Well-Being, Wealth, N More

Have you ever been bitten by a deer tick? A deer tick is different than the ticks found on your dogs or cats. A deer tick is smaller and brown in color. I remember many years ago, when my youngest daughter was 3 years old (she is 36 years old now), she was bitten by a tick playing outside with our dog. A tick from a dog does not cause a disease, but a deer tick causes a disease called Lyme’s.

In January 1999, my late husband and I moved to Micanopy, a small farming community near Gainesville, Florida (the home of the University of Florida Gators). My horses loved the area because they were able to roam around 10 1/2 acres, 4 of which were woods. I rode both horses in the woods quite often, because it was shady and cooler in the heat of the spring and summer. In 2004, I was bit by a deer tick and got Lyme’s Disease.

The symptoms started like the flu with a severe sore throat, achy all over, and feeling really tired. I worked for a couple of weeks until I couldn’t work due to severe fatigue. My boss sent me to a doctor in the facility for an excuse to go home sick. My blood pressure was high, my legs were sore, I couldn’t lift my arms over my head, etc. When the doctor finished the examination, she decided I was suffering from fibromyalgia. She said I should take a week off and go back to work.

When the week was up, I felt like I couldn’t function at work; so, I went back to the hospital and asked the doctor for another week off. Hopefully, after another week, I would feel better. After the 2nd week and I still felt terrible, the doctor sent me to Employee Health. She didn’t want to give me anymore time off.  She wanted me to go back to work.

I went to Employee Health and explained my situation to the Nurse Practitioner. She listened intently to my story. When I was finished, she talked with the Employee Health Physician. The physician came in and examined me thoroughly. He recommended that my doctor in the Women’s Clinic send me to the Rheumatologist, Neurologist, and the Infectious Disease Specialist. He also recommended that I be given medication for pain and sent home.

I went back to my doctor. She reluctantly did some blood work, which showed that I was positive for Mononucleosis and Epstein-Barr. The doctor felt that my problem was fibromyalgia and refused to sign anymore work releases. Frustrated and upset, I went down to Employee Health and explained what had happened with the doctor. The Nurse Practitioner signed a work release for 2 weeks. At that time, I would be re-evaluated.

After seeing the Employee Health practitioner, I returned to my work place to let my supervisor know what had transpired. I was having trouble walking and keeping my balance. The Medical Director ordered a rolling walker so I could maneuver around my house without falling. The Medical Director was very worried about me. She couldn’t believe that the doctor in the Women’s Clinic was treating me for fibromyalgia. At that point, she recommended that I go outside the facility and find a doctor in the community.

My dearest friend recommended her family doctor. She and her husband had been going to this doctor for years and were very happy with his care. When I called this doctor, the only appointment available was in 3 weeks. I took the appointment gratefully.

Three weeks went by slowly, but finally it was the day of my appointment with the community physician. My late husband drove and came in with me to see the doctor. He wasn’t going to tolerate a doctor saying that I was suffering with fibromyalgia. After a few minutes, in walked a tall, slightly built older gentleman with white hair. As he examined me, he kept up the conversation with my husband. I explained the sequence of happenings and finished with my being in his office that day.

The doctor was sure I had Lyme’s Disease and prescribed 14 days of an antibiotic, Doxycycline. He sent requests for consultation to an Infectious Disease Specialist and a Rheumatologist and ordered a bunch of laboratory tests. The laboratory technician looked at the order written by the doctor.  She grabbed several tubes and a tourniquet and asked me to roll up my sleeve. Oh my gosh, 7 tubes of blood were drawn, the majority of which were sent to a special laboratory in California for analysis.

About a week and a half later, I started feeling better. After such a long time feeling terrible, I began to get some of my strength back. I was so happy and relieved that I would actually be going back to work. During the time I was being treated by the community physician, my supervisor put in paperwork to replace me. How could she? My impression was that she was trying to get rid of me. Well! I wasn’t going down without a fight.

I was still feeling weak and walking with the walker, but I was beginning to feel more like myself. The appointment with the Infectious Disease Specialist was very interesting to say the least. The doctor said the blood work showed I was suffering from an unusual pneumonia, chlamydia pneumonia. How could I get that disease, I asked her incredulously? She told me the disease was transmitted just like any other pneumonia. Someone had sneezed and I caught the disease like anyone would catch a cold. The doctor gave me another 7 day supply of Doxycycline and sent me home. One more week of sick time and my doctor would send me back to work.

The Employee Health Physician would have to agree that I could go back to work; otherwise, I would be out on the street, with no job. Fortunately, the Employee Health Physician was on my side and refused to put me out. He was very interested in the diagnosis of the Infectious Disease Specialist and wondered why this could not have been taken care of in house. Needless to say, I didn’t have an answer for him, but I was going to report the situation to the appropriate authorities in the facility.

The next physician I went to see was the Rheumatologist. This physician sent me through his laboratory doing every rheumatology-related blood test he could think of to do. They all came back negative. He then started treating the symptoms of pain and inflammation with Prednisone and Rheumatoid medications, which seemed to help. The only pain that wasn’t relieved by the Prednisone and the arthritis medicine was my back pain. By the time I was finished with the Rheumatologist, I had medicine for my joints and for the back pain.

Even now, the community physician believes I had Lyme’s Disease. The fact is, I found out not too long ago that if Lyme’s Disease is not diagnosed in the first few days after being bitten, the infection can migrate. That’s what must have happened to me. The joint pain I was feeling was a result of the Lyme’s Disease, not necessarily secondary to chlamydia pneumonia, as I was told.

Tomorrow, I will go to my favorite medical site, The Mayo Clinic, and report on what they have to say about Lyme’s  Disease. In the meantime, please let me know if you have ever had Lyme’s  Disease by leaving a comment on this article.