The month of May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and here in Wisconsin, we ALL need to become much more vigilant about this disease. It's on a dramatic rise, and it is not anything you want to take lightly. Having experienced Lyme Disease personally, and having seen it multiple times in the office in the last several years, I can attest that it is a terrible condition. You need to do all you can to protect yourself, your pets, and most especially your children.
In June of 2008, while I was working in Plymouth, I attended a nutrition seminar in Stevens Point. (Oddly enough, it was at this seminar that Dr. Mike Schleicher first asked me if I was interested in taking over the chiropractic office he owned in Kiel!) Being an avid trail runner, I stopped just outside of Waupaca to go running on a segment of the Ice Age Trail.
That trail was not very well-kept and was very overgrown. For most of the run I had to duck under tree branches, and my legs were constantly brushing up against the long grass along the sides of the trail. The "trail" was barely a trail.
After about a two-hour run, I was back at my car and continuing my drive to Stevens Point. After arriving at my friend's house where I was staying, I took a shower. In the shower I found four wood ticks on me. By the end of the day, I had found three more. It was absolutely disgusting.
Later that night while I was sitting on my bed texting Ellie about my day, I noticed a little black bug crawling along my thumb. This one wasn't a wood tick. It was a deer tick, which is much smaller, but much more likely to carry Lyme Disease. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night. I had a nonstop sensation of bugs crawling on me--imagine that!
Fast forward three weeks, and I was feeling really run down. I remember finishing up a normal Friday at work and being exhausted. I had a headache that made my face hurt whenever I moved my head in any direction. Although I rarely get headaches, I just assumed it was no big deal, and I went out for dinner that night. During dinner with my parents at an Irish restaurant, the headache subsided with a pint of Guinness.
Saturday morning I woke up with the same headache...and a low back ache. I'm a chiropractor, and I was only 27 years old at the time. I had never experienced low back pain until then! Unfortunately, things continued to go downhill as my temperature continued to climb, reaching 102 at one point. The worst part was that Ellie was gone that weekend, so I didn't have anyone at home to complain to.
In bed Saturday night I alternated between sweating fevers in only my underwear and shivering chills in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Three times during the night I woke up to change clothes.
Sunday morning it was the same story. Headache. Stiff neck. Sore low back. No energy. Swollen and painful lymph node in my right armpit. Something's not right. Then it "clicked". It's probably Lyme Disease, but its hallmark symptom is erythema migrans, or a bulls-eye rash, which I didn't have. Nonetheless, I knew I needed blood work, so I scheduled a doctor appointment for Monday afternoon.
Sunday night I drenched the sheets in sweat. I was an absolute mess, and this was the sickest I have ever been in my life.
Monday morning I still felt like crap. Headache. Stiff back. Chills. But the icing on the cake was provided by a glance in the mirror as I dried myself off after my shower. There, right over my left shoulder blade, was a big old "Bulls-eye Rash". The last part of the diagnosis was now present. By the afternoon the rash had become even more distinct, to the point that the doctor told me he could take a picture of it for a textbook.
Because I try to be healthy, my immune system reacted very strongly to the infection, and that allowed me to be able to identify that something was seriously wrong very quickly...which made treatment much more likely to work quickly. I was in early "Stage One" which is best described by all the symptoms I experienced for those three days. Stage Two is when it gets more serious and can start affecting the heart, liver, and nervous system. I was very fortunate to be able to "tell" that something was wrong. Lyme Disease is known as the "Great Imitator" because the symptoms can mimic other illnesses and can vary in severity. That's why it's important to stay vigilant and aware!
As I mentioned, that was the sickest I've ever been. It was terrible. I'm thankful to be better and not have to manage the terrible symptoms of chronic Lymes. I want to do everything I can to make sure YOU or your kid don't have to deal with it either, so remember these common First Symptoms:
- "bulls-eye" or erythema migrans (EM) rash which may appear on any area of the body and does not always take on the typical bulls-eye form
- fever
- chills
- muscle and joint aches
- tiredness/fatigue
- headache
- swollen lymph nodes
Also, when it come to my kids, after bath time I perform a "full body scan." They're used to it. I check them over everywhere, and do it every bath time--I am especially vigilant if they've been out in the woods or if we've been camping, etc. I can tell you every birth mark they have, which is important, since those tiny ticks can look a lot like a little mole.
As you probably know, I'm a very big proponent of getting outside. It's unhealthy to be inside constantly, and we can't live in fear. Just be aware--May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month--and be vigilant for the tick. For more information and photos, see www.lymedisease.org .
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