I have had Lyme many times and Erlichosis twice--once as recent as last year, as well as many of the co-infections caused by ticks. At one point, I was on long-term antibiotics, and I have been treated many other times. I am on a herbal protocol presently. I think that ticks have really messed with my health. I would like to participate in any studies about tick diseases, and I tried to contact Dr. Commins at UNC several times, but no one ever got back with me. There are no tick-literate docs in my neck of the woods, so I mostly rely on "specialists" outside the realm of PhDs.