Ticks! FEH!
Today I'm not so interested in crafting a comprehensive blog entry with full exposition, plot arc, denouement, etc. I feel under the weather. We had a little World Cup barbecue, but I was feeling really cruddy -- feverish, achy, sore throat. It started Saturday morning, and at first I was like, "Wha? I'm getting sick?" Then, all of a sudden, I made a connection to last weekend when we took Carmen to the Pine Barrens to run around offleash. She had a great old time, hunting squirrels in the underbrush and prancing around in the brackish water, but all of a sudden, we realized there were ticks all over the three of us. TICKS, feh feh feh. FEH!
So we started picking them off, but they were not messing around. Every time I looked down, there they were again on my legs, hiding under the straps of our stylish sport sandals, and getting all up in our personal under-clothes business. Before we got in the car, we did a thorough once over and cleaned up the humans, but we didn't get most of them off the dog until we got home.
Anyway, I get to the point where I've made this tick-illness connection and I'm pretty sure that I have Lyme Disease. So I go to the trusty interweb and google for symptoms. Ok, here's what you get:
Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, or flushing, Unexplained weight change- loss or gain, Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina, Unexplained hair loss, Swollen glands, Sore throat, Testicular pain/pelvic pain, Unexplained menstrual irregularity, Unexplained milk production; breast pain, Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction, Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido, Upset stomach or abdominal pain, Change in bowel function, Chest pain or rib soreness, Shortness of breath, cough, Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block, Joint pain or swelling, Stiffness of the joints or back, Muscle pain or cramps, Twitching of the face or other muscles, Headache, Neck creaks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain, Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains, skin hypersensitivity, Facial paralysis, Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity, Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity, Increased motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance, Lightheadedness, wooziness, unavoidable need to sit or lie down, Tremor, Confusion, difficulty in thinking, Difficulty with concentration, reading, Forgetfulness, poor short term memory, poor attention, problem absorbing new information, Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places, Difficulty with speech or writing; word or name block,
Mood swings, irritability, depression, Disturbed sleep- too much, too little, fractionated, early awakening, Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol.
GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN! I have a handful of these symptoms even on a good day.
Anyway, I'm not feeling well and I guess I'll have to get myself a primary care doctor and go find out what's going on.
In the meantime, I leave you with some nice pictures of the doggie. She's real nice. I hope she doesn't have Lyme Disease, too...
So we started picking them off, but they were not messing around. Every time I looked down, there they were again on my legs, hiding under the straps of our stylish sport sandals, and getting all up in our personal under-clothes business. Before we got in the car, we did a thorough once over and cleaned up the humans, but we didn't get most of them off the dog until we got home.
Anyway, I get to the point where I've made this tick-illness connection and I'm pretty sure that I have Lyme Disease. So I go to the trusty interweb and google for symptoms. Ok, here's what you get:
Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills, or flushing, Unexplained weight change- loss or gain, Fatigue, tiredness, poor stamina, Unexplained hair loss, Swollen glands, Sore throat, Testicular pain/pelvic pain, Unexplained menstrual irregularity, Unexplained milk production; breast pain, Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction, Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido, Upset stomach or abdominal pain, Change in bowel function, Chest pain or rib soreness, Shortness of breath, cough, Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block, Joint pain or swelling, Stiffness of the joints or back, Muscle pain or cramps, Twitching of the face or other muscles, Headache, Neck creaks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain, Tingling, numbness, burning or stabbing sensations, shooting pains, skin hypersensitivity, Facial paralysis, Eyes/Vision: double, blurry, increased floaters, light sensitivity, Ears/Hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain, sound sensitivity, Increased motion sickness, vertigo, poor balance, Lightheadedness, wooziness, unavoidable need to sit or lie down, Tremor, Confusion, difficulty in thinking, Difficulty with concentration, reading, Forgetfulness, poor short term memory, poor attention, problem absorbing new information, Disorientation: getting lost, going to wrong places, Difficulty with speech or writing; word or name block,
Mood swings, irritability, depression, Disturbed sleep- too much, too little, fractionated, early awakening, Exaggerated symptoms or worse hangover from alcohol.
GOOD GOD IN HEAVEN! I have a handful of these symptoms even on a good day.
Anyway, I'm not feeling well and I guess I'll have to get myself a primary care doctor and go find out what's going on.
In the meantime, I leave you with some nice pictures of the doggie. She's real nice. I hope she doesn't have Lyme Disease, too...
posted by Dubin at 9:01 PM
9 Comments:
Booo for ticks!
Man, I need to get myself a doctor too. The last doctor I saw regularly was my pediatrician. It seems so hard... .
Go to a doctor, oui, but I'm pretty sure Lyme disease doesn't set in that fast, and that you usually get a little red circle around your tick bite first.
Your dog is so cute!
Megan, I am sure you have been lectured by many other people about why you need to see a doctor at least once every two years even if you feel completely healthy. The free and easy-to-arrange medical care is one good thing about grad school.
Strangely, no one does lecture me. If they did, I would tell them the several stories I've heard this summer of people who felt fine, then went to the doctor who found horrible things wrong with them and now have to have big ole surgeries. Keep me away from all that, I say.
(All this despite the fact that I am paying slightly extra for very good health insurance.)
Shagamemnon got lyme disease, suffered nerve damage, and had to be given antiobitics through a chest tube two times a week for three months. Get to the doc! (But yes, ABH is correct; a red circle should appear around the bite.)
But what if I'm all sick and I ache, but I don't have the rash (yet)?
I have a Dr. appt. tomorrow. This doctor is a D.O., and I have to deal with the fact that I'm prejudiced against D.O.s because you wonder if they just didn't get into an M.D. program. But then I know people like Tsai, who are trying to be D.O.s, and his program is hella rigorous. So tell me, what do people know about D.O.s? Also, who here has ever taken allergy shots? (The allergy shots are sort of a separate issue.)
I don't know anything about D.O.'s, but I have had very good experiences with nurse practictioners - better than my experiences with doctors. My philosophy about basic medical care is it doesn't matter exactly how or how well trained the person treating you is - there are always books and other doctors they can check with if they need backup - but how willing they are to listen to you and take the time to look into your concerns.
just to add a cent or two, when i used to get overrun by mosquitos - and they loved me (at least until i started taking all those ayruvedic herbs) - i would get covered in bites. after any big infestation i would get a bit of a flu type illness - something about the toxins they inject into you in their effort to get the good stuff out. i guess i'm a bit allergic. on a side note, i have also recently learned that the special ayruvedic oil i use works as a natural insecticide in the garden. go figure...
capella, not to go off on a total tangent, but whenever I do go to my doctor, she says "why are you here?" in an accusatory tone. And I say "I dunno. I heard somewhere that I was supposed to go to the doctor from time to time." and she says "okay." and checks my blood pressure, asks about my poo and sends me home. I've never actually asked, but she's never actually said that I need to come back before ten years are up.
So why exactly do I need to see a doctor every two years? Honestly, I don't know. I see my doctor when I want her to refer me to physical therapy. That is the best reason I can come up with for visiting her, and now that my insurance has cut me off of the PT, I'm not really sure why to bother with the GP.
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