Lyme Disease Support Group

Hi,
I suspect that the sex discrepancy for Lyme is more due to the differences in immune systems than anything else - except possibly exposure. (Women are more frequently gardeners, for example.) There are lots of chronic illnesses, like CFS, FM, lupus, and many autoimmune illnesses, where there is a 10-to-1 or more difference in sex ratio. It has been theorized that this may be due to their exposure to fetal antigens during pregnancy; there may also be a difference in how the immune system reacts that has been evolved due to fetal antigen exposure.
Not that any of that has much in the way of help for anyone...
Jerry

You know, I think as far as transmission goes, any sexually transmitted disease is more easily passed from man to woman than woman to man, so that may be one good reason.

In my doc office, there are more women, btu not dramatically so. I think men have stronger immune systems, generally speaking. I know my husband can heal from a cold in a day and it takes me weeks to heal from the same cold. Also, auto immune diseases affect women far greater than men, and some docs say hormones have a great impact on our immune systems, and of course pregnancy. I got sick with Graves Disease when I was pregnant, I believe it got kicked into gear when my immune system shut down due to the pregnancy.

But why I've had Lyme twice and my husband never, I don't know why. He fishes and he'll go through the woods and marshes to find the perfect spot. I am not so outdoorsy, so who knows.

My ex boyfriend had Lyme, but he found the tick and the bullseye popped up immediately. It was the weekend and he went to the ER. He got antibiotic shots and was sent home with pills for a month. He never got sick. If only we all could have been so lucky. I still, however, somewhat believe I got it from him. I started to get sick the first time literally within a few weeks after he was bitten. I asked then if it was sexually transmitted and they said no, but that was just the family physician and that was ten years ago. Some docs believe it is, some believe it's merely because families live in the same area, it's reasonable to believe that they all got bitten. I, for one, believe both.

And every day I worry about my kids cause in my heart I believe something isn't quite right. I hope to God I am wrong.

Looking at all the posts and seeing that it can potentially be spread by bodily fluids, you should definately be safe using a condom, the whole purpose of which is to prevent the spread of fluids while still being able to have sex. I'd be careful, but there's no reason you should have to give up your sex life when you can both play it safe and enjoy the perks of being married!

Hi,
Unfortunately for my wife and I (and I'm sure for a lot of Lymies due to the lag in diagnosis), we had been swapping glasses and water bottles, and having sex, for years before the diagnosis. So we figured that if it was going to be passes on, it already had been.
Also, the Lyme spirochete is a bacterium, not a virus. So your husband's catching viruses easily is not necessarily an indication that he would be susceptible to Borrelia. Virus susceptibility has more to do with cytotoxic T cell (Tc) and natural killer cell (NK) activity, as killing infected cells is important to stopping the viral spread, while killing single viral particles in the bloodstream is not. Control of Borrelia is more B-cell and antibody mediated, as they can reproduce in the blood, so antibodies and the reactions they bring (which can kill a spirochete in the bloodstream) can more quickly contain an infection.
.

It is a sore topic and alot of people gave me alot of flack even though I have info to back it up. I have it from my Mom and I passed it to my child and my husband aslo has it too. Same co-infections and all. I say draw your own conclusion to the research you have done.
My life dealings and my research says it does and can happen. Just be carefull.

I was never warned about such a thing. Then again the medical world has unimpressed me thus far with their knowledge ( lack of ) on Lyme disease. I was too sick at first to even consider sex. Later and since we've never abstained nor could I convince my husband to lol. I'd be inclined to believe he'd have received a tick bite if he showed + for Lyme since we lived 10 yrs in the woods.

My LLMD says no