For Lyme, they'll probably give you doxycycline(sp?), potent? yes. Side effects, I didnt have any. And FYI I have broken out with Lyme multiple times, and it sucks real bad.
Edit: Ill post some of my horror stories with Lyme.
Age 14: Rash on leg. Antibiotics...end of story..I wish.
Age 26 Finishing college. Experienced months of horrible sleep patterns, couldn't fall asleep at night, nor get up in morning. I was listless for months, though I never thoguht anything was wrong with me. A week before finals my left eye became dialated, eventually was unable to see anything but spots out of it. I could feel pressure building behind it. At the same time on the upper right part of my head there was a pain, worse than the worst migraine I had ever had. I was in bed for 9 days, during which the only thing I was able to keep down was a bag of M&Ms. The two chucklehead MDs I saw in the emergency room said I had the flu and sent me home with 2 extra strength tylenols....gee thanks. Did they not notice my dialated pupil? After 9 days I went home to see my real doctor. They took a CT scan and I went home. At 730AM New years morning, I get a semi frantic call from my doctor telling my to get to the hospital for an MRI. He said it is either a tumor, an anneurism...or nothing. It is kind of unsettling walking into the MRI room with 8 people in queue and the receptionist tells you "Hi we have been waiting for you, come on in". An hour later the radiologist told me that I had brain swelling (or was it pituatary?) and a fluid buildup, but no tumor. Test for Lyme was positive, got on doxycycline, the acute symptoms disappeared fast. Listlessness and sleep patterns persisted for months...
Same symtpoms a year later, now 27.
Age 29. Same symptoms as earlier with a twist. I started to notice random nerve twitches in my face like those annoying ones you get in the corner of your eye. Eventually over a weeks time the whole left side of my face went numb, then became paralyzed. It was like the novicane overdose my dentist gives me. I was unable to talk. It was horrible. Unfortunately my childhood doctor had passed away and I saw a new one. I walked in and said I was positive I had Lyme and to please write me a prescription and worry about the blood test later. Thankfully that was what he did. Within literally hours of the doxycycline the acute symptoms started disappearing. 4 weeks of antibiotics later and the listlessness slowly faded away.
Age 30 Its back, but wthis time it brought ith it hypertension. The Dr measured me at 210/something and put me on an EKG in the office. This was scary. She tried to tell me it wasn't Lyme related but heriditary. Sorry, there's none of that in my family, and I'm as fit as anyone you have ever seen and I eat extremely healthy. Call it a hunch, but I'm certain it was from Lyme. This points to a problem concerning Lyme and doctors. It is a relatively new disease and it is not very well understood. There is such a myriad of symptoms affecting different people and noone seems to be able to pinpoint just exactly what it does to your body.
To this day, at age 32, I have a permanently dialated left pupil. I now know that whenever I start not "feeling well" to run to the doctor. It is hard to put your finger on it because it has a way of sneaking up on you over a few months then BAM knocking you on your butt for a few weeks.
Sorry for the longish post but if you read this please realize this is not a disease you want to mess around with. If losing a few weeks or a month of your life sounds fun then Lyme is for you. If not, do what I do, bathe in deet.
PS Besides the rash when I was young I never found a deer tick stuck in me, even then I never saw a tick. My doctors have never been able to ascertain whether I never get rid of it, or if i keep getting it over and over, nor whether I have built antibodies that will always result in positive blood tests.
