I got Lyme about 2 months ago. Initially just woke up and had a small bite on back of thigh, thought it was just a fly bite or something and no tick was attached. That night I was feverish and for the next couple nights with muscle soreness like when you sleep on ground or something, mind you I was sleeping in a very rustic cabin so I presumed that actually was the cause. I watched the bite tho and it never showed a bullseye. Instead it had pustules and eventually grew to be a giant red inflamed bite the size of a, well at its peak basically the size of a basketball which is of course wild and alarming. The wound itself got infected which is why the bite grew to that size. At the time I actually thought I had like rolled over on a spider or something and it bit me multiple times cause I had no idea a tick bite could cause this sort of reaction, but I guess my body very violently reacted to the Lyme. I went and got antibiotics for my bite tho the initial GP I saw didn’t test for Lyme even tho I had a mystery bite from being in the woods. Regardless I went on antibiotics just for the infected bite but not for Lyme. It was only 2 weeks later when I was doing yoga and ended up “overstretching” my liver area (the start of my weird Lyme symptoms) such that my right flank was spasming and my whole back chain had seized up leading to a week of intense pain and inability to sleep due to the pain. Ultimately I went to the ER, because well I’m Canadian and the ER is the only place you can get timely healthcare. Thankfully the ER doc there heard about the bite and tested me for Lyme, which ultimately came back positive. I likely would’ve foolishly missed it were it not for her. So I’m very grateful I got bit in 2025 when docs are atleast starting to be more Lyme aware. I went on doxycycline and symptoms resolved. I’m still throwing the kitchen sink at it tho with auxiliary treatments too like ozone IV’s and traditional Chinese medicine herbs from a doc who did their PhD on Lyme. Very much front loading an aggressive approach as early as possible.
What I’ve learned is a couple things: 1. A bullseye doesn’t always appear even if it’s certainly Lyme disease, 2. The bite reaction can be very significant and not what you would think from a normal tic bite, 3. Doxycycline is an incredible drug but also the peer reviewed literature shows the Lyme bacteria and coinfections can remain after even extensive courses of doxy so while it’s very effective it’s not completely effective and shouldn’t be the only tool used. 4. Test early. I’m so thankful the ER doc caught it early for me and I got treated. I actually feel even better than before as ironically the doxy also fixed me decade long digestive issues which is a great plus. But Lyme in its early phase is such a different thing than Lyme that’s been around for a year +. I highly recommend testing asap if anyone ever has any concerns or worries
What I’ve learned is a couple things: 1. A bullseye doesn’t always appear even if it’s certainly Lyme disease, 2. The bite reaction can be very significant and not what you would think from a normal tic bite, 3. Doxycycline is an incredible drug but also the peer reviewed literature shows the Lyme bacteria and coinfections can remain after even extensive courses of doxy so while it’s very effective it’s not completely effective and shouldn’t be the only tool used. 4. Test early. I’m so thankful the ER doc caught it early for me and I got treated. I actually feel even better than before as ironically the doxy also fixed me decade long digestive issues which is a great plus. But Lyme in its early phase is such a different thing than Lyme that’s been around for a year +. I highly recommend testing asap if anyone ever has any concerns or worries