You have selected excellent and highly relevant questions. I appreciate the answers - the directness, brevity balanced with information, and general smarts!
I would like to add another preventative measure relating to ticks: clothing treated with Permethrin. I ALWAYS wear such clothing whenever I go out to do brush clearing or other yard work. Over the years I have done a LOT of that and have yet to find a tick on me.
You can buy spray bottles of Permethrin and treat your own clothes, but the spray is said to be effective through only about six washings. The alternative is to either to send your clothes off to a company to have them treated and/or to buy ready-made Permethrin-treated clothing. Either way, the treatment is said to last around 70 washings. I have done both things with a company called Insect Shield (https://www.insectshield.com/). I imagine there are other companies, but this is the one I've happily done business with for nearly ten years. (By the way, my only affiliation with the company is very Satisfied Customer.)
As a nutrition scientist who has been driven crazy by the seed oil βdebate,β that was such a brilliant and thoughtful explanation! And I loved how you also considered the readerβs preferences and tastes too- something we scientists often forget when we are talking about food or making recommendations.
I always appreciate your thoughtfulness in response to weight loss questions. I wanted to share, in case itβs helpful for your GLP-1 questioner, there are other options! I went to my Dr a couple years ago after spending years trying to get that post two kids baby weight off to no avail, asking for GLP-1βs. She suggested I try Wellbutrin and Naltrexone and since then Iβve lost 40 pounds and have never felt better! I had zero side effects and still donβt. Iβm surprised I donβt hear of more people doing this, but wanted to share in case itβs useful!
Iβve heard that people experience uncomfortable side effects from Naltrexone and also Wellbutrin, so I guess Iβm lucky! Good luck with your journey. β₯οΈ
Sorry, but your advice to get one 200 mg dose of Doxycycline after a tick bite--even one believed to have only been attached for less than 48 hours--is inadequate. Highly suggest reading the ILADS guidelines. Lyme and it's fearsome co-infections is not worth the risk of a lifetime of disability. 200 mg per day for 30 days is the recommended dosage (100 mg 2X/day). My husband has suffered for 14 years. We know the drill.
The ISDA does recommend a single 200 mg oral dose of doxycycline for Lyme disease prophylaxis after a high-risk tick bite, administered within 72 hours of tick removal.
Criteria have to be met, however:
- The tick was an Ixodes (blacklegged) species
- The bite occurred in an area endemic for Lyme disease
- The tick was attached for β₯36 hours (engorged appearance)
- The tick was removed within the past 72 hours
- No contraindication to doxycycline (allergy, pregnancy, lactation) οΏΌ
Thanks for your reply. Please read the ILADS (Internationa Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, the source of respected information for Lyme-Literate Medical Doctors) treatment guidelines, which show why the IDSA dosage recomme dation is faulty: https://www.ilads.org/patient-care/ilads-treatment-guidelines/
I really appreciate these honest, science driven answers.
You have selected excellent and highly relevant questions. I appreciate the answers - the directness, brevity balanced with information, and general smarts!
I would like to add another preventative measure relating to ticks: clothing treated with Permethrin. I ALWAYS wear such clothing whenever I go out to do brush clearing or other yard work. Over the years I have done a LOT of that and have yet to find a tick on me.
You can buy spray bottles of Permethrin and treat your own clothes, but the spray is said to be effective through only about six washings. The alternative is to either to send your clothes off to a company to have them treated and/or to buy ready-made Permethrin-treated clothing. Either way, the treatment is said to last around 70 washings. I have done both things with a company called Insect Shield (https://www.insectshield.com/). I imagine there are other companies, but this is the one I've happily done business with for nearly ten years. (By the way, my only affiliation with the company is very Satisfied Customer.)
As a nutrition scientist who has been driven crazy by the seed oil βdebate,β that was such a brilliant and thoughtful explanation! And I loved how you also considered the readerβs preferences and tastes too- something we scientists often forget when we are talking about food or making recommendations.
Thanks Dr. Taillie!
I always appreciate your thoughtfulness in response to weight loss questions. I wanted to share, in case itβs helpful for your GLP-1 questioner, there are other options! I went to my Dr a couple years ago after spending years trying to get that post two kids baby weight off to no avail, asking for GLP-1βs. She suggested I try Wellbutrin and Naltrexone and since then Iβve lost 40 pounds and have never felt better! I had zero side effects and still donβt. Iβm surprised I donβt hear of more people doing this, but wanted to share in case itβs useful!
Fanshen, I tried Naltrexone⦠did not lose any weight and it had weird side effects for me.
Iβve heard that people experience uncomfortable side effects from Naltrexone and also Wellbutrin, so I guess Iβm lucky! Good luck with your journey. β₯οΈ
Sorry, but your advice to get one 200 mg dose of Doxycycline after a tick bite--even one believed to have only been attached for less than 48 hours--is inadequate. Highly suggest reading the ILADS guidelines. Lyme and it's fearsome co-infections is not worth the risk of a lifetime of disability. 200 mg per day for 30 days is the recommended dosage (100 mg 2X/day). My husband has suffered for 14 years. We know the drill.
I am so sorry to hear your husband has suffered.
The ISDA does recommend a single 200 mg oral dose of doxycycline for Lyme disease prophylaxis after a high-risk tick bite, administered within 72 hours of tick removal.
Criteria have to be met, however:
- The tick was an Ixodes (blacklegged) species
- The bite occurred in an area endemic for Lyme disease
- The tick was attached for β₯36 hours (engorged appearance)
- The tick was removed within the past 72 hours
- No contraindication to doxycycline (allergy, pregnancy, lactation) οΏΌ
Here are the ISDA guidelines: https://acrjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.41562
Thanks for your reply. Please read the ILADS (Internationa Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, the source of respected information for Lyme-Literate Medical Doctors) treatment guidelines, which show why the IDSA dosage recomme dation is faulty: https://www.ilads.org/patient-care/ilads-treatment-guidelines/