Bat Bite rabies, symptoms showing. [Archive]

Jadex9

16-08-20, 20:38

Hey all, I had a brush with rabies last year, but this year seems to be a real doozy.

A few weeks ago I helped My Inlaws clean some shruberry, at the time I didn't notice any bat's or other critters in the dead bushes.

Fast forward three weeks later and my left hand just starts tingling out of nowhere, followed by intense anxiety and panic!

What if a damn bat bit me in the shrubs and I didn't feel it. I ran to my er who basically told me that what ifs are considered exposures and since no bat was present ( that I saw!) they would not be admistering the PEP shot. They basically discounted me as nuts.

Now I have cough, nervousness and anxiety and nausea.
So terrified this is it.

BlueIris

16-08-20, 21:00

Yes, you are a bit nuts, sorry to say.

If you encountered a bat, you'd have known.

Jadex9

17-08-20, 00:11

Yes, you are a bit nuts, sorry to say.

If you encountered a bat, you'd have known.

I hope I would have, I just keep waking up in the throws of a panic attack, I've looked through the entire house looking for the bat.

I'm almost sure one bit me and we just didn't see him!

MRS STRESS ED

17-08-20, 00:36

Yes, you are a bit nuts, sorry to say.

If you encountered a bat, you'd have known.

l have to agree with you BlueIris sorry Jadex9 but come on three weeks later no bite marks no pain straight away your definitely having very irrational thoughts, and that's all it is along with horrible anxiety take care

best wishes xx

Jadex9

17-08-20, 06:40

l have to agree with you BlueIris sorry Jadex9 but come on three weeks later no bite marks no pain straight away your definitely having very irrational thoughts, and that's all it is along with horrible anxiety take care

best wishes xx

I mean I wish that's all it is.

I've suffered from Health Anxiety my entire life, but this feels so different. The anxiety won't ease up and I can't even eat, have no appetite just feel like death.

Everyone's telling me to relax here at home, but in my heart I know there might have been a bat.

BlueIris

17-08-20, 07:13

You didn't see or feel a bat.

You know what that means? There was no bat.

Midnight-mouse

17-08-20, 08:34

I've suffered from Health Anxiety my entire life, but this feels so different.

It’s always ‘different this time’ I can’t even begin to count the amount of times I said that during my battle with health anxiety. Now I’m firmly on the bother side of it, it becomes more obvious.

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Jadex9

17-08-20, 09:03

Thank you guys for your response, I truly hate this feeling of doom, it just feels so real and different, I hate Health Anxiety , people dont understand how debilitating this is to live this way.

MRS STRESS ED

17-08-20, 14:19

Thank you guys for your response, I truly hate this feeling of doom, it just feels so real and different, I hate Health Anxiety , people dont understand how debilitating this is to live this way.

Jadex9 you say it feels so real, remember anxiety is real your thoughts are just thoughts it doesn't make them happen, and can be very debilitating as we know, try and change your thoughts it is hard but it can be done take care xx

best wishes

deejayjewels

18-08-20, 05:20

Thank you guys for your response, I truly hate this feeling of doom, it just feels so real and different, I hate Health Anxiety , people dont understand how debilitating this is to live this way.

Hey, I get it. I live with it every single day. I'm "better" in the morning, but it gets worse I the day wears on. Rabies is a big one for me. They say is knowledge is power. It is powerful... But that knowledge can be used for good or evil. I find the more I know about things, the more it drives my terror. But, if you look in the right places and skip over the wrong lines, you can find information that soothes your fears rather than exacerbates them.

Jadex9

18-08-20, 06:40

Hey, I get it. I live with it every single day. I'm "better" in the morning, but it gets worse I the day wears on. Rabies is a big one for me. They say is knowledge is power. It is powerful... But that knowledge can be used for good or evil. I find the more I know about things, the more it drives my terror. But, if you look in the right places and skip over the wrong lines, you can find information that soothes your fears rather than exacerbates them.

I wish I was able to do this.

Over the past few days Ive stopped all but eating, can hardly sleep, and am in a state of high anxiety from the second I awake to the second I forcefully get some sleep.

I have never been this bad before, I feel like my lifes all but over.

