Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[AndreaB]

Yes Rinne.....attractive is good.....attractive to ticks on the other hand...not so good.

I would like to make myself as undesireable as possible.

I hope they dont like ice cream.

How 'bout garlic. Rumor has it skeeters don't like garlic. Wouldn't think fleas and ticks would either then.

Hope that gal signs up and comes on over here.

[Rachel--24]

Yes, many guests, I wonder if they think our book title is crazy....

Susan....my guess is yeah...they think we're all cheating on the diet and are therefore glutened and delusional.

Unless of course they are also aliens and in that case they can relate to all this craziness and have a full understanding of the true meaning of our book title.

OMG...still laughing..."How to get off your couch and onto your Jetski"

Sounds like a self-help book......very motivating title.....I would totally buy this book.

[Rachel--24]

A random thought has just occurred....

I know I can never give up camping. Just look at my avatar....I *need* to get back to the great outdoors. Are the ticks gonna be waiting for me??

What keeps the ticks away?? Should I rub garlic on me??

Should I spray myself from head to toe with "OFF"?? I'm thinking not so good for the chemical sensitivities though.

Maybe the lady with the electronic testing machine can fix my chemical problems.

Hmmmm.....I wonder if its true about the ticks sensing those with Lyme?? That would really SUCK.

I've read stories of people who get better but then get bitten again...but then again it could be coincidence....it could be that they just happen to frequent high risk areas.

I will stay in the water....they wont catch me on my jet ski.

[DingoGirl]

Hope that gal signs up and comes on over here.

maybe she's one of the many guests.....

OMG...still laughing..."How to get off your couch and onto your Jetski"

Sounds like a self-help book......very motivating title.....I would totally buy this book.

dude you will totally WRITE this book.....

RACHEL. Get a hold of yourself. Never camping again??? the hell you say! Here's what you do.....you'll be using a natural (perhaps citronella-based, cannot remember now) insect repellant. You will inspect your entire body, head to toe, before bed....the WHOLE body, including scalp. if you're a hiker, you have to do a dorky thing with pants tucked into socks and ankle-high boots. You inspect again in the morning. Maybe.....The Dave can help. Watch for ticks on your clothing - wear light-colored clothing - ticks are very visible.

[Rachel--24]

RACHEL. Get a hold of yourself. Never camping again??? the hell you say! Here's what you do.....you'll be using a natural (perhaps citronella-based, cannot remember now) insect repellant. You will inspect your entire body, head to toe, before bed....the WHOLE body, including scalp. if you're a hiker, you have to do a dorky thing with pants tucked into socks and ankle-high boots. You inspect again in the morning. Maybe.....The Dave can help. Watch for ticks on your clothing - wear light-colored clothing - ticks are very visible.

ROFL...

You sound like you've done this before....a professional tick-detector.

Thankfully, I dont hike....I'm not really seeing myself doing the whole pants in socks thing....OR the ankle high boots for that matter.

No thanks...I'll stay off the trails.

Are ticks always visible?? I dont get how I could have got bitten and never saw the tick.

The weird bite I had was on my arm...by my shoulder....how could I not see a big fat tick attached to me??

I have read that some ticks are the size of a pinhead...Dave does not agree....he says you would definately know if a tick got on you. I dunno though....I dont even know if I saw one on me that I'd even know it was a tick. I'd probably just flick it off....thinking it was just any bug.

Things I *can* do....wear white...soak myself with citronella insect repellant...constantly be on the lookout for "bugs" on me.....dunno about having The Dave inspect me tho.

No tiny bug is gonna come between me and camping...I wont let it happen.

Oh...I can also bring along Donna....the official Rachelville Pest Control and ant destroyer. Hope she is a good tick detector as well.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

ROFL...

Are ticks always visible?? I dont get how I could have got bitten and never saw the tick.

The weird bite I had was on my arm...by my shoulder....how could I not see a big fat tick attached to me??

I have read that some ticks are the size of a pinhead...Dave does not agree....he says you would definately know if a tick got on you. I dunno though....I dont even know if I saw one on me that I'd even know it was a tick. I'd probably just flick it off....thinking it was just any bug.

