Has anyone dealt with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? Need info ASAP!

I was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever on May 7. I had been feeling like I was fighting something for about 1-2 weeks before that. Never a fever. No rash. We have been covered in ticks and I suspected Lyme's not RMSF! So I asked for the blood work to be done. The Dr. said he would have just thought I was fighting the latest bug, so he is thankful I asked for the test. I did start treating myself naturally for bacterial infection when I started feeling ill. I've never felt horrible, just yuck with muscle issues. My Dr. is not familiar with dealing with this disease and hasn't started antibiotics. I feel very well now.
Here's the dilemma:
The health dept. says to get on the antibiotics, friends say antibiotics, books and websites say antibiotics. It's been a month since my last tick. I feel like I'm well. But there's 2 phases to the illness and I can't find info on the time frame, especially the second phase!
Here's what I have read from the health dept.:
Case fatality rate untreated 13-25%. Risk factors associated with more severe disease and death include delayed antibiotic therapy (me) and patient over 40 years. Absence or delayed appearance of typical rash (me) or failure to recognize it contribute to delay in diagnosis and increased fatality.
It says to not even wait for a clinical diagnosis to start treatment. But at the same time says not to treat preventively because that will just delay the onset of the disease.
I am 32 years old and pretty darn healthy. I am breastfeeding two babies and that is a consideration with the intense antibiotics they recommend. We treat our family naturally at least 98% of the time. We have had a couple of serious life threatening situations where hospitals were required. I'm not opposed to medical treatment if it's needed. The fear of the unknown is what has me questioning. I can't find anyone who has personally dealt with this to tell me a sort of a time line.
My Dr. said he was not recommending the antibiotics because symptomatically I had seemed to be doing better. But he also said he was trying to learn about this disease at the same time. The health dept. said to start the antibiotics and she didn't want to discuss that I had treated myself naturally.
Sorry for such length, just trying to state my situation. Any info or pointers would be super appreciated!
Blessings,
Amy J.

Hi-
I had an aunt that died at 8 years of age in the late 50's from RMSTF. She got a tick from a sheep and about a week later she got very sick. They found the cause right before she died, but it was too late to treat it. She was the first known case in our area. Because of her death, there were quite a few other people that survived, because they knew what to test for. I would do the antibiotics-your babies need you.

Quote:
Get the antibiotics. Otherwise when you become a mosquito feast, you could help spread it

Quote:
Get the antibiotics. Otherwise when you become a mosquito feast, you could help spread it

Mosquitoes can not carry RMSF. Only ticks and they have to get it from rodents.

My Dr. is not recommending the antibiotics right now, just the health dept. And they explained it as proactively treating it, which infectious disease experts say you shouldn't do because it can just prolong the time frame for when the disease shows up.

I'm specifically looking for info on how long it took for symptoms to show up for people and did they feel better and then get worse? And if so how long of a period between the two phases? And has anyone used natural medicine for treatment?

My sister had it years ago. She had a bad rash when she got hot. As long as she stayed cool the rash would go away.

She took a really really hot bath that the brought the rash on early.
She took a round of antibiotics and it was over in about a week.

I suggest taking the antibiotics.

Darin

I did just a little research, and had trouble finding your answers as well. From what you have said, you seem to have had a mild case and are recovering naturally. It looked to me like the most severe problems came with the fever and rash; neither of which you had. But, I'm not a doctor. I think if I were you, I would be asking your doctor a ton more questions:

What happens if we don't start antibiotics, and I get sicker?
What symtoms should I be aware of, what is a signal the disease is getting worse?
Can I pass this to my nursing children?
What complications may result if there is no antibiotic treatment?
What are the chances of long-term disablility or illness? Are those reduced by antibiotic treatment?
Will the natural antibiotics I used get rid of the illness? Will they mask symtoms, but the underlying illness is unchecked? Will they cause problems if they are followed by conventional treatment?
What are the risks of not treating the illness?
Am I actually fighting off the illness naturally through self-treatment or a good immune system?

Ask the questions, and any others you have. If your doctor can't answer them, ask him/her to refer you to someone who can. Nasty tick carried illnesses can cause some serious long term health issues. I had a couple of friends with chronic Lyme Disease, and it ain't fun.

I would also suggest a strip and check after being out in the woods. When we lived in endemic Lyme country, every hike or outing was followed by the tick search. It usually takes a long attachment for the ticks to transfer the disease organisms.

Take the antibiotics. You don't want to roll the dice with this one. You may not hear a thing from that bug for the next two years, then suddenly you're chronically arthritic.

My husband had it many years ago when he was a teenager. He said it started out with bad headaches, and he could barely move his head left and right. Doctor didn't know what was wrong with him and gave him muscle relaxers (Flexeril). He did start to feel better after a while, then a couple weeks later he was peeing blood. He ended up extremely sick in the hospital on IV antibiotics. He lost lots of weight, got very weak, and it took him many months to recuperate. He was a healthy athletic teenage boy before he got sick.

He says you need to take the antibiotics, just in case. It's not worth the risk.

Hi there,

This is a shot in the dark because you posted this 6 years ago.

I'm in the exact same boat you were in when your wrote this. My symptoms were bad for a few days 2 weeks ago, but now better as I treated myself naturally while we waited for results. Now I'm battling with myself and everyone around me as to whether or not I should take the antibiotics.

Did you ever take them? How are you feeling now? Any details with what ended up happening would be incredibly appreciated. I'm desperate here and nobody seems to have any answers to what seems like valid questions.

Blessings,

Jen