Not Being Ignorant...

[Ivan...]

Hi Guys , just to save private messaging and phoning everybody really. This is not a sympathy vote , but the reason i have not been active recently is because i feel like a rat catchers dog !

I have contracted Lyme Disease, and i can tell you it ain't very nice , as you know i spend a lot of time camping out on Dartmoor, and suppose really have been lucky up to now , but was aware i had been bitten several times during my last trip out and when i got home felt lousy , noticed three bullseyes and felt that awful , went to the docs (first time in 13 years !)

Anyway month of antibiotics (Doxycycline) loads of tests and stuff in a few weeks etc etc .

But it certainly makes you feel crap , flu like and aching joints tired and lethargic , those that know me know i can't sit still for five minutes , but it has slowed me up a bit .

Cheers Ivan...

[Dreadhead]

grim to hear that Ivan i feel for you. always hear about lymes on the increase but rarely come across it (well i havent anyway). hope you recover soon and in the meantime find another outlet to keep you busy. wish you a speedy recovery

[BareThrills]

Hope you're on the mend mate. Ive heard its not much fun.

[JonathanD]

Sorry to hear that Ivan. A speedy recovery.

[Harvestman]

Ooh, that's not nice. Lots of sympathy, and hope for a speedy recovery.

[Savagewolfrm]

Sorry to hear that big man. If you need someone to mop your fevered brow give me a call and will pop along with Hatty Jaques lol
get well soon matey meding you x x

[udamiano]

get well soon chap.
atb

[Barn Owl]

Get well soonest mate.
Don't envy you that at all.

[santaman2000]

Hope you get better soon.

[Pierr]

sorry to hear, wish you quick mending.
(and got my answer on my PM through your other post, no worries)

[Lupin Rider]

Hi Guys , just to save private messaging and phoning everybody really. This is not a sympathy vote , but the reason i have not been active recently is because i feel like a rat catchers dog !

I have contracted Lyme Disease, and i can tell you it ain't very nice , as you know i spend a lot of time camping out on Dartmoor, and suppose really have been lucky up to now , but was aware i had been bitten several times during my last trip out and when i got home felt lousy , noticed three bullseyes and felt that awful , went to the docs (first time in 13 years !)

Anyway month of antibiotics (Doxycycline) loads of tests and stuff in a few weeks etc etc .

But it certainly makes you feel crap , flu like and aching joints tired and lethargic , those that know me know i can't sit still for five minutes , but it has slowed me up a bit .

Cheers Ivan...

Thats terrible. Ive been there myself. Didnt get bullseyes and my doc in berkshire hadent even heard of lymes ***. Once i had the aching knees and hips i got my self in to doc. I had ben bitten on the hip and in my ignorance i dug the tick out and off with my nails. I was pretty il for a 2-3 weeks after the bite as you desscribe and then after the doxy i was back to normal after about six weeks. Hang in there.

John

[Teepee]

Oooh Nasty!
Get well soon Ivan.

Its a good reminder to check regularly,

[sasquatch]

Sorry to hear that, I've had it as well. My doctor wasn't bothered until he spoke to another doctor then rang me to come back for treatment. I was pretty angry by then. You'll be grand soon enough, stay out of the sun while on those pills!

[Androo]

I hope you get better soon.

Can I ask you how long it was between the removal of the tics and when you went to the docs?
Only reason I ask is because I too have Lymes, but am feeling relatively OK! About 11 days after I incorrectly removed the tic, I got very feint and very sleepy. I went to the docs the day after and now have Doxycycline to take aswell as eating lots of Oranges and no stimulants. Maybe I'm lucky catching it so early....seems that way, my sympathy - speedy recovery!

[woodpoet]

Don't know you personally Ivan but this forum is like a family. Hope you get well soon and the same goes for you too Androo

[Kernowek Scouser]

I'm not as active here as I am elsewhere, so I'm catching up on general goings on.

I'm sorry to hear about your recent woes Ivan, when we had a chuckle around a camp fire at the RV, you struck me as cracking fella, so I'm not just writing this for the sake of writing 'something'.

Lyme's is pretty grim. I've not had the 'pleasure' myself but a mate of mine was bitten and he was a rather unhappy bunny for a little while. But with plenty of meds, rest, fluids and a little bell (which I gave him) to summon his wife to tend to his needs (she never liked me much anyway) he got through it and was out enjoying the wilds again soon enough... albeit dipped head to toe in insect repellent.

You hang in there fella

I've also just read about you having to give up your Falcome permission, which is rather tragic. I never quite managed to make it along myself, but people I have a lot of time for have nothing but good things to say about the times they had there (and no, they didn't offer to pay me to say that) and I am now rather gutted I didn't pull a sickie from work and join in the adventures there myself. Shame.

But there will always be other meets at other permissions and plenty more bad jokes to chuckle at around the camp fire.

