Tuesday 4 August 2015

Double trouble

Hi Val

It was good to speak with you yesterday at the book swap and to be able to thank you once again for the wonderful evening we spent at Picnic in the Park. As you requested me to write a piece for TAG about our recent experiences with Lyme disease - here goes.

In April I became aware of a small, hard, red lump on my left arm. Very close to this lump were two tiny black dots. After a few days the lump started to diminish but the black dots remained. I realised that, with tweezers, I was able to remove these tiny specks and discovered what was almost certainly the remains of a tic. The doctor agreed with my conclusion and I was given a six day course of antibiotics. To this day, if it had not been for the subsequent experience of my husband, John, I would still be believing that my encounter with a tic was history.

We are second home owners and we returned to the UK for most of June. Shortly after we arrived, John asked me to look at the back of his shoulder, which he confessed he had rubbed against the side of a door because his shoulder had started to irritate. When I looked I saw an oval red mark which I believed was the result of John scratching his shoulder on the door. Over the course of our stay in the UK I kept looking at the red mark and, by the time we were due to return to France, it was beginning to fade. We had been back here for a few days when John began to feel unwell and the back of his arm started to hurt. This time, when I looked, the mark was inflamed and further away from it, but surrounding it, was a fine red line. Eventually John was diagnosed as probably suffering from Lyme disease. For two weeks he was most unwell, his shoulder was extremely painful and he experienced symptoms which were like flu. All this started to happen about thirty days after we first noticed the red mark. He took antibiotics for four weeks and the mark has now gone. John has only just recovered.

During all this time I had days when, for no accountable reason, I felt exhausted and was forced to spend hours resting. Just over two weeks ago I noticed an oval pink mark on my left arm above where, in April, I had the tic bite. When I examined it more closely I noticed a fine red line almost encircling it. Normally I would never dream of seeing a doctor about such a 'trivial' mark. Had it not been for John's experience, even though I knew I had been bitten by a tic, I would have attributed this mark to the hot weather. I'm now on a three week course of antibiotics and we consider ourselves fortunate to have had, what we believe to be Lyme disease, treated whilst it's in the early stages. We know we have to look out for other symptoms during the months or even years ahead. In John's case he never saw the tic which caused his troubles. The doctor finds it hard to believe we have both been bitten by an infected tic, as the majority of tics are not infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.  We are always working in our garden and we are now making sure the grass and borders are cut and trimmed. We cover our arms and legs whenever we are in amongst the plants.

Perhaps our experience may help others to be aware of possible signs of Lyme disease and not to delay in seeking help, even if you think you are making a fuss over what, hopefully, turns out to be nothing.

With all good wishes

Sue McCarthy

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