My fiance is at her wits end, and I feel for her and my daughter, they dont need me like this.

I go through every theory, was it a bat, did I touch something, did aerosolized rabies get inhaled, did it happen years ago and starting now? ETC.

deejayjewels

18-08-20, 07:07

Oh man. I really really do understand. I've been doing this same shit for years. YEARS. My boyfriend does his best, but it can be difficult. I am usually my only comfort, with the exception of the attention that my son draws away from the insanity. I'm an alcoholic over it. The only time, and I do mean the only time that I can believe the logic is when I'm ****ing drunk. Or, at least it helps me face my own death. I'm on my sixth white claw as we speak.

Specifically with rabies, I have induced such hysteria and panic that I could not swallow, I began to hallucinate (shadows and breathing walls, auditory hallucinations), and broke out in body quakes, while my boyfriend held me.and just waited for it to be over. EVERY thing I do, I do as if it were my last day, every day. Playing pretend with my son, making sure the house is spotless when the man comes home, art and projects, music, etc. Guess it's not all bad.

I can help you. We'll get through this, you and I.

deejayjewels

18-08-20, 07:12

Don't worry. You're not dying. It's not a latent infection, there are very few pieces of literature detailing such events. Furthermore, bat related lyssaviruses aren't quiet as virulent as canine rabies, and there are many examples of both unvaccinated humans and livestock coming up seropositive with rabies neutralizing antibodies, which indicates survival of infection, and this is usually bat rabies. Furthermore, the statistics are truly in your favor. What region do you live in?

Jadex9

18-08-20, 11:54

Thank you so much for your kind words!

I am in Indiana, we live in the city but my inlaws live in rural part of the state, which is where this damn fear of the Bats comes from.
We were helping them move shrubbery last month and for some reason, the thought of a bat biting me unbeknownst to me has crept into my head.

I now constantly fear that not only am I dying soon, but that it was caused by a bat I did not see or feel.

deejayjewels

18-08-20, 15:02

Here. Check this out.

https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?231792-Real-rabies&p=1894023

This may help with some of your fears.

Jadex9

19-08-20, 05:48

Thank you so much!!

Jadex9

19-08-20, 21:15

So I posted a few days ago about my rabies scare, this time I think this might be the one, I have since developed trouble eating, I mean a complete lack of appetite, constant panic attacks and anxiety, and now both my legs are weak, I can feel the weakness in them, it was sudden, also parathesia in my neck and upper shoulders, also runny stool.

No fever yet, but Im sure thats coming.

Also Im dizzy, I started taking Lexapro a few days ago, and thats not helping.

Im not sure when the exposure happened, it could have been anytime in the past two years, we have a small gap in our front door by the weather trim, I surmise a rabid bat could have crawled in through their, and bit me ( I usually sleep on my couch for some reason. )

It could have also happened last month when I was moving shrubs for my in laws, or a few years ago when I lived in the woods.

In short, I never felt the bat bite, or saw a bat bite, but Im sure it struck while I was sleeping and gave me this terrible disease sometime in the past month/years.

Im so terrified.

BlueIris

19-08-20, 21:19

Knock it off, please? Bats have mass, you can't be bitten by one without noticing it.

Jadex9

19-08-20, 21:37

Knock it off, please? Bats have mass, you can't be bitten by one without noticing it.

My rational part knows that Blu! But I keep thinking what if it bit me when we lived in the woods a few years ago and I was sleeping, or if I hardly felt it?

Or when I picked up the shrubbery I didnt notice one laying in wait.

Hell, it might not have even been a bat, my inlaws have outdoor cats, and sometimes I accidentally touch their food bowls/food when I sit on their swing, what if a raccoon salivated on the food and I touched it and touched my mucous membranes or an open sore?

I could have possibly been contaminated over the course of the twenty five years, since one person had a dormant case of rabies for 25 years!!!

BlueIris

19-08-20, 22:02

True, and tomorrow you might get hit by a car.

It's highly, highly unlikely, though. Are you getting professional help for your anxiety?

