r/lymedisease

10f, 5’1”, 100lbs, maxalt prn

My daughter developed this rash on her today while at school. She says it’s sore to the touch but not itchy. I don’t see a bite mark true in the middle from tick or bug in the center but there is some irritation in that area. Does this look like a bullseye rash from a tick to you?

about a week ago I found a deer tick crawling on me. I think this is a bite from a separate tick. I’ve picked at it a lot but today I woke up with aches on only the side I got bit on. I’ve also been extremely anxious more than usual.

Ticks are absolutely brutal in Sullivan County, NY this season. We’re pulling them off ourselves and our kid constantly.

My wife removed one and irritated the area pretty badly trying to get what she thought might be retained mouthparts out. Posting mainly to compare experiences with others in heavy tick areas.

For people who deal with frequent bites:
\-how long do localized irritated reactions usually last for you?
\-have you had bites that looked like this from picking/scratching alone?
\-what changes made you decide it was time to see a doctor?

Photo attached for context. Not looking for diagnosis, just hearing others’ experiences navigating endless tick season in the Northeast.

Experienced my first tik bite and I am freaking out. I have a family member who has Lyme.
Is this a bite with a rash?
I removed the tick.

I just pulled off a very tiny tick I believe was a deer tick off my hip. I didn’t realize I was supposed to save the tick unfortunately and immediately got rid of it.

It left this big bump. I’m almost positive it was only attached for less than a few hours because I’m sure I would’ve noticed it sooner and it was so tiny.

I’m a poor college student and really can’t afford to go to the doctors unless it’s super medically necessary. Is it urgent that I go, or can I wait to see if I get any symptoms first? Thank you!

The title is a joke, I haven’t been lurking on the threads. I went to the doctor, didn’t do any blood tests but they seemed pretty certain on Lyme. It started out as a bug bite, kind of itchy but then it got really red and hot. I had some knee pain the day I went to the doctor. I got started on doxycycline Thursday night and have been having some brain fog, aches, nausea since taking it. Just looking to get any advice on managing or any confirmation that it’s actually Lyme or if it’s just infected from scratching.

I have a wide range of symptoms, and my condition has become overwhelming.

My most concerning symptom is severe short-term memory impairment. I struggle to recall recent information, even things I did the day before. The information feels like it is there, but I cannot retrieve it easily. At one point, I was afraid I had early dementia. I have seen seven neurologists, and they all say that overall things look okay. One of them mentioned that my brain appears slightly smaller than expected, but I have had three neurofilament light chain tests, and all of them came back normal. He also evaluated me for early Alzheimer’s disease, even though I am only 39 years old, and considered frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but said the normal neurofilament levels argue against both FTD and MSA.

I also had an FDG-PET scan, which showed hypometabolism in my temporal lobes. In addition, I completed two volumetric MRI studies over a 7-year period, and they suggest there may be some global brain atrophy, slightly more than expected, but not in a pattern that matches a clear neurodegenerative disease. A neurologist at Houston Methodist told me that he does not see a pattern consistent with Alzheimer’s disease, FTD, or another typical neurodegenerative disorder. He also ordered a Mayo Clinic limbic autoimmune panel, which came back negative except for low levels of anti-GAD65 antibodies. On neuropsychological testing, I did show short-term memory problems.

In addition to the cognitive issues, I have burning sensations on the surface of my skin, along with stabbing and painful sensations in my nerves, bones, and joints. The pain is intermittent and migratory. I do not feel obvious inflammation, and the pain is not constantly in the same place. It moves from one area to another, although the pain in my back and neck is more persistent. I have seen a rheumatologist and many other specialists, and they all say that everything looks normal. I have had extensive bloodwork, and the only abnormality has been very high vitamin B12 levels—over 1800, despite the fact that I do not take supplements.

The stiffness in my back is unbearable. I wake up during the night with my joints and muscles hurting, and my back is so stiff that I can barely move. I had a spine MRI without contrast, which was reported as normal aside from three bulging discs. These symptoms make it difficult for me to walk, because my back remains extremely stiff throughout the day. I also have a feeling of extreme heaviness in both legs, though not true weakness. On top of that, I often feel uncoordinated when I walk, almost like I have ataxia.

I have also developed urinary urgency and wake up multiple times during the night to use the restroom.

I have worked my entire life and was also in the process of completing my PhD, but I had to stop because all of these symptoms began last March and have progressively worsened since then.

I was tested for Lyme, Bartonella, and Babesia, and all three came back positive. I do not know whether these infections are truly causing my symptoms, especially because for Lyme I only had two bands, and I have read that there can be cross-reactivity. My symptoms are so unusual and severe that I do not know what to believe.

I have also developed complete apathy. I do not feel emotions the way I used to, and I want to sleep 11–12 hours a day. I also have visual snow, and my eyesight has been getting worse. I have crepitus—popping, cracking, and stretching sounds all over my body, especially in my neck. It is most noticeable on both sides of my neck and at the base of my skull. On top of that, I have a terrible sensation that I cannot swallow properly, or that I am being choked underneath my Adam’s apple. I hear crackling or crepitus-like sounds every time I swallow. I have gone to the ER twice because of this, and they said there was nothing they could do. The swallowing issue began in December, has progressively worsened, and becomes especially severe at night. At times, I truly feel like I am being choked.

