There are several different ones, including Western blot and ELISA tests, which are commonly used in suspected Lyme. These tests may not be entirely accurate and may say 'no infection' when really there is, but if there is a positive result, it's believable.
If the results are negative, the doc may still base the diagnosis of Lyme on your history and symptoms and decide to treat just in case, because Lyme won't go away by itself. Taking a few weeks of antibiotics to stop a possible Lyme infection is something I would do myself, just because Lyme can be difficult to get rid of after it settles in.
Lyme often (maybe half the time) comes with one or more other infections ('co-infections') carried by the same ticks -- did the doc test for anything other than Lyme? These other infections often need different meds than Lyme itself, so knowing the whole picture is important, and doxy is not effective on a number of these other infections.
If the doc didn't test for anything else, it's a little puzzling that the doc would assume that Lyme alone is the problem. Good for the doc for being aggressive about treatment, but you might want to check with a Lyme specialist as soon as possible to confirm the diagnosis and the treatment plan. That's what I would do.
I'm not medically trained, but I had Lyme and a co-infection several years ago, as did a family member. One thing I learned for certain is that the medical community is really confused about Lyme and other infections the 'Lyme' tests may carry. I never had fever or neck pain, but everyone is different.
Bottom line: the doc is trying to get out ahead of a Lyme infection your husband may have, and that's good, knocking it down before it settles in ... but I would find a Lyme specialist for a follow up to confirm what the doc advised, to be sure all bases are covered. If you need help finding a Lyme specialist, you can email to: --- contact [at] ILADS [dot] com --- and tell them where you are ("near Boulder CO") and how far you can travel. They can send you contact information for ILADS members near you. ILADS is the main voluntary group for Lyme specialists who often understand Lyme better than other docs, even infectious disease docs.
There is a lot of confusion in the medical world about Lyme, so keep asking till you get answers that make sense. Let us know if we can help. Best wishes to you ---
If you have the test results, what tests were they? There are several different ones, including Western blot and ELISA tests, which are commonly used in suspected Lyme. These tests may not be entirely accurate and may say 'no infection' when really there is, but if there is a positive result, it's believable.
If the results are negative, the doc may still base the diagnosis of Lyme on your history and symptoms and decide to treat just in case, because Lyme won't go away by itself. Taking a few weeks of antibiotics to stop a possible Lyme infection is something I would do myself, just because Lyme can be difficult to get rid of after it settles in.
Lyme often (maybe half the time) comes with one or more other infections ('co-infections') carried by the same ticks -- did the doc test for anything other than Lyme? These other infections often need different meds than Lyme itself, so knowing the whole picture is important, and doxy is not effective on a number of these other infections.
If the doc didn't test for anything else, it's a little puzzling that the doc would assume that Lyme alone is the problem. Good for the doc for being aggressive about treatment, but you might want to check with a Lyme specialist as soon as possible to confirm the diagnosis and the treatment plan. That's what I would do.
I'm not medically trained, but I had Lyme and a co-infection several years ago, as did a family member. One thing I learned for certain is that the medical community is really confused about Lyme and other infections the 'Lyme' tests may carry. I never had fever or neck pain, but everyone is different.
Bottom line: the doc is trying to get out ahead of a Lyme infection your husband may have, and that's good, knocking it down before it settles in ... but I would find a Lyme specialist for a follow up to confirm what the doc advised, to be sure all bases are covered. If you need help finding a Lyme specialist, you can email to: --- contact [at] ILADS [dot] com --- and tell them where you are ("near Boulder CO") and how far you can travel. They can send you contact information for ILADS members near you. ILADS is the main voluntary group for Lyme specialists who often understand Lyme better than other docs, even infectious disease docs.
There is a lot of confusion in the medical world about Lyme, so keep asking till you get answers that make sense. Let us know if we can help. Best wishes to you ---
He's on 100mg twice a day for 21 days. Hope he gets better soon. He's still very sick and there's nothing I can do for him:(
Sorry to hear you are having to deal with with. Yes it is normal to get a negative lyme test. Testing is not very good depending on what lab it was sent to. Yes normal for fevers to last or come and go. What dosage of Doxy is he on? If I remember correctly he'll need at least 200mg 2 times a day for at least 28 days. Good Luck!
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