MRS STRESS ED

19-08-20, 22:33

Jadex9 stop this like blue said, you haven't been bitten you would have bite marks and it would be very painful, you need to get help with this its becoming an obsession which its not healthy to you, we totally understand your fear but its extreme anxiety xx

best wishes

Fishmanpa

19-08-20, 23:33

Agree with the others... this is beyond irrational at this point. There are no such things as Ninja Bats (.) PERIOD! End of subject. No what ifs, or buts....

FMP

Jadex9

20-08-20, 04:16

Guys, I just can't pretend it's all in my head, the constant fear, anxiety and parathesia!!!

deejayjewels

20-08-20, 07:36

Go for a walk. Seriously. Take a bottle of water with you. Walk slow, sip slow. Always helps me. I took Lexapro too, stopped for personal reasons, but give it time and it really will help. Panic can absolutely cause most of your symptoms, even altogether, and digestive systems often go out of whack when you start a new med, and can affect your appetite and give you the runs.

It's ok, man. Just breathe. I know you're freak out, but you're ok. I could literally have written your post word-for-word, and I ain't died of rabies yet.

MRS STRESS ED

20-08-20, 08:08

Midnight-mouse

20-08-20, 10:27

All of the things you’re experiencing are explained completely by the state of panic you’ve found yourself in and also starting a new med. They don’t work overnight and can actually cause an increase of anxiety at the start, they take weeks to work, often longer to find the correct dose, then longer to stabilise on that dose.

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Jadex9

20-08-20, 17:16

I feel for you Jadex9 l really do but you know the real problems you need to get help for it but until you admit this anxiety no one can help you , you don't even listen to what people are saying to you,

I am going to leave this thread alone as all l feel it's doing is feeding your obsession good luck xx

I understand, and I appreciate you trying to calm me down. I've made an appointment for this Monday to see my Doctor about the anxiety.

I feel like I'm all alone in this pit of dispair as melodramatic as that sounds like.

Lexapro is causing me alot of the side effects that in turn send my rabies phobia and anxiety into Supreme overdrive, my doctor had to call me last night and calm me down and tell me how I need to calm down for the sake of myself.

My body tingles, I sweat profusely at night, legs weak etc. He said all lexapro.

Nobody takes the idea of a bat biting me unbeknownst serious, he thinks it's catastrophizing I've even torn the house apart looking for the carcass of the rabid bat who bit me.

MRS STRESS ED

20-08-20, 17:25

I understand, and I appreciate you trying to calm me down. I've made an appointment for this Monday to see my Doctor about the anxiety.

I feel like I'm all alone in this pit of dispair as melodramatic as that sounds like.

Lexapro is causing me alot of the side effects that in turn send my rabies phobia and anxiety into Supreme overdrive, my doctor had to call me last night and calm me down and tell me how I need to calm down for the sake of myself.

My body tingles, I sweat profusely at night, legs weak etc. He said all lexapro.

Nobody takes the idea of a bat biting me unbeknownst serious, he thinks it's catastrophizing I've even torn the house apart looking for the carcass of the rabid bat who bit me.

I really wish you well xx

Midnight-mouse

20-08-20, 21:04

Nobody takes the idea of a bat biting me unbeknownst serious, he thinks it's catastrophizing I've even torn the house apart looking for the carcass of the rabid bat who bit me.

I think that your idea of a bat biting you without your knowledge is being taken perfectly seriously, that’s why you’ve been given the medication and the doctors are helping you and explaining what’s causing your feelings.

I would try to use as much logic with this as possible, and even think statistically; what’s more likely 1) the medication your on that is very much known to cause the symptoms your feeling, or 2) a bat that you didn’t see, didn’t feel, didn’t feel a bite from, didn’t see a bite from, that assuming someone else was around at the time also didn’t mention a bat biting you?

These types of thoughts, and the ‘what ifs’ and ‘yeah but..’ type reasoning is even more evidence of anxiety and obsessive thought patterns. This is why we need to challenge these types of scenarios, not to try to prove or disprove them but to feel comfortable with the unknown and move on. There will always be uncertainty and things that remain out of our control in life and we will have much better lives if we can move forwards.

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Jadex9

20-08-20, 22:13

I think that your idea of a bat biting you without your knowledge is being taken perfectly seriously, that’s why you’ve been given the medication and the doctors are helping you and explaining what’s causing your feelings.