I do not know whether Lyme is really causing all of this, or whether the Lyme result is even a true positive since only some bands showed up. I was told I had Lyme back in 2011 and was treated for it, although I do not remember a tick bite. At that time, I had only a few symptoms—some twitching, pins and needles here and there, and some memory problems—but over the past year everything has become dramatically worse.

At this point, I feel like I am dying. I do not know if this could all be Lyme, or if I have some kind of neurodegenerative disease that is being missed. I will attach pictures so you can see the test results. I would also like to understand how much diagnostic weight Bands 23 and 31 carry on the IGeneX ImmunoBlot, and whether that pattern is strong evidence of true Lyme exposure or whether it could still reasonably be explained by cross-reactivity.

I kinda put everything off these past years since I did not feel that sick, but this past year, the symptoms progressed like crazy, I feel like I am dying, I can’t even work. Thoughts? Do I have a neurodgenerative disease or can Lyme be causing all this? And how strong are my results?
Or do I have too many symptoms?

this is a tick bite on my 15 year old brother. it doesn’t look like a typical bullseye to me, but wanted to get other opinions on whether we should seek medical treatment. thanks in advance!

Hello all, just wanted to get your thoughts on what I have been experiencing so far in terms of symptoms to see if this matches with lyme symptoms, and see if anyone of you has experienced the same before, or if you have any idea on what this could be, I am not looking for a medical advice , but I just wanted to get opinions from different people, cause I have visited couple of doctors and none was able to diagnose my condition.

So it all started 5 years ago in 2021 when I was 31 years old; I suddently woke up with a severe headache that lasted for a good amount of time; visited couple of doctors with no proper diagnosis, I also did a brain MRI with the following interpretation "focal ill-defined area of T2/Flair hyperintensity in the subcortex of right high frontal lobe - to consider focal ischemic changes/demylination - when compared with an old MRI dated in 2015, there is a mild increase in the flair hyperintensities", the neurologist said that this is normal and most probably because of aging and I should not worry about it. The severe headache eventually eased, however I had new symptoms showing up mostly related to pain in all parts of the body, that would show up in one part for some time, and then migrate to another body part. For instance, I would have pain in my right calf muscle for some time while walking, and then it would migrate to say my left arm, and then move on to my shoulders for some time, and then my knee would hurt a bit...etc. After couple of months, all these symptoms disappeared , so I didn't bother much on following up with the doctors anymore.

for the next 5 years, I have not experienced any muscle or joint pain, and no headaches. The only slight thing that I was experiencing was bit of brain fog but nothing concerning. Also, I have noticed couple of scratches on my legs when I wake up, which happened alot. See picture here https://imgur.com/a/J6Jrhky

Mid last year 2025 , I started noticing deterioration in my cognitive abilities, such as loss of short term memory, forgetting words while talking, not able to focus when I watch TV or during a conversation, having so many typos while writing on the PC. Then in 2026, I started feeling foggy during the morning with kind of balance loss or lightheaded, and then the same symptoms that I had in 2021 showed up again !!! pain migration all over the body with strong focus on my right leg calf especially while walking, so I had to visit the hospital in which they did a CT scan, ECG and blood tests (thyroid free T3, T4, TSH, B12, .....etc) and all were clear. I have also done a brain MRI, with the same outcome as the one done in 2021 " there is a region of hyperintense T2 signal in the subcortinal right frontal love. Differential is broad. Demylinating process is on the differential. Subacute infarct is also a consideration if the patient has risk factors " and I was recommended to see a neurologist and a repeat MRI in 3-6 months to reassess. I have looked at the 2021 and 2026 MRIs, and I honestly don't see difference in the T2 hyperintesities , and seems to me that it is in the same location. I have also recently started feeling that I become very sensitive to sudden sharp noise, it kind of makes me anxious, and I also experienced the following for very short period of time before it goes away : 1- slight numbness on the left side of my face, 2-I occasionally feel sharp temporary squeezing pain in my chest when I stretch, 3-twitching of my eyelid.

For now, the main things That I am experiencing are muscle pain in my calf while walking, migrating muscle and joint pain, severe brain fog, and cognitive issues, shortness of breath when taking the small steps,

Note that I am a 36 years old man, non smoker, non drinker and never had a stroke before .

Any thoughts would be really appreciable , thank you !

I pulled out a pretty small tick yesterday night, so it's been about 1 day. I wiped the bite with some alcohol to clean it and today held a cold compress on it. I'm getting really worried about it, especially the darker spot in the middle. I asked my mom if I should go to the doctor but she said that I shouldn't overreact and it's normal for it to be like this in the first couple days. I'm hoping it's just irritated/bruised and nothing serious but I'm going to ask just incase.