Family Forum / Pregnancy / Breastfeeding / June 2005

I was symptomatic.  I had a huge red bullseye on the left side of my
left breast that was kinda sore, and I had flu-like symptoms.  That
night, I'd been feeling kind of tired, but hadn't noticed the bullseye.
So I went to bed and by morning, I noticed that my breast hurt, my
joints hurt, my throat was a little sore, and I was running a low-grade
fever.  When I looked at my breast, I had large red mark - uniformly
red, rather than a bullseye, and it was huge - if you make a circle out
of both your thumbs and index fingers, that's how big it was.  I felt
wretched, and I called my doctor as soon as they opened, and told them
I either had mastitis or Lyme disease and they made me an appointment
for that day (like 4:00 in the afternoon).

By the time I got there, it was starting to look more bullsyeish.  My
doctor took one look at it and told me that it looked like classic
Lyme. The soreness was on the surface, rather than deep inside the
breast.  I might add that I felt absolutely wretched.  My fever was
low-grade, maybe 101 or thereabouts.

We discussed Lyme transmission through the breastmilk, and she told me
that there had never been a documented case of it. Spiroketes *have*
been isolated in the breastmilk, but it's thought that they are unable
to survive the stomach acid. My doctor also pointed out that she'd be
getting antibiotics in the breastmilk as well, though only in very low
doses. I did my own independent research, and asked my own questions
(if you do a groups.google.com on author Cathy Weeks with Lyme as a key
word, you should be able to find the information).

Warning - there are people who INSIST that it's passed through the
breastmilk, and that they made their kids ill, and that children MUST
be weaned to protect them.  What seems wierd to me is that it seems as
if the kids could easily have picked it up via ticks just as the adults
did.  I never saw the tick that bit me. It attached, fed, gave me the
disease and dropped off without my ever being aware of it.  One of
those tiny ticks in my daughters hair? I might never have seen it,
either.

Anyway, the scare tactics worked to some extent, though I talked to
several people who nursed through their own Lyme and said their kids
were fine. I discussed it with my daughters doctor, and she suggested
doing the Lyme titer, but waiting several months to do it, as the blood
test wouldn't show Lyme early on, even if it *was* present.  Kivi's
blood test came back negative, and she's been fine ever since - and
this was 2 years ago (and she's still nursing at 3.5 years of age). One
point the doctor made was that Kivi wasn't a newborn, who might be at
greater risk.  She was 18 months old, with a mature digestive system.

I might also add that even though I was on zithromax for 21 days (I
couldn't take either of the two preferred drugs - I'm allergic to
penicillan, and the other - a "cycline" drug is contraindicated for
nursing) I still felt wretched for the entire first week I was on the
antibiotics.  I felt fine after that, and have had no long term
problems whatsoever.

Get yourself tested (though a negative test doesn't mean you don't have
it).  Honestly, given the seriousness of Lyme being allowed to go
long-term, I think having a possibly unnecessary course of antibiotics
is the lesser of two evils.  I was never tested. The presence of the
bullseye (and only about 50% of people even get the rash) and the
flu-symptoms was enough of a diagnosis.

It didn't. I just made sure my daughter and I ate lots of yogurt.

IMHO if you suspect you have Lyme, you should be calling your PCP in 2
hours, not two days.  I mean, what's the worst that will happen? Either
(s)he'll put you on antibiotics, or tell you that you don't have Lyme,
and not to worry.

Cathy Weeks

I forgot to mention a couple of things:

1. My mother also had Lyme a year before I did - she had the bullseye
on her back and also never saw the tick. She went to the doctor and got
the antibiotics, but was never sick at all, other than the rash.  I on
the other hand, had the rash, and the flu-symptoms simultaneiously.
Just goes to show that any two people have different reactions to the
disease.

2. Once you've had Lyme, you can get it again - it's not a virus.

3. I too lived in a high-lyme area at the time - New Jersey. And I
lived out in the woods, and had deer in my yard all the time, etc. It's
more of a surprise that only one of us got it, rather than that I got
it at all.  My doctor told me she diagnosed 3 cases per week.  My
mother on the other hand lives in Missouri, which is also a moderate
Lyme area, but she was visiting family in Oklahoma when she was
diagnosed; and OK has very little Lyme. The doctor who dx'd her had
never seen a case of Lyme before, and had to look up how to treat her!

Cathy Weeks

Sorry for the repeat posts. I'm re-reading my usenet posts from 2003 on
the subject - the original round of antibiotics was for 14 days, but I
asked them to extend it another 7 days, because I was starting to feel
sick again (though it could very well have been unrelated).

Cathy Weeks

I promise - this is the last post!!!

I just wanted to mention, that all of my research was from 2 years ago,
and I have no idea what's changed in the conventional wisdom in that
time.

Cathy Weeks