u/Beginning_News2379

I caught my Lyme 3 weeks after I got bitten, and there was no rash or anything. The weird part is that the day after I found the tick, I already started having the cognitive symptoms people usually associate with late Lyme, which really confused me.

There’s always this pressure in my head, it’s hard to concentrate, and at night nothing feels real. My anxiety has been through the roof lately. I’ve also been doing way too much anxious symptom searching online, which sent me down a huge rabbit hole.

I’m currently 5 days into a 10-day course of doxycycline, which honestly feels under-prescribed from everything I’ve read. So far I haven’t noticed any improvement. Right before I started taking it, I actually felt like I was slowly getting a little better, but after starting the antibiotics everything got 10x worse because of the herxing.

From what I’ve said, does it sound like I’ll be okay if I get the right treatment? I really dread the thought of becoming someone who has to suffer with this for the rest of their life. (Seriously, you all are really strong — keep going.)

I’m also a minor, so I don’t have much control over my healthcare right now. My parents agreed to look into LLMDs, but honestly I’m not sure if they’ll actually follow through with it.

Update: I convinced them to do some research on LLMDs so they can get more accurate information and recommendations. I'm still concerned my prescription will end before any moves are made, but this is a step in the right direction.

So when I got bitten, I started having neurological issues very quickly. Constant brain fog, persistent derealization at night, feeling of pressure on my head all the time.

It was around 3 weeks until I got a blood test and started doxy, though, even after I described my cognitive symptoms, the doctor still put me on 10 days. At the time, I didn’t know this wasn’t the amount you are supposed to receive when Lyme gets to your nervous system.

As you might be able to tell, I am a very paranoid symptom-searcher, and getting Lyme didn’t help at all. I actually suspect bartonella sometimes, mainly because of the intense anxiety and irrationality that showed up suddenly when this all started.

Anyway, I told my parents about the standard 14–21 day treatment for neurological Lyme and even showed them the official CDC guidelines, but they are still persistent that the doctor was right. I am a minor, so I don’t have much control over anything.

As of now, I am around 5 days into my doxy prescription. I am aware that if I stop my doxy when the infection isn’t fully cleared, it can rapidly multiply again and make everything worse. No matter what I do, I can’t get them to budge.

It really is sad how understudied and mistreated Lyme is. So many doctors aren’t trained well enough in this field, and it’s surprising because it’s such a common disease. I wish I could get an LLMD but my parents won't let me do that.

When I was younger, I was always taught that Lyme was just an easy treat-and-forget thing, but now I realize how significantly it drains your mind and your body.

I know I am lucky to have caught this so early, but because of the extremity of my symptoms it is really scaring me. I just for for reassurance and maybe advice to deal with this.

I was only bit around 3 weeks ago, I ordered a blood test and it was positive so I got prescribed 10 days doxy. What concerns me though is that the same week I got bitten, I already started feeling the effects that usually only happen during late stages of the disease.

Brain fog, dizziness, delirium, etc. I've been having major anxiety ever since. The Doxy made it 10x worse, as to be expected with herxing, but i cant get the fear out of my head that this will never go away and im crippled for life.

I'm fairly young, so this has been a scary experience for me.​ I'm just looking for reassurance that I'll feel normal again. But I dont ask that you lie to make me feel better.