Good points--I was wondering if JudyinPhilly's cellulitis might have actually been a tick bite that got infected and/or misdiagnosed.

I had cellulitis about 18 years ago, and at the time, I ASKED the doctor if it could be Lyme disease, and she said no, it wasn't a "real" bulls-eye rash, but who knows? Although I haven't had the joint pain or exhaustion or any of the horrible symptoms you have had, just the gluten intolerance (to my knowledge).

So do ticks never let go once they bite? What's to stop one from letting go if he doesn'f feel like hanging on any longer? Or maybe he's just full? (ewww, gross.)

[DingoGirl]

that's right, I am no stranger to ticks! We have an ancient family cabin between Big Sur and Carmel near a place called Garrapata, and when I lived in Monterey, hiked there at least every month or so. Garrapata means TICK! I had to thoroughly inspect my dogs all the time, and pulled many ticks off my poor Stinker. Once, after not inspecting carefully enough I pulled NINE ticks from under her collar. Poor thing, SHE probably has Lyme....also you may remember I was the host to a tick for almost 48 hours....it was getting fat in my lower mid-back....EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! that was horrifying.......no bullseye ever, no infection, no fever, nothing - - by great providence a veterinarian from the east coast WHO SPECIALIZED IN LYME came into the tasting room that afternoon. The weirdest thing is that I said something about it to someone else, adn she overheard, inspected the bite, told me EVERYTHING To look out for, all of that....I never had any reaction at all.

ticks are usually quite dark and very visible. I"ve brushed them off my clothing constantly, and have found a couple in my hair. I shudder to think about it....

So do ticks never let go once they bite? What's to stop one from letting go if he doesn'f feel like hanging on any longer? Or maybe he's just full? (ewww, gross.)

Alison - - if a tick has a good host, it will engorge itself, stay fat and plump, as long as the host sustains it. They eventually die....I dont' know how long it takes. EWWWWWWWWW!!

BTW they are impossible to kill when they're NOT fat - when they're fat and full you can smash them - but when they're just travelign home with you and haven't landed on a host yet, they are almost indestructible - I used to have to burn them with a match. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW - - seemed the quickest and most humane death.....I have found them on my bed, in my car, on my dog's beds, on the couch - - everywhere.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

EWWWWW!!!!!

Theory: maybe there is something in our blood, courtesy of our gluten intolerance, that kills ticks? Then they fall off and we never see them?

(It must be really late, I'm babbling like an idiot here....)

[DingoGirl]

Am now feeling that the word TICK has to be somewhere in the title of our book. and maybe a giant photo of a tick on the cover, drowning in ice cream.......

Well who's babbling NOW, Alison? (note artistic use of emoticons)

[Fiddle-Faddle]

If you're looking for a short, snappy title, how about "Ticked Off?" (Sorry, my underliner won't work>)

[Rachel--24]

LMAO.....

You guys are cracking me up...

Yeah...ticks must be in our title....maybe not though ....might take some of the suspense outta the reading.

I still dont get how I could have hosted a tick and not known it.

I've probably *seen* ticks before w/out actually knowing they were ticks...everything is a "bug" to me....unless its a spider...cuz those are fairly obvious. Any bug would freak me out though...except lady bugs...which for some reason I am fond of.

I would definately freak out if a bug was "attached" to me....I'd get hysterical...run around screaming....it would be memorable to say the least.

I never saw a freakin tick on me though.

[DingoGirl]

well now we must get someone with some scientificness to let us know if a tick can bite and run....it is not their nature as they need a constant supply of blood, but maybe they can just bite you and infect you and leave?

gotta go....Gray's Anatomy......

Alison - Ticked Off - - yes, but we want to keep our readers in suspense.....

[Judyin Philly]

OMG, BEEN READING FOR 1/2 HR AND FINALLY GOT CAUGHT UP.

MY Head is spinning but do I have this right???

Rachel and Rinne have been dx'd with lyme's and 3 others are looking into it?? Bev, and who else.

