Forum Index > Trail Talk > Lyme disease incident in Clallam county, Washington
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Jennasharp
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Joined: 11 Apr 2021
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Jennasharp
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PostSun Apr 11, 2021 2:44 pm 
I just wanted to inform outdoor enthusiasts that are planning outings in Washington State anywhere along the straits of Juan de fuca to use your insect repellent.i contracted Lyme disease in 2009 while visiting the Murdock Creek rec. area. I was officially diagnosed by my primary care provider after I noticed a very odd rash on my legs and my friend spotted a 'bullseye' bite location on the back of my calf. My doctor didn't quite believe that I did in fact contract the ailment but I asked her to test me anyway because I had already googled the subject and was quite sure based on my experience and also I'm the poster child for anything unusual or rare that could happen to someone. I'm posting to his now because I've been researching the long term effects of the disease. Even though I received the proper treatment I was not retested and as I said, I'm the poster child so it may be why I'm experiencing the symptoms of the long term effects. Research shows that the occurance of Lyme disease is for the most part localized to the east coast of the United States, there is a very small area on the West coast of Washington State in the county of Clallam close to lake Crescent and extends out through Joyce, Washington, on out to the straits of Juan De Fuca that has had incidents of the ailment. Trust me, it's true!

Janet Hahn
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GaliWalker
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GaliWalker
Have camera will use
PostSun Apr 11, 2021 3:41 pm 
Now that I’ve switched to the East Coast, every time I return from a hike I make it a point to check all over for ticks. You have to get them inside 30-48hrs to prevent Lyme disease.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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Randito
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Randito
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PostSun Apr 11, 2021 6:33 pm 
A neighbor of mine was infected with Lyme disease in the '90s. Had a huge negative effect on her health and general energy.

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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostSun Apr 11, 2021 7:11 pm 
Lyme disease was named for Lyme, Connecticut, not all that far from where I grew up. It wasn't very well understood and a lot of people had lingering symptoms for years. From what I've been hearing and reading, it's spread from CT and can be found in pockets in a lot of states now. Ticks are nasty things.

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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostSun Apr 11, 2021 7:56 pm 
When we lived in Ottawa we spent an lot of time in upstate New York where Lyme disease was prevelant usually spread by a different deer tick than we have in Wa. We pick up some near Eisenhower Locks on the Saint Lawrence. They did not have it but it was moving into some islands in Lake Ontario. A friend of a friend got it in Maine and was never the same. Lots o Ticks on the North Shore of Lake Crescent. Bad stuff. I had the target mark around a tick bite from Icicle Creek and had to get the penicillin shot.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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cryptobrian
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PostSun Apr 11, 2021 9:27 pm 
I have Chronic Lyme Disease. I've spent most of my life on the east coast, with lots of hiking and backpacking. I was initially misdiagnosed and unfortunately the misdiagnosis seemed to be supported by a negative Lyme test result. 6 months, lots of pain, and many doctors later, I went to a Rheumatologist that happened to have done Lyme research and was very familiar with it ... he was immediately suspicious of the initial test results and so had me retested. Sure enough, positive. Unfortunately, because it just isn't common here in the PNW, I have had no luck finding a doctor who knows anything about treatment since I moved out here. When I need it, my primary has been willing to write the Rx for antibiotics based on my prior treatment. But that's as good as I've been able to get. Yeah, ticks are nasty.

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Moose
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Moose
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PostMon Apr 12, 2021 11:46 am 
cryptobrian wrote:
Unfortunately, because it just isn't common here in the PNW, I have had no luck finding a doctor who knows anything about treatment since I moved out here.
Last summer I had the unfortunate experience of being bitten by a tick and developing the classic bullseye rash (pretty sure this happened while hiking Rock Mountain near Stevens Pass). I was referred to Traci Taggart in Seattle. She is a naturopathic physician who specializes in Lyme disease, came highly recommended, and put me at ease during my one and only visit to her (luckily I seem to have caught it in time and have not needed to schedule another visit). Not sure how close you are to Seattle, but she might be a good option if it's convenient. https://evergreencenter.net/dr-traci-taggart/

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Sculpin
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Sculpin
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PostWed Apr 14, 2021 8:24 am 
There is a map! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease#/media/File:Lyme_Disease_Risk_Map.gif Looks like most of western Washington has some risk. I got bit by a "Lyme tick" at Pt. Reyes, the only place on the west coast where the risk is moderate. No infection though. Then I got bit by a tick in Napa County, got an infection and a bullseye. But not a Lyme disease bullseye, mine was white-red-white not red-white-red.