I would try to use as much logic with this as possible, and even think statistically; what’s more likely 1) the medication your on that is very much known to cause the symptoms your feeling, or 2) a bat that you didn’t see, didn’t feel, didn’t feel a bite from, didn’t see a bite from, that assuming someone else was around at the time also didn’t mention a bat biting you?

These types of thoughts, and the ‘what ifs’ and ‘yeah but..’ type reasoning is even more evidence of anxiety and obsessive thought patterns. This is why we need to challenge these types of scenarios, not to try to prove or disprove them but to feel comfortable with the unknown and move on. There will always be uncertainty and things that remain out of our control in life and we will have much better lives if we can move forwards.

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The unknown part is my problem, I have little ones to worry about, to come this far and die to a terrible disease because some rabid creature might have bit me in my sleep two years ago just makes me spiral worse.

I fully understand what you're saying, I just can't " shake the feeling" that I've been exposed to rabid bat bite or saliva. It's driving me literally mad.

deejayjewels

21-08-20, 00:11

Bruh. Think of all the people that sleep outside for.one reason or another at night. All the drunkards that must brave the walk from their Uber to their door (or from the bar, even), all the backpackers and campers and people that live on farms and work late and all the gardens people tend and all the kids that play outside all day. Really consider the three hundred million people that live in the US. If it was that easy to get bitten by a bite while you were completely conscious, we'd have more than a couple cases of human rabies each year. Of the rabies cases we do have, many occur outside of our borders. Furthermore, while there are cases that occur in homes while people sleep, even if they didn't find a bite, they *always* knew of the bat. Saw it, caught it, let it out.

I really do know how you feel. I understand that the concept of a ninja bat doesn't seem all that far fetched. But, the statistics disagree with us.

Have you often had panics over simply your mortality? I often had attacks over it as a child. The most progress I ever made was to work on being comfortable with the idea of mortality. You're not their yet, but you may want to try it. Another bit of advice: not sure what you do for a living, but consider getting some part-time work at a vet, shelter, or animal control. They are required to get rabies vaccinations.

Jadex9

21-08-20, 15:35

Fishmanpa

21-08-20, 23:28

Hey everyone!

So I went today to my doctor, she decided to put me on Buspar to help along with the lexapro, and recommended I start therapy with a local psychiatrist to help deal with my health anxiety more.

I told her about my ongoing rabies fears, and how my arms/hand burn and tingle and she said thats all part of the anxiety, I told her I feel hopeless and she said thats part of the panic and anxiety too, apparently lexapro kills my appetite and sleep, she said she doesnt want to keep entertaining the rabies during our visits, will not entertain the idea of a PEP shot, and that my " bat hypothesis " is absurd, she said I would definitely know if a bat bit me, and that my mind keeps conjuring up scenarios that arent realistic.

I know how crazy this must all seem to you guys, thank you so much for your kindness.

First off. Great going by discussing your anxiety with your doctor and taking a step toward slaying the dragon! Glad to see she sees the same things we're seeing and helping you treat it :yesyes:

Now... concerning that fear?

There are no such things as Ninja Bats (.) PERIOD! End of subject. No what ifs, or buts....

A well deserved....

https://media1.giphy.com/media/Wf8lxu79Yv5za/giphy.webp?cid=ecf05e47erj585heiy71n31nt7kdix1qjmp vzxbfoek1pz0v&rid=giphy.webp

Good going and looking forward to hearing about your progress!

Positive thoughts

Jadex9

29-08-20, 23:42

So I've had this weird rabies fear now since last November, it went away, came back and went away. Now it's come back!

My hand is in pain, from wrist to fingers, and my headaches constantly.

I'm afraid a bat may have bitten me on my Inlaws porch swing two weeks ago, and now the rabies is returning.

I felt a weird sting/itch sensation on my upper back when sitting on their swing, I remember not thinking much of it but now I'm terrified it might have been a rabidbat that squeezed his head through the slats of wood and bit my back and flew off before I can see him.

Ive been out lexapro and Buspar and have been doing therapy.

I've also had terrible insomnia.

Can someone talk me down, my irrational brain is starting to take root.

venusbluejeans

30-08-20, 13:23

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Emmz