mama2alex Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 My husband went on a hike today and toward the end found a tick attached to his leg. Luckily, he is reading Cure Unknown right now, so he saved the tick. He said the county (San Mateo in CA) would test it for $25, but I don't know if they'll only look for borellia? Also, its county government, so we're not sure how much confidence we have in the answer. Does anyone know how much Igenex charges and whether they look for borellia plus coinfections? I could drive the tick to them tomorrow, as they are 20 minutes from school. Also, should he just go on antibiotics right away to be safe? If so, what? How can one antibiotic protect him if he's been exposed to several diseases? We've got two sick pups in our house already, don't need a third! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaesMom Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 OMG-I bet you are just freaking out! Don't know the answers to the IgeneX questions. I didn't see anything on the test order form I have. My DH had a work picnic yesterday and I found a tick on my dd's feeding pump backpack. I was holding it to my chest while they were doing a raffle so I'm guessing it came off my coat. I made everyone strip in the garage and take showers right away. Hope the test comes back showing no Bb or coinfections! I would try to get him started on abx right away if it were me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philamom Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 (edited) I would feel more comfortable with Igenex. Burr guidelines: Adults 200mg bid with food. doses of up to 600mg daily are often needed. Edited May 1, 2011 by philamom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sf_mom Posted May 1, 2011 Report Share Posted May 1, 2011 I'd call first thing in the morning to discuss with LLMD. Doxy just to be safe until you speak with them if you have extra. I had conversation with the Dr. about rate of Lyme of in the hills... he said stay out of the hills/tall grass in Northern CA. I believe its fairly inexpensive to test via Igenex but again Dr. might just recommend antibiotics. How scary. -Wendy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartyjones Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 yikes!! two years ago, when ds was diagnosed pandas but not yet lyme, i found a bloated tick on me. dr put me on 2 weeks doxy. lab tested tick as negative -- but it got a little crushed and i believe they likely only tested for borellia. (way before my TBI education). was an insurance covered test at hospital affiliated lab. just my opinion, but even if the tick tested negative, i'd be leery to trust that. so, i don't know that i'd put much $ into testing it. i think my TBI issues are prior to that. i didn't really herx but did feel sick on doxy. interestingly, when i first went to current dr who does a type of ART, i didn't so much test for borrelia, but for bartonella and babesia. who knows when/how everything came into play. the other day, my ds's friend's parent told me a couple of years ago, he had relapsing fevers. dr's couldn't give diagnosis but his white blood cells were down. in the office, he read an article in a magazine about TBI. he suggested it to dr. they put him on 2mths of abx and he's been healthy since. so -- on the bright side, you are aware of symptoms, you know there was a tick bite and you'll know what to watch for!! good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelTampa Posted May 2, 2011 Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Treatment right away, doxycycline, 200mg twice a day, is the standard approach. Don't wait to test husband or tick, nothing against doing those things, that's fine too, but treatment right away. Beg, borrow, steal, get it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2alex Posted May 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2011 Thanks to everyone for the input!! I took the tick into Igenex this morning and we're doing the full workup on it (Lyme and all coinfections) - dh just wants to know and I don't blame him. We'll have results back in 1 - 2 weeks. I also stopped by the LLMD's office and it turns out they have "recent tick bite" appointments which are less expensive than the full blown history/exam/lab workup you would go through if you were really sick already. So he's going in on Wed and it sounds like they will prescribe abx. So I think we've done everything we can do. The silver lining of this is it's made us both fully realize how important tick bite prevention/protection is. DH was hiking in shorts yesterday because he thought it was safe on the paved trail. Now we know better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adkmom Posted May 3, 2011 Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 This is such a timely post for me. My mom was bitten yesterday by a tick. Found it attached on the back of her leg. This is about the 4th tick attachment she's gotten from her backyard in upstate NY. She had a small red ring but the local doc said that's not the bulls-eye. Anyone have different rings appear after the bite? Mamma...how much was Igenex to test the tick? Anyone know about county testing? Who do you call. My Lyme child is always over in her yard, so I'm concerned and would like to know if Lyme ticks are around! (although I think I'll have them in snowpants all bundled up all summer!!) Did your doc recommend normal or high dose antibiotics following the bite? God...these darn little things!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2alex Posted May 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2011 First, a red ring IS a bullseye rash! What is that doctor talking about?! Igenex was expensive - $65 per disease to test the tick. So $65 to test just for borellia, $325 to test for Borellia, Bartonella, Erlichia, Richettsia, and Babesia. Our county in CA charges $25, but I'm guessing they only look for borellia and we didn't feel very confident about sending the tick to them. But if you want to go that route, I would Google the name of your county and "health department" and go from there. DH has not seen the doctor yet. He'll see her tomorrow and I will post the outcome. I'm thinking about going to the appointment with him. IMHO, your mom should get on antibiotics asap. The bullseye rash where she was bitten is worrisome. Do you have an LLMD? They may have specific appointments for people recently bitten, but not yet ill, so less expensive than a full work-up on someone who's already very sick. My dh's appt tomorrow is $165 versus $600 and insurance will cover much of it. This is such a timely post for me. My mom was bitten yesterday by a tick. Found it attached on the back of her leg. This is about the 4th tick attachment she's gotten from her backyard in upstate NY. She had a small red ring but the local doc said that's not the bulls-eye. Anyone have different rings appear after the bite? Mamma...how much was Igenex to test the tick? Anyone know about county testing? Who do you call. My Lyme child is always over in her yard, so I'm concerned and would like to know if Lyme ticks are around! (although I think I'll have them in snowpants all bundled up all summer!!) Did your doc recommend normal or high dose antibiotics following the bite? God...these darn little things!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matis_mom Posted May 5, 2011 Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 Wow, that's a lot of bites for our families in the last week!!! Yikes!!! My dd5 had a tick attached to her scalp. I don't think it was more than 24hrs, but definitely a while because the site was already swollen. I took her in an the pediatrician gave us Amoxicillin for 30 days... yipee! The fact that she had three huge swollen lymph nodes in the back of her head, on the same side as the bite definitely helped our case I guess we should be looking on the bright side and be happy about our new-found awareness, but it's turning into paranoia for me! But just think of our neighbors who are not aware... they are probably getting bit just as much as we are and don't know it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2alex Posted May 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2011 Treatment right away, doxycycline, 200mg twice a day, is the standard approach. Don't wait to test husband or tick, nothing against doing those things, that's fine too, but treatment right away. Beg, borrow, steal, get it done. Michael, you were right on the money! This is exactly what was prescribed. He started the doxy today - now we just wait to see if they find anything in that tick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama2alex Posted May 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 We just got the results back from Igenex and the tick tested postive for borrelia and negative for all co-infections. This tick was in San Mateo, CA on a popular, paved walking/running/biking trail! This makes me want to hang up my hiking boots for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithandElizabeth Posted May 13, 2011 Report Share Posted May 13, 2011 Gosh, this gives me the chills! I am so glad your husband is already being treated and that you tested the tick! This also makes me sooo sad because I am becoming so afraid of nature and no longer want my kids out hiking and camping! Thanks for updating us! Elizabeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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