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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Hiker Mama
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PostWed Apr 14, 2021 8:54 pm 
I actually know several people who live in the Seattle area who have been positively diagnosed with chronic Lyme. I think it's grossly under reported here. The chronic version is notoriously difficult to test for if you don't notice a bullseye rash. Cryptobrian, I also recommend Dr. Taggart or Dr. Lutack at Evergreen Center for Integrative Medicine. There are a couple of Lyme clinics in the area, but this one is the only one that takes a couple of insurances. I'm seeing Dr. Winston there for other issues that are similar to Lyme, as well as severe toxic mold exposure, and they are brilliant. (Dr. Winston is currently transitioning to Wenatchee, otherwise I'd recommend her, too.) They are the first doctors that have been able to help me in like 30 years.

My hiking w/ kids site: www.thehikermama.com
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I'm Pysht
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I'm Pysht
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PostWed Apr 14, 2021 9:35 pm 
There's some promise of a vaccine in the near future: https://www.fieldandstream.com/story/hunting/lyme-disease-vaccine/

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Sculpin
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Sculpin
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PostThu Apr 15, 2021 6:56 am 
Moose wrote:
pretty sure this happened while hiking Rock Mountain near Stevens Pass
That is the place, unfortunately. frown.gif Numerous times in my life, I have come back from a hike, done a tick check, and found ten or more ticks on me (with no bites in these instances). But all those trips were either in California or back east, with one exception. It happened once on the Rock Mountain trail as well. Other than that trip, I have found a single tick on me in Washington maybe once or twice, and have never been bitten here.

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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coldrain108
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coldrain108
Thundering Herd
PostThu Apr 15, 2021 10:21 am 
Sculpin wrote:
I have found a single tick on me in Washington maybe once or twice, and have never been bitten here
I lived in CT from 1983-1990. Never had a run in with a tick. I hiked and camped in the woods all the time. Got a biology degree, spent a lot of time on hands and knees in the woods doing plant ID and classification - got poison ivy once from that process. No ticks. No one I knew had any tick issues. After I left in 1990 many, many people I know suddenly got ticked, and none of them were outdoorsy types. Bulls eye marks and antibiotic treated. Father, Mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother etc. All from just being in their yards. Only once in all my years of hiking and backpacking coast to coast have I found an attached tick - in Colorado back in the 80's. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was the only popular tick fear around at the time. I didn't get it. Are ticks like mosquitoes? Do some people give off an attractive scent that attracts blood sucking vermin? I'm one of those that gets bit by a mossy, it itches for 15 seconds, then its gone. But one sniff of poison oak or ivy and I break out like nobodies business.

Since I have no expectations of forgiveness, I don't do it in the first place. That loop hole needs to be closed to everyone.
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Brian R
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Brian R
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PostThu Apr 15, 2021 11:40 pm 
Kelley Butte Lookout is notorious too.

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cdestroyer
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cdestroyer
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PostFri Apr 16, 2021 6:41 am 
have had ticks embedded in me in utah, wyoming, montana, washington. had bulls eye infection on chest from tick,, red white red red white maybe some blue...expensive antibiotics.... the rocky mountain research lab in hamilton mt has looked into all sorts of things,,, spotted tick, rubber neckers, alien transmographacasian, sars, hanta, covid, shark bite, penial dysfunction,,,,,,etc!

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zimmertr
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zimmertr
TJ Zimmerman
PostFri Apr 16, 2021 8:09 am 
The upper peninsula of Michigan and rural parts of Tennessee have them pretty bad too. I remember going on a short hike with my sister outside of Nashville and finding 20-30 baby ticks on my legs afterwards. Not mentioning the ones that made their way further up my pants.....

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