New Tick Bite - Antibiotics?

[Moshi]

So before ”Corona-season” is over, ”Tick-season” has already begun

A very short walk in the woods 1 week ago resulted in 3 (three!) tick bites for me. When I found the third one attached, I cried!

2 bites are healing fine, it seems, however the third one (the tick that was most likely attached to me for 2 days, and that I first tried to scratch off me with my nails bc I didn’t have my glasses on and it didn’t occur to me that it may be a tick) - the third bite is still nasty. Swollen, red/blue, itchy as hell. Sometimes there is a slight red ring around it, but it comes and goes. A doctor would tell me its fine, I’m sure. But that bite worries me...

So here’s the deal - I have the ME/CFS diagnosis since 8 years, and I was treated by a ”lyme doc” quite agressively with (different) antibiotics for the better part of a year, and my experience was mostly negative, at one time I collapsed and ended up in the ICU....

However, at this point, I am considering self-treating with Clarithromycin (”Biaxin”) cause I have it at home. IF I do - can I use a low dose to start? Can I pulse treatment? What would be the implications of doing that?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[methylenewhite]

I come from place where tick born encephalitis is common. There if you have been bitten you have to take your tick to a lab to test it for encephalitis and get immunoglobulin shots. As I see on the map from wiki Sweden is in risk zone too. You better visit a normal doc in your local hospital. I got bitten once somewhere else and had serious health issues after.
Tick-borne encephalitis - Wikipedia

 

[Moshi]

@methylenewhite thanks for input!
Yes, I live in an area in Sweden where TBE is common, and I am not immunized against it.....
I flushed all three ticks down the toilet I’m afraid (I know, stupid)
I have an appointment with my GP on monday, but very much doubt that he will agree to testing or treatment....

 

[Ania]

If you have a ring, you shuld take antibiotic. The standard treatment in my country it doxycycline 100 mg for 3 weeks. If you ignore it, the problems might be very serious in the future, and then treatment might be very complicated and sometimes ineffective.

 

[LLight]

If you have a ring, you shuld take antibiotic. The standard treatment in my country it doxycycline 100 mg for 3 weeks. If you ignore it, the problems might be very serious in the future, and then treatment might be very complicated and sometimes ineffective.

Yes, you should take a doxycycline course.

 

[Moshi]

@Ania - thanks! I know....
The slight ring of redness that appeared around the bite last night is not really visible today, so I don’t know.... my question is really - if I start myself on a abx-course, what are the cons of doing that....?

 

[Moshi]

...and - if I do choose to start myself on a course of clarithromycin, can I start on a low dose (say 200mg/day) and slowly increase....?

 

[methylenewhite]

In this case you better no to take random antibiotic. Your local doc should know exactly which one you have to use.

 

[Moshi]

@methylenewhite - you’re absolutely right. I’ll ask my doctor first. (Altough I’m pretty sure he’ll just tell me to calm down and not to worry)

 

[Ania]

I had Lyme deasease not knowing about it, until I learned hard. Don't neglect it. I do not know if clarithromycin is the right antibiotic. Usually if it is, they write how to dose in case of Lyme. Try to convince your doctor to give you the proper drug, he can't ignore it. In a month or two it may be too late for a short term treatment.

 

[Moshi]

@Ania - thanks, I know....
I’m not ignoring it, but it will be difficult to convince my primary care physician not to ignore it...
Although Lyme and TBE is a huge problem in my area, it’s not taken very seriously by doctors...

 

[Ania]

I know what you mean. But try to fight for yourself. I hate that attitude when doctors act as if they were doing us a great favor, while they should serve us. They behave like gods and never listen. Most of them. There are rare exceptions. I hope you will find a way.

 

[Moshi]

@Ania
Word.

 

[Dr.Winston O'Boogie]

I had Lyme Disease, I started treatment exactly 30 days after my bite. It took me over two years on very strong doses of antibiotics to get rid of it.

Anyway, if you have been bitten quite recently you have a big advantage time wise and I would take advantage of that fact and self treat if necessary and/or possible with any of the antibiotics known to be effective. Doxycycline seems to be the first line antibiotic of choice but Amoxicillin worked fine for me.

Testing and waiting for the results can waste valuable time and money and isn’t totally reliable

I have been bitten several times since and each time I self treat immediately for 3 weeks with Amoxicillin. Necessary or not my experience with Lyme Disease made me vow to myself to take any action I deemed necessary to prevent a disseminated infection under the supervision of a doctor or not. Sorry, just the way I feel, hopefully your doctor can be persuaded that a preventative course of antibiotics might be a reasonable option.

 

[Moshi]

@Dr.Winston O'Boogie I appreciate what you’re saying, so much.
Those choices of abx that you’re mentioning are probably the best first line choices... it boils down to if I can manage to get a prescription, or not..... my country (Sweden) have a restrictive policy re:antibiotics (and many other things)

 

[Dr.Winston O'Boogie]

Ever since my experience I always have some at hand. I realise that they cannot be easily obtained by many.

Even doctors tend to agree that speed is of the essence as regards treatment to prevent the Lyme spirochetes from disseminating too far from the site of the bite.

Of course there is every chance that the tick that bit you was not infected with Lyme, my view is that it’s a chance I no longer want to take.

If someone cannot get access to any of the antibiotics that are effective perhaps do an Internet search about the advantages of prompt treatment and the cost of tests from the perspective of time as well as money and take copies to your doctor to see if he or she could be persuaded that prescribing antibiotics is worthwhile preventative course of action?

 

[Moshi]

@Dr.Winston O'Boogie I already tried (just now) and the Dr said no.
It’s funny (?) that only 2 weeks ago I was prescribed a course of abx because I said I had a UTI. They gave it to me without question. But with three (infected) tick bites... noooooooo......
damn!!!

 

[Moshi]

@Dr.Winston O'Boogie - but, I tried another online Dr - and voilá - at least I got some type of prescription this time, although not what I expected, I got a 10-day course of -
Fenoximethylpenicillin......
What IS that?
Never heard of it.... and especially not as a treatment for tick borne infections...?

 

[Moshi]

*phenoxymethylpenicillin* in English

 

[ecstatichamster]

for Lyme's if you catch it within a few days, only a few dosages of doxycycline are required.