Lyme's disease

jamesf85

My girlfriend recently noticed some bites with the bulls eye around them. She got checked and bloods taken and was put on antibiotics to treat lunes disease. We were recently away and this is where she got the bites. What is the likelihood of me having contracted this even though I didn't have any bites or symptoms? Anyone with any knowledge of this or past experience?

Wesser

Zero. It is not transportable person to person. I presume you were not away with your girlfriend when she was away? You dont state that.....

jamesf85

Wesser wrote: »

Zero. It is not transportable person to person. I presume you were not away with your girlfriend when she was away? You dont state that.....

My apologies. I was away with my girlfriend at the time and I would have been with her when she got the tick bites. I generally don't have a reaction to mosquito bites etc so maybe this is why I didn't have any noticeable tick bites.

Her blood test came back yesterday and they were negative for lymes diseases but I've read that 50% of blood tests don't show lymes disease even when present.

I'm not sure whether I should get a prescription for a course of antibiotics or not. Anyone on here know of anyone with the disease or have it themselves that would be able to shed more light on the situation?

njs030

Speak to your doctor and see what they say. Antibiotics for Lymes are heavy going and aren't the same as the ones for a standard chest infection.
Only your doctor can make the decision as only they can write the prescription!!

123shooter

Wesser wrote: »

Zero. It is not transportable person to person. I presume you were not away with your girlfriend when she was away? You dont state that.....

Actually I think I read in an online newspaper this year that this disease is passed on by bodily fluids and if you look on the internet you will find websites which say similar.

I have no idea if correct but if it is true a lot of us may have it.

njs030

123shooter wrote: »

Actually I think I read in an online newspaper this year that this disease is passed on by bodily fluids and if you look on the internet you will find websites which say similar.

I have no idea if correct but if it is true a lot of us may have it.

There's insufficient data to support this.

123shooter

Hey what do I know? But I am very suspicious about events in my families life so just for starters some xmas reading............

https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-sexual-transmission-2/

http://www.lymedisease.org.au/transmission/

http://www.columbia-lyme.org/askthedr/for_pt/displayanswer1-136.html

http://www.treatlyme.net/treat-lyme-book/can-lyme-be-sexually-transmitted-yes/

http://lymediseaseguide.net/is-lyme-disease-an-infectious-disease

http://www.medicaldaily.com/lyme-disease-contagious-clues-hint-it-may-be-sexually-transmitted-disease-267964

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/causes-of-lyme-disease.html

njs030

Peer reviewed scientific research are the only studies that are worth reading.
Anything else is just fear mongering rather than scientific fact. Anyone can write an article because "this is what happened to someone i know" and you or I could quote it as a fact - that doesn't make it medical proof.

I briefly looked at 2 of those and they are from 2012 and 2014, is it being studied anywhere currently?

Kurtosis

These aren't reputable sources. Even still, some of them only refer to the anecdotal evidence of sexual transmission. The US Center for Disease Control states there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html

123shooter

Hey I am not arguing with anybody what is right or wrong but what I can see is nobody really knows and all you can do is assume that you could with bodily fluids until it is proven otherwise?

Would that be sensible?

Why do people claim they or others have caught this disease by bodily fluids? Seems a little strange to claim this if there is no truth to it dont you think?

njs030

123shooter wrote: »

Hey I am not arguing with anybody what is right or wrong but what I can see is nobody really knows and all you can do is assume that you could with bodily fluids until it is proven otherwise?

Would that be sensible?

Why do people claim they or others have caught this disease by bodily fluids? Seems a little strange to claim this if there is no truth to it dont you think?

No you listen to the experts who say there's absolutely no proof of something because they have studied it and have years and years of education and experience in their fields not a few hours on Google.


People claim all kinds of things that doesn't mean that it's true.

123shooter

notjustsweet wrote: »

No you listen to the experts who say there's absolutely no proof of something because they have studied it and have years and years of education and experience in their fields not a few hours on Google.


People claim all kinds of things that doesn't mean that it's true.

I agree with you entirely but some of those websites give the impression they are the 'lymes disease' website.........So?

And it doesnt explain why some claim to have caught it other than from a Tick bite or why and what advantage they would have to make this claim......So?

I dont know.........luckily for me (or others) the Mrs stops me from sharing bodily fluids with other people so I may never find out either.

njs030

123shooter wrote: »

I agree with you entirely but some of those websites give the impression they are the 'lymes disease' website.........So?

