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Comment by somesortofsystm | Hacker News Reader

I have it too, and as I get older I'm really feeling it taking its toll on my body. The most annoying aspect is, I knew that you could get it from ticks all my life, but yet .. I blew it off and didn't take it seriously.

One warm summer night, I laid down in the grass in a locally cool field, and enjoyed the stars. I woke up the next day with bullseyes all over me, and 4 of the terrible critters embedded in my flesh.

If only I'd paid more attention, I wouldn't always be operating at 60% ..

Take this one seriously folks. If you're in ticks-ville, pay attention damnit. You don't want Lyme disease.

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I've got to wonder if I have this too. For most of my life, I've felt like I'm operating at 60%. Every damn day is a constant battle with energy, and focus, and drive. I've been told its depression, anxiety, or ADHD. Prescribed medication, which I've always refused to take.

As a kid we were always playing in fields. My grandparents owned property in rural CA hills where we used to run around for days unsupervised, wading through tall grass with nothing but shorts and a T-Shirt on.

Did I get bit by a tick? Maybe? To my knowledge and memory, we never did find one on me... But then again, we weren't exactly checking every time we came in. I'm sure in all those years, I was bit by multiple bugs. Multiple times. Could that have injected persistent bacteria into my body that feed on my energy, and constantly drag me down?

Maybe it is just depression. But that sure feels like a symptom, and not a root cause. The root cause of all this is SOMETHING, and blanket diagnoses of ADHD and depression don't satisfy my need for an actual answer. With respect to medical practitioners, I still have to say, at times it feels like we're living in the stone age of medicine.

Ever get the bullseyes? Because that is the definitive indicator of infection.

Also, you've got to get multiple tests if you suspect it. One point of data does not certainty, make ..

No, I don't get those rashes ever. I may have as a kid but I certainly don't remember it.

Maybe I should throw in the towel and accept the "you're depressed" argument. 14 years of dealing with 40-60% ... I'm reaching a give up point. Diet, sleep, exercise, all on point for the last 5 years. No improvements.

Get the tests. My practitioners (get multiple opinions always) indicated to me that its not always obvious, and often times people associate the bite with other insects - i.e. spiders and therefore don't bother to screen for Lyme.

Best thing is to screen for the antibodies... but do get multiple tests from different labs.

May I ask why you suggest multiple test from different labs?

Because one should never act on a single point of data.

Always get a second opinion on matters like this - not only can labs get things wrong, but so can doctors.

Of course, this is easier to do in a country that has adequate health care for its citizens, as is the case for me .. so, ymmv.

FYI it's possible to get it without a bullseye rash. Also sometimes the ticks bite you somewhere that's hard to see so you don't notice the rash even if you do have it.

I would presume, you had ticks from a previous encounter as well. In order to get Lyme, you typically need to have a tick embedded for > 24 hours (meaning a really low probability otherwise). And Bullseye rashes don't occur until a few days after the infection of the bacteria.

No, I don't think thats an appropriate conclusion to make.

Tick embedded >24 hours: not necessarily true per my medical examiners - two independent specialists, as I live in an area with high Lyme rates and wanted a second opinion - as should anyone with doubts about it, and as to the second point, maybe its more correct that I didn't observe the bullseye rash until the next days, but either way multiple tests confirmed Lyme antibodies in the days and weeks following, whereas prior test (wasn't my first attack) didn't ..

Either way, don't lay down in a field where deers and rabbits live, in the middle of a warm, sweaty summer.

Did you lie directly on the ground, or on a blanket...?

What still surprises me is that so little is known about this disease in medicine, and so little is known on how to diagnose and treat it.

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