Tillie the tick

[Gadget728]

Well, I've been on this forum for a couple of months, and I seem to come here more than any other site. 

Back in May I started slurring my words, and my hands got weaker. I have no insurance and had to go to a new Dr. in our town who charges $75/month and will see you when you need to. 
We both suspected I'd had a stroke, since I've had a couple of bad concussions earlier in life. She sent me to Wichita to get a CT scan and the results came back negative. No Stroke, No brain bleed. We also did blood work. The results showed my Cholesterol 1 point too high. The Dr. said for my age, I was in pretty good shape. 

I went back to the Dr. and told her I was getting weaker & my speaking voice, and the forming of words was getting worse. She recommended a speech therapist!. I don't hit women, but I sure felt like slapping her silly. I was getting sicker by the day, and the only medical treatment I could afford, wasn't a very good Dr. 

2 Weeks ago on Saturday, I did a bunch of yard work at my "for sale" house in Cheney. After working I was taking a shower and caught my washcloth on a skin tag, right at my waist line, under the edge of my belly. It felt irritated, and I couldn't see it. I got my camera out and snapped a picture, realizing it was a tick & not a skin tag!!! FREAK!!

I watched some videos, and read some Tick lit. on the net, and decided to remove it. I did a good job, got the whole tick alive and intact. Leaving either mouth part in the wound can be bad. Since it was the weekend I put the tick in a glass jar and poked some holes in the top. Monday, I took it to the Dr. and told her some web sites to look into and I'd be back in the morning for treatment. The next moring I'd decided the medicine I needed was Doxycycline, she agreed, called it in to the druggist and I'm now 11th day on this antibiotic. My words are getting a little better, but even typing is a challenge right now. 

Since I fed the tick for 3 months, I consider it a pet and decided to name her Tillie. A member here recommended a site, and I ended up paying $50 to have Tillie checked out. It is a she, males die after mating and she s a "Lone Star Tick".  LS ticks aren't known to carry Lyme disease, and from all the reading I've done, the antibiotics should kill the bacteria invading my system.

I can't say for sure, how long it was on me. I'm pretty sure it was since late April or early May. It's now the middle of August and I'm sick & tired of being sick & tired. I am a energetic kind of outdoor person, this sickness has drained my energy, but I'm still working on my venture to vandwell. I'm going to try and spend the night somewhere in my Astro Van tonight. The moon has been sweet this month.  Results of what she was carrying should be here in a few days. I'm hoping for the best.  - Gadget

 

[speedhighway46]

Best of luck with your recovery. You should have been a doctor; excellent diagnosis!

 

[ArtW]

jeeze, all that from a tick
Sorry, but if it was me, Tillie would be a spot about now

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Thank goodness you figured it out for yourself. I've heard horror stories about undiagnosed tick bites. Get better by watching your diet, take probiotics if you have been on the antibiotics.

Dragonfly

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Hi Gadget,

So glad you sent that tick out to get tested. Like I have said before, I wish I knew you could do that when i threw mine down the toilet........could have potentially saved myself years of pain and suffering. I tell everyone I know that's been bitten to send them in. Hoping you have a speedy recovery. I am on doxy and Azithromycin and Atvaquone for babesia.....also from a tick.

 

[Gadget728]

Art - Ask around, your friends & family, there are tick horror stories everywhere. I have had ticks on me before, since I used to hike all the time. A good inspection usually found them. I never imagined how much damage one tick can do. This is the weirdest set of symptoms ever. Slurred words are bad enough, but the weakness in my arms and hands, and the sheer stupidity of my fingers. I can't hardly manipulate anything. My penmanship is like a 2nd graders. This whole illness is more irritating than painful.

Drangonfly - Ironicly, about the same time I started feel poorly, I started a low carb diet. Now I'm trying to eat a better mix of healthy foods. Thanks.

ERLH - Thanks for the heads up on that site. After finding the tick, I left it attached until I could do some research. Like, how to get it off of me without killing it or poisoning myself. Dr. has me on Doxy too.