And it doesnt explain why some claim to have caught it other than from a Tick bite or why and what advantage they would have to make this claim......So?

I dont know.........luckily for me (or others) the Mrs stops me from sharing bodily fluids with other people so I may never find out either.

Anyone can set up a website.

Im not going to get into the ins and outs of why people may or may not start health scares.
The important thing is to get your information from a reputable source, find out who wrote it and when.
If there s no scientific peer reviewed studies to back it up you're pretty safe to ignore it.

mrs.doubt.fire

If in doubt, go to another Doc and get a second opinion, but it's best to go to the doc and not rely on googling your symptoms or asking those of us who dont have any medical training. NO offence to everyone else.

jamesf85

notjustsweet wrote: »

Speak to your doctor and see what they say. Antibiotics for Lymes are heavy going and aren't the same as the ones for a standard chest infection.
Only your doctor can make the decision as only they can write the prescription!!

My doctor prescribed me a 2 week course. This was on me describing my girlfriends bites and the possibility of her having contracted the disease. This was before her bloods came back negative.

What I'm wondering is do I need to take them now as I know they're heavy going and I'm currently in training.

I understand my health is more important. But anyone here know how likely it is that her tests results would be wrong and also me having contracted it without any symptoms?

njs030

jamesf85 wrote: »

My doctor prescribed me a 2 week course. This was on me describing my girlfriends bites and the possibility of her having contracted the disease. This was before her bloods came back negative.

What I'm wondering is do I need to take them now as I know they're heavy going and I'm currently in training.

I understand my health is more important. But anyone here know how likely it is that her tests results would be wrong and also me having contracted it without any symptoms?

I did reply as someone with experience.

The closer it is to the bite the better the results are so your girlfriends results are probably accurate but it's a good idea to keep an eye out for any other symptoms.

If you've had a 2 week course of antibiotics and you didn't have any bites you're probably OK but as above keep an eye out for any unusual symptoms.

Don't hesitate to talk to your doctor if you feel worried.

jamesf85

notjustsweet wrote: »

I did reply as someone with experience.

The closer it is to the bite the better the results are so your girlfriends results are probably accurate but it's a good idea to keep an eye out for any other symptoms.

If you've had a 2 week course of antibiotics and you didn't have any bites you're probably OK but as above keep an eye out for any unusual symptoms.

Don't hesitate to talk to your doctor if you feel worried.

I've only been prescribed with the 2 week course, based on my girlfriends bites but assuming she may have contracted it.

I haven't begun the antibiotics as I found out her results were negative and I didn't want to take antibiotics if it wasn't necessary.

_Whimsical_

jamesf85 wrote: »

I've only been prescribed with the 2 week course, based on my girlfriends bites but assuming she may have contracted it.

I haven't begun the antibiotics as I found out her results were negative and I didn't want to take antibiotics if it wasn't necessary.

If the doctor has prescribed them they probably won't do you any harm. Better to be safe than sorry. I'd take them if they were given by a doctor.
Lyme disease first tier testing is not very accurate and to my knowledge even on the note from the lab it advises Drs to rely on a combination of testing and clinical presentation in making a diagnosis and decision to treat. If her doctor believes her clinical symptoms warrant treatment she needs to take it, if the doctor feels you do too I would heed that advise.
You don't want to find yourself having symptoms in years to come wondering if you should have taken a prescribed medication, for the sake of two weeks what's the harm?

njs030

jamesf85 wrote: »

I've only been prescribed with the 2 week course, based on my girlfriends bites but assuming she may have contracted it.

I haven't begun the antibiotics as I found out her results were negative and I didn't want to take antibiotics if it wasn't necessary.

Take the 2 weeks definitely.
Lymes disease is a horrible illness once it takes hold so you're better off to feel unwell for a couple of weeks than regret it.

Tanko1414

Does anyone know a good gp who actually knows about lyme disease I am sick to death of being treated bad by hospital as they not listening to me and treat me like a hypochondriac... I have repeatedly told them about tick bite and rash I got 5 years ago they keep telling me couldn't be that..... I am getting sicker by the day and so fed up...
I simply can't afford private testing I feel hopeless at this stage while suffering daily

Tropheus

You could try the Irish Lyme Disease group on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/44960753282/

jelenka

I only got diagnosed with lymes after 1.5 years of testing and even had lumbar puncture and mri . It's hard to diagnose, and a number of first tests were negative for lymes .