Remember, they say bad luck comes in three's, so if anyone asks you if you know anything about fixing gas cookers, you should answer in the negative, then retreat to a safe distance!

Atb.

Colin

[Laurentius]

Not good, perhaps a warning for the complacent amongst us habitual shorts wearers.

[rik_uk3]

Not nice mate, heal quick, heal well.

[Ivan...]

Thanks very much for the comments and good wishes , i suppose i have been very lucky up to now , after all my life on the Moor , of course i had been bitten before and done loads of self removal, maybe the little blighters were not carrying the disease , or my natural defences were stronger who knows ?

In answer to a couple of queries .

After my most recent trip out , i was aware i had been bitten and had 5 bites i know for sure, thigh, both , foot and stomach, let the tiny ones fill a bit as usual for easier removal , and did my usual touch their bum with a cigarette to make them release and pull them off ( i know its not recommended, and am feeling lousy enough , without a bollocking , it's just always the way i hadalways done it !)
Around 28th May , next day noticed the first bullseye , very clear , but if it had been somewhere less obvious , might not have spotted it !

Started feeling , like the start of a cold ,sweaty, weak ,shivery headache (i don't get those !) and generally unwell, spotted another bullseye , phoned the doc (first time in 13 years !) , explained symptoms etc , was in the surgery within 20 mins ! Fair do's he was brill, examined me all over , another perfect bullseye on my thigh ( which can disappear very quickly )

The ensuing aching of knees and hip joints , palpitations , sweats feeling weak (being quiet, unheard of ! ) And feeling bloody awful generally , confirmed our initial thoughts (and i can tell you ,it's horrible)

Treatment. 28 days of Doxycycline (antibiotic) loads of blood other tests and hopefully the meds kill it off , if caught within 3 or so weeks of being infected.
Outlook. Disease killed off , back to the woods soon ! It pays to be very careful and vigilant and not complacent , so fingers crossed test results will show it has gone , if not , don't want to think about that right now !

As for the three's thing , losing Farcome , Lyme Disease, and Mongoose13 ( my 12 year old daughters cat getting run over and killed on Sat , i think they qualify !!

Once again thanks chaps , the community spirit on here is amazing!

Ivan...

[Karl82]

Hope you feel better soon Mate.

[John Fenna]

Get well soon!

[Bushwhacker]

I'm worried about the ticks, they've now contracted a severe case of 'Ivan'.

Get well soon mate, cider fest ain't long off!

[ReamviThantos]

Hi Ivan,

Get well soon and hope you feel like getting back out there in the near future. Your symtoms have made me book a doctors visit myself as since a bushcraft course last year (oops) and finding a tick I have had the exact same symtoms aching currently restricted to finger joints and hips (I thought it might be gout LOL) but exact same other feelings of lethargy and fluey headaches etc. I hope that due to the time lapsed I'm not in the unpleasant stuff here!

All the very best.

[Paul72]

Glad to hear you're responding well to the meds. Get well soon chum and a lesson for us all to be vigilant!

[ReamviThantos]

It certainly pays to spend some time reading up on Bushcraft UK forum.

[treelore]

wishing you a speedy recovery Ivan..all the best

[Ichneumon]

That's terrible news! I'm so sorry.

I refer of course to the demise of Katy's cat!

Sorry to hear about the Lyme's too but you wouldn't expect much sympathy from me. I'm just glad you're blaming it on the ticks rather than the food I cooked that week.

Of course I'm also suspicious about that too. Doctor prescribed me antibiotics once and I had to drink orange juice in the pub. Told me mates I had an ear infection - anything but the truth.

Get well soon ya grey haired old sod.

[Androo]

Thanks woodpoet, I'm relatively fine compared to the sound of Ivan, though.

I'm worried about the ticks, they've now contracted a severe case of 'Ivan'.

Thanks for the update Ivan. I only received one bite (& subsequent bullseye) to the top of my thigh and maybe 48 hours of feeling crappy (almost feinting twice, very sleepy & lathargic) approx 11 days after bite, 16 days after bite was when I incorrectly removed the tic remains, but once I went to the docs (day 17) and was prescribed only 14 days of Doxycycline (100mg tabs but no bloods taken) I started to feel much better. Maybe a bit of placebo involved there. But reading about the suffering you're going thru maybe I haven't got it and the doctors flippant attitude (!) was just.

I've worked in gardens (with deer populations) and lived out in the sticks (large sheep, deer and badger populations) most of my life and have only ever had one tic before, last year in fact - no adverse reactions to that.
The bullseye has only just dissapeared today (4 days after starting the tabs) but it's still itchy...

Hearing your suffering makes me think I'm very lucky but will 100% be doing tic checks with my son and others I go campingexploring with...oh yea, and myself!

Again, best of wishes for your speedy recovery and your return to form

[RonW]

owww.... get well soon!

[.XII.]

glad to hear your on the mend buddy - Lyme's isnt nice...

hope to see you out on the moors sometime