I saw the list a zillion pages back and wondered as i've at least 15 tick bites and 4 with the bulls eye and been on doxy 4 times...

admire all of you for doing all the research while we watch. hope you know how much we appreciate you and love you for sharing it all.

love and hugs and thanks...

taking my spinning nogan to bed as soon as i scan the new posts.

miss you all.

love

Judy

[rinne]

Rinne,

If I'm reading correctly, the people herxing are also eating tv dinners. I wouldn't think that would help either. Isn't herxing a good thing?

In the sense that herxing means the Lyme bacteria are dying off, it is a good thing but it seems that people get horribly ill when herxing and that the expectation on some Lyme boards is that you will become very ill. My question is do people get so ill because they haven't done anything else to clear their bodies of parasites and toxins, basically I agree with what Rachel was saying.

I am herxing on the Salt/ Vitamin C and it is not easy but it is nothing like the herxing on the various sites. Also with the salt/c, which people do have strong herxes on, you can back off on the quantity and give yourself a bit of a break, the important thing being to stay constant with salt even if you drop back to half a teaspoon a day.

Rachel, how great that Rachelville is becoming a destination. I hope the woman who has Lyme and mercury issues will drop by for a visit but then perhaps she is afraid, after all we're are nearing page 500.

[rinne]

Judy, at this point it is a self-diagnosis supported by the doctor I am going to see who reviewed an email of my symptoms during our phone consult. I have had the rash, the fevers and nightsweats, the bone pain, the heart palpitations, the back pain, chest constriction, neck and jaw pain, floaters, shadows at the corners of my eyes, burning tingling on the back of my head in strange bands, nausea, digestion problems, bladder problems, numb extremities, arthritis in knee and hand, balance problems, and there's more but with the brain fog I will remember later. Oh yes, irritability and a sense of losing my mind. This steep decline began nearly four years ago after the rash which I had in a remote Colorado location where two years before two people were diagnosed with Lyme.

I'll be getting tested next week and my tests will go to Igenex.

As for the ticks, deer ticks are miniscule and I have heard that it is very possible to have one and never know it was on you at all. There are other ticks that are very noticeable. When we had our farm, turns out it was in a Lyme hotspot, we would go for spring walks and return to strip and take up to twenty ticks off of eachother but they had never embedded themselves and so I never worried about it there. Perhaps I should have.

[evie]

LMAO.....

You guys are cracking me up...

Yeah...ticks must be in our title....maybe not though ....might take some of the suspense outta the reading.

I still dont get how I could have hosted a tick and not known it.

I've probably *seen* ticks before w/out actually knowing they were ticks...everything is a "bug" to me....unless its a spider...cuz those are fairly obvious. Any bug would freak me out though...except lady bugs...which for some reason I am fond of.

I would definately freak out if a bug was "attached" to me....I'd get hysterical...run around screaming....it would be memorable to say the least.

I never saw a freakin tick on me though.

Rachel..so glad you are starting to get some answers, no wonder you are so bubbly!! Wanted to tell you that deer ticks are VERY small and hard to see, they are the ones that cause the bulls eye and Lyme disease. The bigger ones get on dogs and cats (people too and engorge themselves un till they fall off. some of these larger ticks can cuase Rocky Mountain spotted fever. I think the same kind of citronella stuff keeps both kinds off us.

Also you mentioned MCS (multiple chemical sensitivities), I was found to have that over 25 years ago when i went to an allergy specialist in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I had to use an air cleaner in the car ( diesel exhaust took my breath away), an air cleaner in the bedroom and a big air cleaner in the dining room. I have gotten enough better I do not use one in the car anymore but still have 2 in the house. I have not been bitten by the deer ticks that I know of. I consider myself luicky that I am as much better than I used to be, I also keep a humidifier going in the basement and use air conditionig in warm months. I am a high amintenace lady and have been for a long time!! Just happy I am as well as I am!! Good luck to you and all the others following this thread and this whole forum..THX to Scott. evie

[AndreaB]

Rinne,

Thanks for the info. I'm learning right along with you guys. Never know when/if I'll need all the info I've been learning here.

