San Diego County, CA
Infected: unsure
Diagnosed: January 2019
Current health: “Much better (after treatment and herbal protocols) though some symptoms remain”
“The typical bullseye rash helped to diagnosis my Lyme disease (LD) quickly in 2007. My PCP prescribed a 20-day supply of doxycycline and sent me home. Upon further research, I found that LD can persist beyond this minimal treatment and sought out a naturopath who prescribed a multi-antibiotic protocol to follow for six months. I never had any symptoms.
“A few years ago (10+years after the first infection), I began having a variety of strange symptoms (and never saw a tick or rash). Early on, I didn’t connect my heart arrhythmia (that required ablation surgery) and new joint and muscle discomfort with the possibility of a second infection. After all, I was getting older and playing pickleball, so aches and pains were somewhat expected.
“None of the physicians I saw put it together either. Eventually, I had a broad range of symptoms that led me to suspect I had been reinfected. I returned to the specialist I had seen 10+ years earlier, and IGeneX testing indicated I had LD, as well as babesia and mycoplasma. By that time I was very ill.
“I have been on an aggressive antibiotic protocol, along with herbal supplements, for the past 9 months and have improved significantly, though some symptoms still remain.
“Despite commercial spraying and taking precautions to protect myself, I’ve decided to permanently give up gardening in my yard (across the street from a canyon full of wildlife) which is almost certainly where I picked up the ticks.”