Lyme disease vaccine in development/Tick thread

Fortheglory612

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Nov 2, 2021
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Nohow

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Oct 25, 2021
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Actually, there is a vaccine available but used only for pets.
There was a human vaccine discontinued in 2002, but it had little demand, probably because of anti-vax propaganda. The pharma offering it was subjected to lawsuits and it was withdrawn. So not sure this is new safer version or not.
 
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Player2BNamedL8r

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Oct 12, 2021
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I contracted it about 3 or 4 years ago. Took two blood tests to diagnose it. Symptoms were on par with the flu, including aches, chills, fatigue, etc. Also had severe dehydration because I was literally too ā€œtiredā€ (for lack of a better word) to reach for a glass of water. I rarely get sick, so it was strange to have a summer flu, so when I got the same symptoms about a month later (less intense), my doctor ordered the western blot antibody test, which ultimately confirmed it was Lyme. 10 days of Doxy later, and I’ve been pretty symptom free since. My leg/ankle joints get stiffer than usual at times, but that could also be turning 50 in a few months.
 

The stan

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Nov 1, 2021
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I've had it twice. If caught early it isn't to bad to deal with. My doctor treated aggressively both time and as far as I know I dont have any issues. There can also be complications from the treatment, Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, which I had, that was nasty but only lasted a day or two.
 

SouthHalls410

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Oct 27, 2021
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Daughter had it when she was in 4th grade. She was majorly sick for 3 months. Never had the bullseye rash, never found a tick. Was late stage 3 when diagnosed ....it was the joint pain that finally led the dr. to test for Lyme. All the other symptoms were missed because they were common symptoms of other illnesses.... sore throat, low grade fever, chills.... she still gets flare ups... 6 years later. To show how prevalent Lyme is...she went from seeing her pediatrician, to seeing a pediatric rheumatologist, to seeing a Lyme specialist at a major children’s hospital. I’ve become an underground advocate regarding Lyme. If anyone wants good information go to the Duke University medical center or Johns Hopkins websites. There are also good diet changes to make to help get through it.
 

CVLion

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Oct 13, 2021
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I had the bullseye rash on my arm in 2006 followed by flu-like symptoms. They never became too bad because I got onto antibiotics pretty quickly.

For a few years now, I’ve been dealing with recurring episodes of unexplained fatigue. 2021 has been fairly dominated by it for me, unfortunately. Supposedly the doctors have checked and ruled out a connection to my lyme episode as a possible cause (in addition to iron and vitamin deficits or my sleep apnea or a bunch of other things.) I really wonder though. All I know is it sucks waking up feeling not at all refreshed, and needing multiple naps some days.
 

TheGlovStillRules

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Oct 14, 2021
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Daughter had it when she was in 4th grade. She was majorly sick for 3 months. Never had the bullseye rash, never found a tick. Was late stage 3 when diagnosed ....it was the joint pain that finally led the dr. to test for Lyme. All the other symptoms were missed because they were common symptoms of other illnesses.... sore throat, low grade fever, chills.... she still gets flare ups... 6 years later. To show how prevalent Lyme is...she went from seeing her pediatrician, to seeing a pediatric rheumatologist, to seeing a Lyme specialist at a major children’s hospital. I’ve become an underground advocate regarding Lyme. If anyone wants good information go to the Duke University medical center or Johns Hopkins websites. There are also good diet changes to make to help get through it.

Thanks for sharing.

I never even knew it had 'stages'.
 

Quint526

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Oct 29, 2021
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My wife contracted it about 10 years ago. She had fatigue, chills and severe headaches. She also had facial paralysis on one side of her face, which was incredibly scary. Thankfully, her symptoms including the paralysis went away completely in a month or so. At this time, she has no identifiable lingering effects from the disease. šŸ™
 

LionInNC

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Oct 12, 2021
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Had it a few years ago. Felt like I was slowly dying at one point. Never had the bullseye pattern, just a 3 inch diameter red ring on my calf. In addition to some other symptoms, at one point, it took away my ability to sleep and allow my body to fight the disease. Fortunately for me, the Lyme diagnosis was made at 2 months and after a 28 day script of doxycycline, my symptoms cleared up and I don't think I've had any long term effects. I like to be outdoors and would get this vaccine tomorrow if available.
 

Bison13

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Both of my nephews from my brother got it when they were about 10 and 8. They had to be homeschooled because they couldn't make it through an entire day. Basically their life sucks right now and probably always will because no medicine is making a difference for them.
 

