Sandra Lyme Disease Treatment
Donation protected
A tiny tick can pack a mighty punch.
Up until 3 years ago I had never heard the words 'Lyme Disease'. I have no memory of a tick bite and I didn't experience a bullseye rash, the calling card of Lyme Disease.
Sitting in front of yet another doctor after months and months of hospital tests, blood tests, and a myriad of symptoms I was diagnosed with eight tick diseases and two tick viruses. I was diagnosed in March 2016 from positive blood samples my GP and Practice Nurse had sent to an accredited specialist lab in Germany. An Infectious Disease Consultant in Dublin informed me that only between a quarter and a half of those diagnosed with tick diseases get the bulls eye rash or recall a tick bite.
The diseases I was diagnosed with include Lyme Borrelosis, Late Stage Neurological Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Epstein Barr Virsus and Powassan Virus.
With Lyme disease and other tick diseases, people can suffer from over a hundred different symptoms leading to a lot of people being misdiagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons, Alzheimer's disease to name but a few diseases mistaken for Lyme Disease. Some of my symptoms include severe headaches / migraines, stiff painful neck, seizures, jaw pain and stiffness, swollen lymph nodes, heart palpitations, chest pain (Lyme carditis), inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, muscle weakness and numbness, muscle wastage, facial palsy ( loss of muscle tone), cranial nerve disturbance, vertigo, mitral valve prolapse, recurrent fevers, burning sensations, brain fog, memory loss, noise light and chemical sensitivity, fainting spells, blackouts, temperature dysregulation.
My infectious disease consultant informed me that like many others in this country and worldwide, because of lack of awareness, education, training and testing in Ireland and other countries for tick diseases, that the bacteria from the diseases had already infiltrated my central nervous system.
So many people ask me what country abroad I picked up these illnesses but the answer is at home like so many other Irish people.
Lyme is a disease in Ireland that doctors seem to be in denial about and yet it is one of the fastest growing vector-borne diseases in the western world. It is currently spreading faster than AIDS or even Measles.
This worrying lack of awareness in Ireland means it is an illness that is under-reported and sadly often left untreated.
Some of the treatments I have endured and continue to do so include long-term antibiotic therapy, herbal therapy, biomagnetic therapy, infrared therapy, acupuncture therapy, amatsu therapy and ozone therapy. These long-term treatments are helping somewhat physically but they have yet to put the Lyme or the co-infections into remission. My medical treatment plan is to continue these treatments for the next two years and in the event of not being in remission or in the event of these infectious diseases progressing to a further life-threatening state then my final option is to travel to the US or Germany for Stem Cell Transplantation. Stem Cell Transplantation is offering an 80 percent success rate to Lyme sufferers but unfortunately, this option is available to few Lyme patients due to how expensive and costly this private treatment is.
Unfortunately because this disease is not a registered disease in Ireland none of the treatments, medications, or physio are covered by either health insurance or medical card.
The disease is slowly garnering greater attention; thanks in part to the number of celebrities such as Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Osbourne, Avril Lavigne, George W. Bush, Richard Gere, Ashley Oslen, Kris Kristofferson talking publicly about their battle with this 'invisible' deadly disease.
While there is an Irish support group for Lyme disease sufferers in Ireland called Tick Talk there is no support group locally here in County Mayo and this experience has inspired me to hopefully form our own local support group with the numerous Mayo sufferers where Lyme people and their families can help each other with their varying symptoms and treatments and fingers crossed success stories of remission.
Link for Tick Talk Support Group;
http://www.ticktalkireland.org/
"Under our skin" - The Untold Story of Lyme Disease 2008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvDfMwiQGHo&t=674s
Our Battle On-going: Lyme Disease in Australia - Full Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5uFkZnY7hI&t=3264s
"Be strong enough to stand alone,
Smart enough to know when to ask for help,
And brave enough to ask for it."
Thank you immensely for your support.