I am excited about your upcoming appointment too. I presume you will keep us all posted. There appears to be a light at the end of the tunner for you as you've also found a doctor who will work with you. I'm so happy for that.

Now, we need to find Robbin a doctor who will work with her.

Evie,

It's always so good to see you. Sounds like you are doing well.

Judy,

Sounds like you might want to find a doctor who tests through igenix also.

[rinne]

I would just like to report a sighting of "The Dave".

[AndreaB]

I would just like to report a sighting of "The Dave".

Yep, I saw him. Was wondering if he was going to post. See that he is........wonder what he'll have to say.

[TheDave]

Music, positive thoughts, a little physical activity....its all soooo beneficial. I used to think all that stuff was just hogwash (did I just say hogwash? ) but yeah....it really does work!!

Hogwash? You're such an old lady!

Ooooohhh...I see you Dave. I'm leaving right now......got sucked into the vortex again. Sorry.

Slacker.

aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!! busted by your movie date!! ha ha ha ha

Precisely....

for my records on the last time I went to him, under notes, he wrote, "Anxious white female."

YA THINK?!

ROFL....classic

maybe we should all write a book together:

"The Rachelville Chronicles, from Dairy to Lyme, Aliens to Auxigro: How to Get Yourself Off the Couch and Onto your JetSki"

Awesome! haha....

How could they all tell me I need a shrink after only spending less than 5 minutes with me??

Ummm...Dave if you're reading....dont bother putting your 2 cents in.

hmmmmm.....

Flys seem to be really attracted to me now when I work in the yard. Can it have something to do with this?? I could be overly worrying about stuff but I've thought about it before. I wondered if it was normal for flys to keep landing on me no matter how much I shoo them away.

I doubt there is a correlation here.....my best guess would be a severe case of the stinky one arm. hahaha!!!!

ROFL...I love the alien baby...especially now that I know its not living inside me.

I think the alien baby like shouted at the doctor when we were there by the way.....

What keeps the ticks away?? Should I rub garlic on me??

Should I spray myself from head to toe with "OFF"?? I'm thinking not so good for the chemical sensitivities though.

That's the problem with online friends...... They will probably all tell you oh yea that's a great idea....but that's cuz they don't have to actually hang out next to you. PLEASE do not rub garlic nor "OFF" all over youself..... for our sake.....

You inspect again in the morning. Maybe.....The Dave can help.

haha.... I was thinking of the same joke...figured all u suckers might get a good laugh or two.... hehe

Things I *can* do....wear white...soak myself with citronella insect repellant...constantly be on the lookout for "bugs" on me.....dunno about having The Dave inspect me tho.

Whatever! You'd be lucky to have me inspect you.... for ticks that is....

I would just like to report a sighting of "The Dave".

On the bullhorn like I'm a shark or something....."ahem (clears throat)... we have a reported siting of TheDave.....please remain calm and keep all your children and loved ones inside...."

Yep, I saw him. Was wondering if he was going to post. See that he is........wonder what he'll have to say.

He'll say..... hi... you guys are all busted for talking about me while I've been gone..... haha

[AndreaB]

Well now that you're here......Where are my puppy photos! Those guys have got to be at least half grown by now.

[TheDave]

Well now that you're here......Where are my puppy photos! Those guys have got to be at least half grown by now.

Yes they are.....I don't have recent pics yet...I'll take some on my next day off (Saturday)...

[AndreaB]

On the bullhorn like I'm a shark or something....."ahem (clears throat)... we have a reported siting of TheDave.....please remain calm and keep all your children and loved ones inside...."

He'll say..... hi... you guys are all busted for talking about me while I've been gone..... haha

If we didn't talk about you, whatever would you post?

Hi Meredith!

I read about your sweltering hot weather in the snow thread.

[TheDave]

If we didn't talk about you, whatever would you post?

Hi Meredith!

I read about your sweltering hot weather in the snow thread.

True enough....

[AndreaB]

Yes they are.....I don't have recent pics yet...I'll take some on my next day off (Saturday)...

I'll look forward to seeing them. I do love retrievers.