Thomas15

I was diagnosed with Lymes Disease this week. The Dr told me I was exposed prolly 6 months ago, that would mean I got bit in the middle of the winter. About 2 months ago I noticed a small bit or sting on my tricep, it was ichy and stiff.

In the mean time I was training for a metric century and rode it July 28. 3 days later my wrists are still numb and my back is starting to hurt. Finally a week later I go to the ER in the middle of the night my back hurt that bad. I get blood tests and muscle relaxers and for a few days things are improving when all of a sudden I get this massive rash on my chest back and belly.

Another midnight trip to the ER and follow up with my PCP. He gives me a script for a med to get rid of the rash. A day later he calls and tells me to pick up meds for Lymes disease. So that's the short story.

Here is my concern. I have a 35 mile ride in less than 3 weeks. I'm on a steroid until Sunday (3 more days) for the rash and anti-biotics for the Lymes for 3 weeks. Has anyone been in a similar situation and were you able to keep riding while treating this problem? I have been riding for less than a year, past 60, 150 pounds in good general condition. Not asking for medical advice just personal experiences.

KLiNCK

I'd concentrate on getting my health back first!
You can "aim" for the 35 miler (in less than 3 weeks...),
but I wouldn't push myself too hard if I was taking anti-biotics.
Lyme disease is serious!
Give yourself time to rest and recuperate.
Talk to your doctor - what does he recommend?

Thomas15

This really what I think is the way to go, thank you.

berner

Tick-Borne Diseases: Department of Health, https://tickencounter.org/prevention/permethrin, Rhode Island and the University of Rhode Island has a lot of information in Lyme disease. I'm not out in the woods much any more but during my hiking and backpacking days I followed the advice given for the use of Permathrin on clothing with reapplications as called for. So far no lyme disease but I still have a good supply in a spray bottle if needed for Prevention.

The well known author, Amy Tan contracted Lyme disease and of all places, during a trip to Lyme, Connecticut. She had a lengthy and detailed chapter about this in a book whose title I don't now remember. Several points in that chapter stand out. First, diagnosis is tricky with false results, at least when the book was written. Second, not all MDs are that competent at diagnosing Lyme. The same difficulty in diagnosis was written about by an MD from Hartford whose book was all about the art and science of diagnosis. Lastly, for some people the disease can have life long serious consequences.

We cyclists are frequently stepping into the woods for nature breaks. If you have not yet given much thought to deer ticks and Lyme, it is time to begin doing that.

Clyde1820

Never have had Lyme Disease.

But having been a fair distance runner who loved heading into the "hills," back in the day, I've had more than my share of various infections and whatnot, tick-borne or otherwise.

I have always kept to this basic guideline, whether due to illness or injury: if after my training was back to normal, and if I could do at least one instance of the given intended distance+pace+route, then I would consider myself good to go. Otherwise, I'd remain focused on getting better and back to "race" quality.

IOW, the "Better Safe Than Sorry" method.

I suspect it'd be a good guideline to adhere to irrespective of the sport in question. Helped keep me healthier, when pushing things beyond simple outings. Held me back, some, I suppose, but I believe that I recovered well enough at least in part due to this method.

Good luck in the recovery.

Hondo Gravel

Yup, luckily as a kid with the amount of ticks and chiggers we had in S Texas Lyme disease was rare. Then the fire ants moved north whipped out all the ticks and chiggers. I will say I would rather put up with fire ant stings than ticks and chiggers. Those buggers would imbed themselves in you’re skin and in places I won’t mention The Lyme disease was always a concerned further North. Fire ants are a better pest.

Thomas15

All good advice, thanks

canklecat

That's a tough one. My dad got Lyme disease in his 60s and it wasn't diagnosed early enough to prevent the worst consequences. Hard to tell how much it affected him since he also battled cancer for several years. But overall the combination slowed him down a lot.

A friend in New England was just recently diagnosed with Lyme after weeks of some vague and misdiagnosed symptoms. Her doctor believes they caught it early enough to treat effectively. I think she's back to work now. Tough year for her also since she was already struggling with an old neck injury.

On bike rides I used to carry individual packets of wipes containing sunscreen and bug repellent. I stopped carrying those when I got road bikes with minimal saddle bags. But I really need to remember to at least spray my legs with bug repellent before heading out, for those roadside pit stops.