Scattered Thoughts . . .

I 'm feeling slightly better after a few more doses of antibiotic but my post-tick-bite fever is still lingering.  I still have a long way to go with the antibiotic so I'm still very early in the treatment which means I probably shouldn't be surprised by the lingering fever.  It is only a low grade fever but I am also taking NSAIDs which should be lowering the fever yet I still do have one so, without the NSAIDs, I can't help but wonder how high would my fever be?   I'm a bit more fatigued than what is "normal", I think.  It is difficult to discern what might be due to my primary illness (Systemic Mastocytosis) or due to this tick bite.  I am inexplicably exhausted though.  Hmmm...  maybe I should take some extra medications for my primary illness just in case this is related to that.  (EDIT:  I just did take extra medications.) Sheila and I did some grocery shopping this evening and I felt rather crappy through that relatively short outing.  I was a bit d

L ast night, after my doctor's office had closed for the day, my very low grade fever that I had throughout the holiday weekend, started rising.  Stuff like this always seems to happen on the weekends or at night.  By 8:30pm, the fever had reached 100.4 degrees so I was a bit concerned.   I still wasn't sure where the threshold should be for being concerned or seeking more medical attention but I figured the best thing would be to call my doctor's office in the morning.  If I started feeling miserable rather than lousy, then I would have to go to the hospital emergency department.  However, before heading to the bedroom last night, I realized that I could also write my doctor an email then, if necessary, follow-up in the morning after they opened for the day.  I definitely didn't want to wait so long that I would need to go directly to the hospital. This morning, the phone started ringing at 7:15am.  I get virtually no phone calls but now my line was ringing and it was

T he pain that has been radiating around the site of my tick bite is lessening but I'm still not feeling great.  My fever is increasing, little by little, especially this evening.  I'm at 99.9 degrees now.  We'll see how this develops through the night...  Why does this stuff always happen after the doctor's office has closed?   I'm assuming heading to a hospital isn't advisable until the fever inches above 101-102 degrees.   EDIT:  9:30pm - Before heading to bed, I decided to check my temperature again...  I was over 100 degrees.  I just checked again now at bedtime, about an hour after taking an Aleve and an aspirin, and my temperature has dropped to around 99 degrees again.  So that is good.  I definitely need to talk with my doctor (or any doctor) tomorrow morning.  

F irst, I should probably write a few things about the tick bite that I got this past Thursday.  Actually, I think it is past time for an update. The site of the bite hurts...  all around the area hurts.  The tick was latched onto the right side of my abdomen under my waistband and the pain radiating from that relatively tiny spot is felt past my groin to the left and down below my right hip on the right.  I can also feel the pain deeper into my body at the site of the bite.  It is sort of an ache...  a mild burning ache...  maybe not "burning" but a warm ache.   When I got out of the shower today, I noticed I have about a two inch diameter pale white area around the red bite area.  It is not a bullseye but it is an odd pale lack of skin coloring around the bite area.  I'm not sure what this means, to be honest.  (Note:  After being out of the shower about an hour or so, that pale white area is no longer visible...  so, strange.) I have a very low grade fever now.  I'