In 2010 my husband and I moved to Leitfie which is an area just south of the town of Alyth in Perthshire. In Summer of 2011 I had been walking around the fields near our cottage for the best part of the previous year when I noticed what seemed to be strange ring shaped marks on my legs. There were multiple bites and they looked like bull’s eyes. I recognised them immediately as potentially being Lyme Disease and promptly went to my G.P.
I had also not long been diagnosed with glandular fever after a bout of being really unwell. So, after my trip to see the GP, I was given 2 weeks of Doxycycline antibiotics and told this would cure me if it was Lyme. No blood test was performed at this stage. I returned 2 weeks later still feeling awful and was given an NHS test for Lyme which came back negative despite me still having the classic Erythema Migrans rash. Nothing else was done for me and I was told to get on with it basically.
My health continued to decline and after seeing numerous specialists and having shed loads of tests I was told I was suffering from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia probably due to an immune response from having Lyme and Glandular Fever so close together.
The impact this has had on my health has been devastating, I have gone from holding down 3 jobs to being wheelchair bound, I have multiple severe allergies and no real quality of life at all. My balance has been severely affected and I can no longer go out alone. I have dysautonomia and cannot regulate my blood pressure and heart rate and I constantly feel like I am going to pass out. I have many neurological symptoms from tremors to facial tics, constantly migrating symptoms, shocking nerve pain and neuropathy, and an awful intolerance of bright lights and loud noises. I also have interstitial cystitis which results in bad pelvic and bladder pain and urinary urgency.
Medication wise I exist on codeine and allergy pills as I can’t tolerate medication due to my allergies, I am also allergic to sulphites and alcohol since getting Lyme. I have been back to see my GP in the past few months because I am 100% certain I still have Lyme and he carried out another NHS test which was again negative. He has now refused to talk about it anymore and told me I am being neurotic and that I have M.E. and fibromyalgia and would just have to get used to it.
I am devastated by this and I really feel my life is over, I am so depressed at the loss of who I used to be, and I really hope that by sharing my story I can help get Lyme Disease better understood and treated. People who have this terrible disease are warriors – battling against your own body every day takes guts and definitely ain’t for the faint hearted. Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you all.
Love Kymmy