Adventures in Bio-warfare, or Failing to Learn From My Mistakes Edition 9,132,872

[lydy]

So, I went for a walk with Eileen last Monday, and got bit by a bug. Actually, several bugs, but only one bite features in this story. On Tuesday, there was a bright red, oblong spot, a little longer than a quarter, but not as wide. It hurt when I scratched it, a kind of a burning hurt. And it itched quite badly.

Wednesday, at work, I looked at it in the mirror. It had grown to the size of my palm, in a roughly paisley shape. I carefully marked out the edges with a magic marker. By the morning of Thursday, it was a little larger than the outline, but not lots larger. I went to bed.

Thursday at work, I looked at it again. It was larger. It was now roughly six inches by three inches, still in a fascinating paisley shape. It had also developed some mottled yellow at the center, looking rather like an old bruise. Doing the thing that Beth told me not to do, I carefully marked out the new, larger red spot, rather than making a doctor's appointment. In my defense, it was three in the morning. It did not grow during my work night, however, and by morning, it looked to me like it had shrunk a little bit, and was possibly a trifle less red.

I had intended to go to the doctor on Friday morning, since I didn't have to work Friday night. But what with the reduction in redness, and the slight retreat, I thought, "Fuck it, I'm tired," and went to bed instead.

When I woke up Friday night, it had grown an additional three inches in length and added an ear-shaped appendage. So I went to Urgent Care Saturday morning.

The doctor had a British-inflected Middle Eastern accent. He looked at the rash. He said, "This rash. I do not like it."

"That makes two of us."

"There is a bug bite at the center. I do not know if it is a tick bite. I do not know if it is a wood tick or a deer tick."

"Me neither."

"I do not like antibiotics. You should take antibiotics. I cannot tell if this is Lyme Disease. You should take anti-biotics."

And so, I'm taking antibiotics.

Comments

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

OMG. That is one heck of a bad reaction to a bug bite.

It's probably not a deer tick bite because if it were there would be a deer tick attached to the middle of it. But since you waited so long to go in, the tick might have bitten you and then dropped off. So I guess you're stuck with the antibiotics, since you really do not want Lyme disease. I hope it's starting to retreat.

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

burning- tick that might have lymes -

lymes can be tested for so you'd know for sure
and how effective the antibiotics are

glad you got your voice back

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I think Lyme disease can only be tested for after the fact. AFTER you have developed full-blown Lyme disease there will be antibodies in your blood that can be tested for. But antibiotics have a diminishing effect on Lyme as time goes on. If you wait until you have symptoms, the treatment takes longer and may or may not make all the symptoms go away. But if you start treatment before you have symptoms, you may end up taking drugs you don't need and having problems from that. It's a nasty game theory of a disease.

[faunhaert.livejournal.com]

that just sux
waiting for testing confirmation
you are doomed

wonder just how long lymes has been around

[fgherman.livejournal.com]

I hope that it's not Lyme Disease and you have a swift and uneventful recovery.

[soon_lee]

Yes, this. Hope the antibiotics work & it's not anything serious.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Well I'm glad that didn't end "so that's why I only have one arm..." because it really did seem to be headed in that direction!

Get well soon. And take ALL the antibiotics. My Uncle Pic died of Lyme's disease because he didn't finish the bottle. I got told this every time I was sick as a kid. He died six years before I was born, in 1958. Gone, but remembered every time anyone in my family opens medication. Don't be an awful warning! (Naturally Z's reaction to being told this was "Somebody in our family died of the Bubonic Plague? The actual Black Death? That's so cool!" Still and all...)

[quadong.livejournal.com]

I was surprised by your parenthetical, so I read the Wikipedia page on Lyme disease. I didn't see any connection to Bubonic Plague. What am I missing?