Daughter had tick on her....

[mdmom]

It wasn't embedded, but she scratched her back and it fell off. No way to tell how long it had been on her. I saved the little bugger - it's been in a double bagged ziploc for 36 hours and is still alive.

 

She's already being treated for Lyme, Babesia, Bartonella. After the tick incident I gave her 2 Tindamax immediately and yesterday 300 mg of Minocycline (doc said to give 300mg of doxy, but I didn't have any in my arsenal). She already takes IV Clindamycin and Meropenem daily.

 

If I send it to IGENEX (costly at $65 per infection), does this knowledge help me in any way? For instance, would an insurance company recognize the tick test as proof of an infection. I'm guessing not.

Edited July 30, 2012 by mdmom

[sf_mom]

I think you are covered but perhaps a call to your LLMD for further confirmation. Hang onto tick and consider having it tested if she worsens over the next month or two. I'll be curious to know how long tick survives in zip lock bag.

[philamom]

Place a couple of moistened blades of grass in with it, or a slightly moist cotton ball.

[Hopeny]

As far as I can figure all in we are at about $30k and climbing so far this year for Lyme treatment and associated costs for a missed diagnosis, for $65 I would test the tick . My nephew acquired Lyme from a tick that was not engorged and attached less than 12 hours. That prophylactic one time Doxy does idea is not reliable. I am not sure about the IV meds you wrote about and what they treat but in this case way better to test. If it was on her neck the transmission would be close to the brain, making the possibility even worse.

[smartyjones]

It

If I send it to IGENEX (costly at $65 per infection), does this knowledge help me in any way? For instance, would an insurance company recognize the tick test as proof of an infection. I'm guessing not.

 

my guess also is that that info would not help you with insurance coverage -- i don't know that, but i guess it.

 

i would seriously think about what you would do differently than how you are treating now or how you make treatment decisions with any knowledge of infections that tick may have and base your decision on that. if it would be very different, it may be worth testing; if not so different, money may be better spent on treatment.

 

good luck.

[red]

It wasn't embedded, but she scratched her back and it fell off. No way to tell how long it had been on her. I saved the little bugger - it's been in a double bagged ziploc for 36 hours and is still alive.

 

She's already being treated for Lyme, Babesia, Bartonella. After the tick incident I gave her 2 Tindamax immediately and yesterday 300 mg of Minocycline (doc said to give 300mg of doxy, but I didn't have any in my arsenal). She already takes IV Clindamycin and Meropenem daily.

 

If I send it to IGENEX (costly at $65 per infection), does this knowledge help me in any way? For instance, would an insurance company recognize the tick test as proof of an infection. I'm guessing not.

I agree with the below post: what would you do differently as you are already treating for most tick vectors. No sarcasm intended here, but I literally have received over 1000 tick bites in the last 20 years (if you think that is hard to believe just imagine walking into a nest of nymphs that are the sized of pin heads and not realizing it). That has happened to both me and my wife: both in our garden as well as in the woods. And it was only 1 tick out of that 1000 that made me sick. We have ticks year around where I live down on a river.

Red