Young woman’s battle with Lyme Disease

A young woman from Newport who has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease says she has suffered so much she would not wish the illness on anyone and has urged people to be aware of the risks of contracting the disease.

Katie Quigley says her life was turned upside down two and a half years ago when she was bitten by a tiny insect, a tick, which resulted in she contracting the extremely debilitating disease.

At first doctors didn't seem to know what was wrong with Katie as she says Lyme Disease is known as “the great mimicker” and can be misdiagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers “along with hundreds of more illnesses”.

“Along the way I have been misdiagnosed with tennis elbow, cubital tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic pain syndrome,” she reveals of her extremely frustrating journey to finally getting a proper diagnosis.

“Lyme Disease attacks all parts of the body and leaves no stone unturned. Left untreated it can lead you down an extremely scary path,” says Katie who currently lives in Galway.

Of her own experience of the disease she said: “I am only 27-years-old but I feel like I am 90-years-old.”

Katie has experienced a whole host of symptoms that include chronic pain all over her my body, migraines, vertigo, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating, speech issues, buckling legs, fever, sore throat and night sweats.

“I had all these symptoms, and no doctor could put two and two together and tell me what was happening to my body. I do feel like the medical community let me down,” she said, asserting that expertise on the disease in Ireland is extremely limited.

She added: “If you do a bit of research it won’t take you long to discover Ireland is failing to detect Lyme Disease; the percentage of false negatives is far too high. I had three blood tests in Ireland to test for Lyme and they all came back negative.”

Katie is finally under the treatment of a specialist in the disease who diagnosed her with the illness and she is now on a course of treatment for the condition. “I have a very long road ahead of me, but I finally feel like I am on the right track.”

But she asks: “Why is there so little awareness of Lyme Disease in Ireland? Why do doctors fail to diagnosis it?”

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month and Katie is hoping that it will give the potentially crippling condition a higher profile and educate people about the risks and dangers of contracting the disease. “I would not wish this illness on anyone so please educate yourself about Lyme Disease,” she urges everyone.