Ticks

Hello @cwal, I saw your earlier discussion New Dx for Graves / Subclinical Hyperthyroid - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/new-dx-for-graves-subclinical-hyperthyroid/ and did a search on Connect and found one other member who mentioned being tested for it but didn't have the infection. I did find an article on the your other discussion that might be helpful. The article has other references listed that also might be helpful.

-- Graves' disease precipitated by rickettsial infection: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Graves%E2%80%99-disease-precipitated-by-rickettsial-Marangou-Guarneri/dd46a993e184c6ab33b786a6152513666ef1f611

Hello John. Thank you for your answer and searching on Connect for others with this puzzle. I did find that article you posted a link to prior to my inquiry here. Unfortunately, I could not access the article to read due to membership and fee required to have access.

I am currently still waiting for an appointment with an Endocrinologist and wondering if a wait and watch approach is ever utilized instead of rushing to treatment as I have absolutely NO symptoms.

@cwal I found this article about Rickettsial infections which mentions that Rocky Mountain Spotted fever is in this category and should be treated promptly as it can have a mortality rate of 20%. With any tick bite, doctors prefer to treat it right away because most ticks are likely carrying it in areas where the diseases are found. With Lyme Disease and the co infections of other bacteria and parasites, if not treated right away, it may not be possible to kill off the bacteria if it is buried and encased within biofilms where antibiotics can't reach it such as with the Lyme disease bacteria.

Here are a few links I found regarding Rickettsial infections.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431127/
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/rickettsial-diseases-overview
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6502a1.htm