Up until 3 years ago I had never heard the words 'Lyme Disease'. I have no memory of a tick bite and I didn't experience a bullseye rash, the calling card of Lyme Disease.
Sitting in front of yet another doctor after months and months of hospital tests, blood tests, and a myriad of symptoms I was diagnosed with eight tick diseases and two tick viruses. I was diagnosed in March 2016 from positive blood samples my GP and Practice Nurse had sent to an accredited specialist lab in Germany. An Infectious Disease Consultant in Dublin informed me that only between a quarter and a half of those diagnosed with tick diseases get the bulls eye rash or recall a tick bite.
The diseases I was diagnosed with include Lyme Borrelosis, Late Stage Neurological Lyme, Bartonella, Babesia, Mycoplasma, Epstein Barr Virsus and Powassan Virus.
With Lyme disease and other tick diseases, people can suffer from over a hundred different symptoms leading to a lot of people being misdiagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons, Alzheimer's disease to name but a few diseases mistaken for Lyme Disease. Some of my symptoms include severe headaches / migraines, stiff painful neck, seizures, jaw pain and stiffness, swollen lymph nodes, heart palpitations, chest pain (Lyme carditis), inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, muscle weakness and numbness, muscle wastage, facial palsy ( loss of muscle tone), cranial nerve disturbance, vertigo, mitral valve prolapse, recurrent fevers, burning sensations, brain fog, memory loss, noise light and chemical sensitivity, fainting spells, blackouts, temperature dysregulation.
My infectious disease consultant informed me that like many others in this country and worldwide, because of lack of awareness, education, training and testing in Ireland and other countries for tick diseases, that the bacteria from the diseases had already infiltrated my central nervous system.
So many people ask me what country abroad I picked up these illnesses but the answer is at home like so many other Irish people.
Lyme is a disease in Ireland that doctors seem to be in denial about and yet it is one of the fastest growing vector-borne diseases in the western world. It is currently spreading faster than AIDS or even Measles.
This worrying lack of awareness in Ireland means it is an illness that is under-reported and sadly often left untreated.
Some of the treatments I have endured and continue to do so include long-term antibiotic therapy, herbal therapy, biomagnetic therapy, infrared therapy, acupuncture therapy, amatsu therapy and ozone therapy. These long-term treatments are helping somewhat physically but they have yet to put the Lyme or the co-infections into remission. My medical treatment plan is to continue these treatments for the next two years and in the event of not being in remission or in the event of these infectious diseases progressing to a further life-threatening state then my final option is to travel to the US or Germany for Stem Cell Transplantation. Stem Cell Transplantation is offering an 80 percent success rate to Lyme sufferers but unfortunately, this option is available to few Lyme patients due to how expensive and costly this private treatment is.
Unfortunately because this disease is not a registered disease in Ireland none of the treatments, medications, or physio are covered by either health insurance or medical card.
The disease is slowly garnering greater attention; thanks in part to the number of celebrities such as Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Osbourne, Avril Lavigne, George W. Bush, Richard Gere, Ashley Oslen, Kris Kristofferson talking publicly about their battle with this 'invisible' deadly disease.
While there is an Irish support group for Lyme disease sufferers in Ireland called Tick Talk there is no support group locally here in County Mayo and this experience has inspired me to hopefully form our own local support group with the numerous Mayo sufferers where Lyme people and their families can help each other with their varying symptoms and treatments and fingers crossed success stories of remission.
Link for Tick Talk Support Group;
http://www.ticktalkireland.org/
"Under our skin" - The Untold Story of Lyme Disease 2008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvDfMwiQGHo&t=674s
Our Battle On-going: Lyme Disease in Australia - Full Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5uFkZnY7hI&t=3264s
"Be strong enough to stand alone,
Smart enough to know when to ask for help,
And brave enough to ask for it."
Thank you immensely for your support.
Organizer
Sandra Murphy
Organizer
