For anyone that's in the early stages of having it, or knows someone who does, some tips and some myths dispelled: It's not just the Lone Star tick; it's seemingly all of them (including European and Australian ticks). Depending on the severity, you can still eat what you want as long as you take an antihistamine after (ceterizine and loratadine 10mg both work for me). The severity is however exacerbated by both hops and cannabis (I'm shocked that the medical world hasn't come across this yet, but as a sufferer of 9 years, just trust me). So if your idea of a good afternoon is a medium-rare steak with a few IPAs and a spliff, you're shit out of luck, and in my experience, antihistamines won't cut it in that case. Onset of symptoms has ranged from +1 hour to +18 hours for me, with about +5-13 being a common window. The more processed the meat, the quicker the onset, and big chunks of fatty meat have a super slow onset. People who chew more thoroughly than me probably won't have the crazy late onset that I have. Lamb is the worst, then beef, then pork. The fattier the cut, the worse it is. Rarer meat is worse, but that also doesn't mean you can "cook out the alpha gal" either. Symptoms get better if you haven't been bitten by a tick in a while. So for me, symptoms are worst in late summer and least bad in late winter. After a few months of not getting bitten, I can survive for example bacon without remembering my antihistamines, but not a steak.

Happy to answer any questions.