newboots
Angel Diva
Do you ever go outside? Are there grass, bushes, trees?
Don't do what I did and get complacent about ticks. We haven't seen one here since early July, and I didn't see the one that got me. Did you read about my migraine in Dawning Chorus? That was no migraine. I contracted anaplasmosis, one of the less well-known tick-borne diseases, and after 4 days of that headache was in the hospital with sepsis, on IV antibiotics and fluids, with a white blood cell count less than half of normal, platelet count of 33,000 (normal = 140,000), low potassium and magnesium (I take magnesium daily), elevated liver function tests, and blood and sugar in my urine.
Pain that felt like railroad spikes being driven repeatedly into my head appeared intermittently, and a delay at the hospital pharmacy meant almost 2 hours of whimpering and writhing in pain before adequate doses of morphine and two doses of Vicodin stopped it.
Please, please, take all the tick precautions. I own (and will go right back to using) Lyme-Eez gaiters, pyrethrin-infused clothes, and DEET spray for my boots, and I will stop just ducking out unprepared to catch the chickens or pick tomatoes. I will check my body as soon as I come in, because a tick that will give you anaplasmosis only needs to be attached for 4-6 hours, not 12 or 24 or 48. I won't imagine that I should restart precautions after ticks resurge in the fall. I will remember that if I see any tick, there's a 50% chance that it will be infected with Lyme or another dangerous virus.
Don't become complacent! It's so easy, and the price is so high. I was so sick that my thinking was impaired and into the equation about whether or not to seek medical help went the hour-long drive to my PCP, the lack of nearby urgent care centers, and other factors that are interesting logistical problems but not reasons to neglect essential medical care.
Don't do what I did. The risk is too high.
Don't do what I did and get complacent about ticks. We haven't seen one here since early July, and I didn't see the one that got me. Did you read about my migraine in Dawning Chorus? That was no migraine. I contracted anaplasmosis, one of the less well-known tick-borne diseases, and after 4 days of that headache was in the hospital with sepsis, on IV antibiotics and fluids, with a white blood cell count less than half of normal, platelet count of 33,000 (normal = 140,000), low potassium and magnesium (I take magnesium daily), elevated liver function tests, and blood and sugar in my urine.
Pain that felt like railroad spikes being driven repeatedly into my head appeared intermittently, and a delay at the hospital pharmacy meant almost 2 hours of whimpering and writhing in pain before adequate doses of morphine and two doses of Vicodin stopped it.
Please, please, take all the tick precautions. I own (and will go right back to using) Lyme-Eez gaiters, pyrethrin-infused clothes, and DEET spray for my boots, and I will stop just ducking out unprepared to catch the chickens or pick tomatoes. I will check my body as soon as I come in, because a tick that will give you anaplasmosis only needs to be attached for 4-6 hours, not 12 or 24 or 48. I won't imagine that I should restart precautions after ticks resurge in the fall. I will remember that if I see any tick, there's a 50% chance that it will be infected with Lyme or another dangerous virus.
Don't become complacent! It's so easy, and the price is so high. I was so sick that my thinking was impaired and into the equation about whether or not to seek medical help went the hour-long drive to my PCP, the lack of nearby urgent care centers, and other factors that are interesting logistical problems but not reasons to neglect essential medical care.
Don't do what I did. The risk is too high.
