![]() ![]() Neither I nor the ER doctor have an explanation for that part of the story. I had known by the second night that my symptoms were consistent with an allergic reaction to the doxycycline, but had never been allergic to it (or any other medication) before. Two nights later, I still feel like three of the seven dwarfs: tired, itchy, and grumpy. But the rash returned and a general malaise persists. My rash and swollen throat had mostly gone away. They took good care of me, injected me with some prednisone and Benadryl (and prescribed some more), let me sleep a bit, explained that anaphylaxis happens in moments or minutes rather than hours, told me to abandon the antibiotic, and then sent me on my way. to the ER where I was patted on the head by kind but unimpressed medical personnel. ![]() Thinking anaphylaxis was nigh, Heather and I headed off at 3:30 a.m. On the third night things accelerated, with the rash spreading like flames through California and, in the wee hours, a very odd and uncomfortable swelling of my tongue and throat. ![]() The next night, the same thing, perhaps a bit worse. A bright red rash appeared like lichens on my chest and back, but disappeared by morning. One evening a week later, I was oddly exhausted, achy, and itchy. Still, knowing plenty of people whose entire lives have been turned upside down by Lyme, I did some risk assessment, some listing of pros and cons, and decided to begin a two-week course of the doxycycline along with twice-daily high-quality probiotics as a countermeasure to the nuking of my body. Several days later – about two weeks after the bite – a few odd, hard-to-pin-down symptoms seemed to manifest, though in all honesty I knew they could have been merely part of the cascade of bodily insults that arrive in one’s fifties. I also wanted, if I didn’t use it now, to have it in the first aid kit for longer backcountry trips. At first reluctant because they sensibly prefer only to prescribe the antibiotic when symptoms are evident, they relented when I explained that I was equally reluctant to take it but wanted it on hand in case symptoms appeared on a weekend. I wasn’t showing symptoms but decided to ask my doctor’s office for a course of doxycycline just in case. Research suggested that given the relatively short attachment time I had a 20% chance of developing Lyme if the tick was a carrier. Poor thing just wanted to grow up and raise a family, I know. ![]()
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