If bitten by a tick, seek medical attention
I have been contemplating writing this letter, but after hearing of several people who have been diagnosed with a variety of tick borne illnesses, I have decided to share my story.
On July 2, I noticed that I felt tired and felt like I was coming down with something, but soon chalked it up to fatigue as I had been busy preparing for a Fourth of July picnic. The next night, out of the blue, I was sweating profusely and had fever and chills with severe back pain and pain in my knees and joints. This was relieved with ibuprofen.
My picnic started and I felt pretty good, other than being tired and a little achy. As the picnic was winding down, I started to notice that I was sweating profusely and my back was hurting again. Shortly after all my guests left, I had fever and chills. The next morning, I was better and actually went to work for a few hours.
After work, I came home and could not wait to hit the chair, once again experiencing fever, chills, profuse sweating, back and joint pain and now a severe headache.
By Friday, July 6, I was very ill. My husband took me to urgent care where they soon sent me to the hospital, because they knew I would need lab work, etc.
As I was being triaged, they asked me what my headache pain was on a scale of 1 to 10. I said it was at least an 8. Once I was seen by the attending physician, I suggested that she check me for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a tick borne illness. My husband had been diagnosed with this in 2016 and I had noticed some of my symptoms were very similar to his. As my lab work started to come back with lots of abnormalities, my doctor ordered an abdominal CAT scan with contrast. After reviewing all of the lab work and scans, my doctor did check me for Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. This lab work takes several days for the results to come back.
Eventually, my lab work did confirm Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
I am so thankful that my physician put me on doxycycline for 21 days without having the results of the test back.
After a second trip back to the ER for fluids and anti-nausea medication, I started to feel better. I had never been so sick in my entire life.
Recently, a close family friend experienced a very scary episode, where he was diagnosed with Lyme Carditis. Luckily, he is doing so much better now. This is a complication associated with having had Lyme disease and it effects the heart. I have also spoken to several people who have been told they can no longer eat meat from hoofed animals due to a tick borne illness.
The purpose of writing this story is to get the word out about the dangers of ticks. If you have been or suspect that you have been bitten by a tick do not hesitate to seek medical attention if you notice that you are not feeling well or if you notice any unusual rashes.
For more information on tick borne illnesses, go to https://www.cdc. gov/ticks/index.html.
Sheila Hancock, La Plata