Feel unwell after tick bite

[BattenbergandLadyGreyTea]

I found a tick in my back in the shower last Sunday. Fairly engorged. I didn’t realise what it was at first and started rubbing it thinking it was garden debris.

It came away and went down the plug hole before I could stop it. I removed some more bits gently with my nail and washed the area with soap.

Ive had tick bites before so didn’t think much about it. My husband returned yesterday from a trip away and removed a leg sticking out. The bite area is sore but no rash.

This morning I woke up with muscle ache, nausea, headache and felt very tired. Saw a gp and had a blood test today. I had a mild temperature at the surgery. GP prescribed antibiotics even though the blood tests aren’t back. She said I could stop the antibiotics if the result is negative.

I haven’t started the antibiotics yet. I feel I should just take them and finish the course even if it’s not Lyme.

so the GP gave you antibiotics to take but you're asking an internet full of unqualified strangers?? just do what the Dr told you!

This.

I’m asking if I should stop taking the antibiotics if the blood test is negative which is what the GP suggested and not what I’ve been lead to understand about taking antibiotics.

If you've been prescribed docycline( as per guidelines) then I would do as dr advised and stop if blood test for lymes is negative. Its important to take whole course if the test for lymes is positive but if it's negative you are more likely to have a virus and antibiotics have no effect on a virus. Moreover docycycline is not a nice antibiotic to take, side effects can be pretty horrible and you then have to cover up with high protection sun cream when out. And your risking building up immunity to the antibiotic so if you do need it in the future , it would be ineffective.

Standard UK Lyme tests aren't as accurate as others which unfortunately you have to pay for. So even though I wouldn't normally take antibiotics without a positive result, in this case I would.

Armin Labs in Germany is considered the gold standard. A blood draw can be arranged here and blood sent to Armin for testing.

@Oldrunner thank you for that explanation. I’ve never heard of stopping antibiotics before.

@comeondover thank you, I have also read that early testing can be unreliable.

Why risk it? Lymes disease can be very hard on your body. Just finish the course and I hope you feel better x

Because the doctor suggested it or it wouldn’t have crossed my mind?

Def keep taking them I would say. You don't want to risk it!

I’ll just wait and see what the blood tests say and ask the doctor for clarity.

Lyme disease is awful. I’ve had it, test is notoriously unreliable. Take the doxycycline and finish the course. Slap on loads of Sun screen and cover up it makes your skin really light sensitive. Definitely stock up on probiotics / good gut stuff for after you finish.

I’d absolutely complete the antibiotics for this regardless of what the doctor says or the test result. Chronic Lyme is not something I’d want to risk.

It does take weeks for blood tests come back and then you may have tested too early so will need to retest in a month to make sure by which time quite a lot of damage can be done.

@Tiredofwhataboutery sorry to hear you’ve had it. I do feel quite horrible today. Hope you’re feeling better now.

Yup don't mess around with Lyme disease. You're much better taking antibiotics to stave off Lyme disease than taking antibiotics that aren't needed. Lyme disease can affect you for life, and it's much easier to treat if caught early. Take the pills directed br Dr.

Have you actually been given antibiotics for Lyme? Or just a fobbing you off random course of antibiotics? Ds had Lyme Disease and I think it was a 3 week course. I’d take the antibiotics and I’d not stop no matter what the test said (testing isn’t very reliable, really they need to test the tick). It’s not nice, but I wouldn’t want to risk long term infection.

Yes doxycycline. I just took the first one.

For clarity - I’ll always follow doctors advice but I was thrown by her comment to stop the course if the results were negative.

I had two hospital stays before they figured out what it was, all sorts of weird neuro symptoms they thought I must have a brain tumour at one point! I do feel better but it took me a solid year to recover to maybe 95% but some of the nerve damage is permanent and it still effects me when tired or run down. Honestly wouldn’t chance it if I were you.

@mindutopia thank you. I hope your ds is better now.

How long till the blood tests are back ? You could complete a week by the time your results come in ?

Doctor said Monday at earliest.

I would definitely take the antibiotics while you are waiting for the results as I really would not want Lymes diease if at all possible. I think I would probably finish them too in case the results hadn't detected it properly.

Its a two stage test so initial test is for any antibody to Lyme which could also indicate a previous infection, then if it’s positive it goes to a fancy lab to check for current infection. Lots of false negatives though at stage 1 as it can take weeks to show which is why you should finish the antibiotics even if negative result.

keep taking them negative or not. The NHS Lyme disease test is well known to be unreliable. Even the GP will tell you this.

Mine came back negative on the NHS test, so I went private to a clinic that has doctors who specialise in Lyme disease and had tests sent off to labs in both Germany and America. Both tested positive.