Not how I expected my 2025 to go, or "Ticks Suck"
It has really been one thing right after another this year. If you don't want to hear me gripe about my latest health issue, skip this one and know this is the takeaway: take tick prevention seriously. (Links to resources are at the very end.)
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Happy ponies because they make me happy |
A little over a month ago, I picked up a tick while tromping through a paddock of ankle-high grass after ponies. I didn't realize it until much later when I found it attached on the back of my right leg, where I couldn't see it without help from a mirror.
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The offending bug |
I didn't do the best job removing it carefully by myself, but I managed to get the mouth parts out. As is best practice, I stuck it in a labeled bag in the freezer like I've done with previous tick bites and carried on.
In the week following, I did develop a rash around the bite site. It was larger than you'd expect of a mosquito bite welt, about 4 inches in diameter, but it didn't have the "bulls-eye" appearance I've been taught to look for. It was itchy, but I slapped some steroid cream on it and... carried on.
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I didn't take a picture of the rash, but I still have a scar from the bite, just above the back of my knee. |
Fast forward a couple weeks, and I start feeling under the weather. No fever, but a general sense of malaise and fatigue that didn't match up with my activity levels. Then, I woke up one morning and my joints HURT. My elbows, wrists, hands (particularly knuckles) were aching and using them sent shooting pain that made me reflexively drop whatever I was holding. I could no longer just carry on.
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My heeler-shaped weighted blanket who kept me company as I struggled to get out of bed |
My thoughts immediately went to complications of being hypermobile as well as the very real risk of rheumatoid arthritis (which my mother has, and her mother did). When I spoke with my doc, he surprised me by asking if I had any recent history of tick bites. Um... yes. At that point it had been just shy of a month since the bite. "What you are experiencing could be the second stage of Lyme Disease."
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Pretty lilac blooms to cover the sound of my internal screaming |
Upon deeper investigation, we identified the tick as a male lone start tick. That species does NOT carry Lyme (which is carried by the black-legged/deer tick)... instead they carry the nearly identical Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI). Less is known about STARI than Lyme, but it presents nearly the same and is therefore treated the same: with a round of doxycycline antibiotics.
Lone star ticks are better known for causing alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction to a sugar in most mammals that can cause anaphylaxis 2-4 hours after ingesting red meat. This can emerge up to 3 months following a bite, so I'm waiting to see if any of the venison or rabbit I regularly consume make me sick.
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This would be an absolute tragedy for my typical diet. |
In the meantime, I've started my month-long course of antibiotics. The week or 2 following the onset of symptoms were torture. I had debilitating fatigue, waves of mental fog and headaches, and joint pain that spread from my arms and hands to include shoulders and knees. I'm grateful that the medicine has started to noticeably make a difference, but it's clear this will be a long road.
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Happy ponies grazing while go karts roar around the "Moron Mile" track just behind the tree line. |
With support from my wonderful husband (seriously don't know what I'd do without that man) and stellar barn mates (so fortunate to have this "found family"), I've managed. There has been no playing with ponies until the night before last when the joint pain let up enough to allow me to reset Missy's glue on shoes.
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I love this mare so dang much. |
I also had enough energy to get the indoor arena watered and drug, something it desperately needed.
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Contain yourselves, I know how excited this image gets fellow equestrians. |
The following day I crashed. Hard. It's going to be a "take it one day at a time" sort of thing.
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Missy's clear enjoyment of massaging curry time brings me unending delight. |
It's good that I didn't have any shows planned for the season, so this doesn't really impact any goals. I had hoped to do more trail riding with Pyro, but that may not be feasible for a while since Brown County State Park's Horseman's Camp and surrounding trails were decimated by a direct hit from a tornado recently. That's the closest trail access we have (35 minute drive), and they're going to need financial and volunteer support for the foreseeable future, not people clamoring to ride.
Photo of the camp with the hosts' trailer circled, shared by the hosts' friend organizing their gofundme. Sadly one horse and two dogs were lost, but there were incredibly no human fatalities. |
The local equestrian community has been incredibly quick to provide an outpouring of support to those impacted, and I look forward to volunteering to clear trails when my body allows. Camp and trails can be rebuilt.
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This is where Jen and I most recently took our boys. |
In the meantime, I'll leave you all with a PSA to take tick prevention and bites seriously. Treat your clothes and gear (not skin!) with permethrin. Use DEET bug spray (okay on skin). Check for ticks after you've been out, even if it's just in the pasture. If you ARE bitten, remove the tick carefully, label and save it in the freezer, and seek medical attention if you have any reaction larger than a mosquito bite. Early intervention is critical.
You can find more information on tick prevention, species identification, and tick-borne illnesses at The University of Rhode Island's TickEncounter site and the CDC's homepage for ticks.
Oh jeez, I'm sorry to hear about this. I'm glad your doc asked the right questions though. I have never thought about saving an offending tick, that is genius!!!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, we used to send them off to a lab for testing, but now the recommended is to just keep them for about a month in case symptoms pop up.
DeleteOh noooooo!!!! This is rotten news :( I love red meat and can only imagine how miserable this is. Ticks are the worst!
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly, and I'm hoping I dodged the alpha-gal bullet.
DeleteUgh blargh ticks are the worst, hopefully the medication eases the symptoms quickly!
ReplyDeleteIt is thankfully starting to. <3
DeleteYou just can't catch a break! I hope you start to feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteTicks are just starting to be a thing where I live (thanks global warming) so I'm curious- can you feel them as they are biting you? Or do you only know they are there when you see them/touch them?
You're more likely to feel them crawling on you BEFORE they bite because of numbing secretions in their saliva. I've only ever discovered attached ticks by seeing/touching them.
DeleteI hate ticks with a passion. I try to see the value of all creatures in the circle of life but these I have no use for. Freezing it is a good idea. I removed one and developed an angry rash. here you can get a short course of doxy from the pharmacy to head off the infection. I had to argue because I didn't save the tick. Fortunately, the owner knows me and gave it to me anyway.
DeleteYeah, I think I could've pursued a short course early if I had realized it. Glad you could get the prophylactic dose!
DeleteUgh, I'm so sorry! I hope you don't develop the meat allergy! Also hope that meds work quickly and you'll be back to good before you know it.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Halfway through my antibiotics now and starting to feel better (joint pain and fatigue are lightening up, and headaches are gone). No sign of alpha-gal syndrome yet. 🤞
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