6.20.2009

marathon training suspended due to Lyme and/or Ehrlichiosis

I had a tick embedded in my upper back in mid-May. It wasn't engorged. As I understand it, a tick is only engorged once it begins to grow on the host. The tick in my back had not yet begun to grow, but it was in there good. I have no idea what kind of tick it was, but I took two 100-mg capsules/tablets of Doxycycline the day after the tick was removed from back and then forgot about it. Then my running times got progressively slower, and one time I had to stop and walk. In hindsight, I had a low-grade fever in the evenings. Then came two Tuesdays ago: June 9th. During the afternoon, I became dizzy and fatigued. I also developed an ache in the groin area. While walking to the train that evening, I had to stop twice due to extreme dizziness and fatigue. I nearly passed out. I got on the train, took it to Guilford and went right to the ER. They thought I was anemic. A blood test showed normal levels. My Lyme test is still pending. I saw a nurse practitioner on Friday of that week, and she prescribed Doxycycline 2x/day for 28 days. I took it for a week and felt no better, so I saw an M.D. yesterday. He thinks I have Ehrlichiosis. He said the medicine won't kick in for about a week with Ehrlichiosis, whereas with Lyme it kicks in within a few days--one reason why he thinks I don't have Lyme. He said that I'll feel shitty for about a month.

No comments: