by Richard Wilson Are you familiar with the phrase a Doolally of Doctors? It’s a medical version of the Madness of Crowds, which is when a lot of people go collectively nuts. Like the dot.com stock bubble or a dangerous TikTok craze. OK, I just made it up, but it trips nicely off […] The post A “Doolally of Doctors” and the madness behind the misdiagnosis of Lyme disease appeared first on Lyme Disease UK ..read more

Bloody Patients and why they’re always wrong. The first time I didn’t have Lyme disease was back in 2016. I took a tick bite with a classic circular Lyme rash into my local doctor’s surgery and was told it wasn’t Lyme because it was the wrong sort of round. It […] The post Reflections on diagnosis: Richard Wilson appeared first on Lyme Disease UK ..read more

My first childhood memory is my mother pulling ticks off me in the bathroom. I can’t remember having a rash. Brain inflammation. A thick fog descended on my brain. I could not focus on anything being barely able to string a sentence together ….. searching for simple words. Feeling so embarrassed and stupid I simply withdrew from others. I never switched off just kept pushing combating 72 hours of insomnia for several years sleeping only on the 4th night. This cycle combined with neuropathy in my hands, arms and feet. My knees being so weak I could only crawl upstairs sliding down on my bottom ..read more

“Healthy people don’t get sick” That is a statement I heard many times in my life, so I chose to naively believe it. I grew up under the impression, like many others, that chronic illness happens to those who make poor life decisions such as smoking, drinking, and eating unhealthy food. Growing up playing a sport and living with parents who always made sure we ate healthy kept this as the one thing I was never afraid of. Imagine my own surprise when I was diagnosed with Lyme disease, Chronic Migraine Disorder, and PCOS all between middle school and college. Isabella Pignataro The story st ..read more

In March 2024, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease following an array of symptoms that spanned over 10 years, all of which were unexplained through various clinical tests and interventions that led back to nowhere. That was until early March ’24, the neurologist thought that given my propensity to always be outdoors, it’d be good to just check for Lyme disease. Sure enough, after an initial blood test, a second confirmation was completed, and Lyme was there! Living with Lyme: The Challenge of Unpredictability I have been bitten by ticks several times over the years, though it was one memorable o ..read more

  Lyme Disease: Running Riot I’ve got it, you may have it too. This is a good time to be a tick with Lyme to share. You and I may bemoan the weirdness of the weather, but ticks love it. As the world gets warmer and wetter, they’re partying. 10 years ago, in the wooded valley I call home, we had two distinct tick seasons – from mid-March to June, and a shorter burst in the autumn. Last year I picked up my first in early February and my dog had his last in November, and they continued without a break right through summer. Ticks are the original muggers. They lurk on the tips of grass frond ..read more

On 24th September this year, Aaron O’Connell will be taking part in the Llanelli Half Marathon to raise awareness and funds for Lyme Disease UK. Aaron’s younger sister has unfortunately suffered with Lyme disease for many years through her teenage years. I want to spread awareness is because I have a younger sister who has suffered (and continues to suffer) for the last 8 years being pretty much housebound as a result of having Lyme disease. She was diagnosed late into her infection as the symptoms of Lyme are masked by so many other conditions. She is starting now, in her early 20’s, to get ..read more

Who would have thought completing a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) application form could be so  emotive? Currently reeling from the depth of feeling I am stirring up I feel compelled to scribble down my ramblings in an attempt to find some clarity. Up until now I thought I was handling life okay, taking control of the horrible situation we have found ourselves in but plodding along with the extra challenges. Yet I appear to have opened a can of worms, my usual strong and resilient self has been truly shaken, revealing an unexpectedly crushed and bereft self beneath. Putting pen to p ..read more

In March 2018, I had just started the job of my dreams and was feeling on top of the world. I had been working in woodlands all over the country for around 6 months, and just landed a brilliant new role which I was ecstatic about, and then I suddenly became catastrophically ill, almost overnight. It started with pain and numbness in my left leg, which gradually travelled up my whole body and became excruciating chest pain. I developed tachycardia when I laid down and suffered from complete insomnia, and in the space of around 2 weeks, I became totally incapacitated. I began to lose my memory a ..read more

Prior to 2016 I was fit, healthy, very active and worked long hours in a career I loved. I did charity events including running the London Marathon and cycling from London to Paris.   In 2016, I had an amazing year away travelling – I climbed Machu Picchu, swam in the MeKong Delta, rode a motorbike the length of Laos and slept in the Cambodian jungle. I fell ill in India and got myself checked out at a clinic in Delhi. I was given some medication and returned home.   I was in an extremely exciting phase of my life – I had a new job, a new flat and was looking forward to a f ..read more