MrTailgate

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Oct 19, 2021
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Actually, there is a vaccine available but used only for pets.
There was a human vaccine discontinued in 2002, but it had little demand, probably because of anti-vax propaganda. The pharma offering it was subjected to lawsuits and it was withdrawn. So not sure this is new safer version or not.
Another GSK success story! Worked there 30 years. Almost everything they developed eventually wet the bed
 
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Fortheglory612

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Nov 2, 2021
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Both of my nephews from my brother got it when they were about 10 and 8. They had to be homeschooled because they couldn't make it through an entire day. Basically their life sucks right now and probably always will because no medicine is making a difference for them.
That’s horrible. I’m so sorry to hear they are going through this. I hope they have access to a good pediatric rheumatologist
 

Big_O

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Interesting fact that Lyme disease is caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete, the same type of bacteria that causes syphilis.
 
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TiogaLion

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Oct 31, 2021
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Both of my nephews from my brother got it when they were about 10 and 8. They had to be homeschooled because they couldn't make it through an entire day. Basically their life sucks right now and probably always will because no medicine is making a difference for them.
This guy is pretty good at treating tick born diseases and is located in Shippensburg, PA. Lyme is just one of many diseases that ticks carry.

Dr. Timothy Stonesifer at 717 530-1698
 

psu31trap

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Oct 29, 2021
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Both of my nephews from my brother got it when they were about 10 and 8. They had to be homeschooled because they couldn't make it through an entire day. Basically their life sucks right now and probably always will because no medicine is making a difference for them.
I'm sorry to hear when anyone gets this dreadful disease, but when it is two young kids it's heart wrenching. I really hope a full proof vaccine is on the horizon.
 
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Ct. Lion

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Nov 3, 2021
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I had the original vaccine. I am always outdoors with fishing, hunting and a large garden. I got the first two shots and then just before I was to receive the third and final shot the vaccine was taken off the market due to quite a few negative reactions to it and lawsuits. The vaccine languished in obscurity never to be re-released by the developing company and never to be picked up by another company but there certainly was a need for a vaccine. The vaccine was never banned by a Federal agency, just never re-released by any pharmaceutical company due to the legal issues and limited upside potential revenue.
Though I pick a couple of dozen crawling ticks off me each year with about six or so already attached to me, I never had a tick on me so long that it blew up engorged with my blood and I also never contracted Lyme disease. Supposedly, the lyme bacteria enter the body at the time the tick releases from the bite and emits its saliva which is where the bacteria lives and enters the human skin and fluids. It is one reason when you remove an attached tick you don't want to squeeze it but use a needle nosed tweezers or one of those tick removes so you grab the mouth area of the tick where it enters the skin and pull straight up to remove it.
Anyway, this is where the Federal government needed to step in and solve the booster shot issues and re-release it with government funding since the pharmacy industry did not see much money in it. There is a lot more Lyme disease than realized. Much of it does not get diagnosed correctly and the patient gets the wrong treatments. Plus ticks carry a half dozen other ailments as bad or worse than Lyme. It is negligence on some level when a workable vaccine exists, it has not been banned but it is not available to the public. My two shot regimen had a protection level of about two thirds value. I know of other people who have had the two shots of the original vaccine and also never got Lyme disease so even the two shot works to a great extent. Kind of like the Covid vaccines are now. Not perfect but statistically better than nothing.
Best prevention is long pants, bloused into a pair of long socks, and a pair of work pants. Spray your lower areas with a good insect repellent. Also a long sleeve shirt, undershirt, and one of those neck guards that can be pulled up over your head. Now the tick has no where to go if it gets past the spray. If you are lacking the neck guard the ticks will crawl all the way to your head and love to attach at the back of your neck just inside the hair line. Any feeling of movement in that area will undoubtably be a tick.
After any time in the garden, fields or woods in warm weather take a shower after each trip and totally inspect every spot on your body. I have had ticks attached behind the knees, in the crotch and groin area, on the sides of my torso, under my upper arms and arm pits, on my face and neck, and in my hair mostly in the back of my head lower on the neck. But they are never on me more than a few hours and that is very important. These ticks can be as small as a pin head or large enough to pass as a small spider.
So inspect any black spot on your body that should not be there. If you can make it move or flop around with a pin or fine tweezers it is a tick.
Things to think about for the next warm season.
 

Lion84

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Oct 7, 2021
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Argh - got lime disease last year - had the classic bullseye fortunately so was able to see it and got on antibiotics right away - that disease can really mess you up and it's bad up here in NEPA with all the ticks around.
 
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SW-Lion

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Actually, there is a vaccine available but used only for pets.
There was a human vaccine discontinued in 2002, but it had little demand, probably because of anti-vax propaganda. The pharma offering it was subjected to lawsuits and it was withdrawn. So not sure this is new safer version or not.
We get it all the time for our two dogs; no issues.