Need to know
(^2018) I SAGA.CO.UK/AUG-MAG (^69)
Health
It can be very scary if
you start to lose your grip
on things that you’ve
done all your life
“
Extra online
For more about Lyme disease,
visit saga.co.uk/aug-mag
was my nerves being attacked
by Lyme disease.
My cognitive function also
declined quite badly. I was
developing a computer
application for the Civil Service,
but things got so bad that I’d go
to work, turn on my computer,
and not know what to do next.
This type of problem is not
uncommon in people suffering
from Lyme disease. I know
people who’ve got into their car
and not known how to start it.
I also couldn’t communicate –
I wouldn’t be able to fi nish
a sentence and became word-
blind. It can be very scary if you
start to lose your grip on things
that you’ve done all your life.
By this stage, having been
referred to an infectious
diseases consultant, I knew Lyme
disease was the cause of these
problems. My GP was very
supportive and agreed to put me
through an unusually
aggressive antibiotic treatment,
which went on for months.
I fi nished my treatment in
2013 and gradually got quite
a lot better. But in 2016 I felt
unwell again. We had moved to
Devon, so I saw a different GP,
and told him I wondered if
I was having a relapse. He referred
me to a neurologist, who’s done
all sorts of tests and we are still
working through the results.
Once Lyme disease spreads,
you tend to get several things
In April, NICE
(National Institute for
Health and Care
Excellence) published
new advice covering
the diagnosis and
management of Lyme
disease to provide
doctors and
patients with better
information on
recognising and
treating the condition.
Find out more by going
to the ‘information
for the public’ section
on Lyme disease
at nice.org.uk.
going on, and from patient to
patient they may differ. However,
having a raft of new problems
should ring alarm bells. That
said, Lyme disease symptoms
can mimic those of many other
diseases. Unless you’ve been in
an area where the risk of a tick
bite is known, or you are aware
that a tick has bitten you, your
symptoms are as likely to be
caused by something else.
I’m much better than I was
- at one time I couldn’t function
at all – but I still have occasional
pain, plus energy and sleep
problems. I’m often awake at
least twice a night, and up
at 5am – and that’s with half
a sleeping tablet. Lyme disease
doesn’t just affect the person
who has it. My wife has suffered
almost as much as I have. It has
changed our lives completely.
Frequently asked questions
LYME DISEASE
What are the
symptoms?
Apart from the
EM bull’s-eye
type rash,
symptoms can include tiredness,
aches and pains, sweating, fever
and neck stiffness, plus strange
skin sensations, such as numbness
and the feeling that something is
moving under your skin.Where are ticks
commonly found?
High- to medium-risk areas
of the UK are East Anglia,
the South West (including
Wiltshire, the New Forest,
Exmoor), the South Downs,
West Sussex, Surrey, Norfolk,
the North Yorkshire moors and
the Scottish Highlands.How can I avoid a tick bite?
Before you go walking in areas
that might contain ticks, cover
your skin with long-sleeved tops
and trousers tucked in to your socks.
Use an insect repellent containing
DEET (diethyltoluamide) on
exposed skin. Keep to paths- avoid tall grass if you can. Wear
light-coloured clothes, so you can
see and remove ticks more easily.
Carry a tick remover to use as
soon as you sense you’ve been
bitten. Pictured above left:
the O’Tom Tick Twister, £5.50
(lymediseaseaction.org.uk).
What is the treatment?
GPs should prescribe antibiotics.
If the fi rst course fails to resolve it,
then a second course of different
antibiotics should be considered.
If this doesn’t help, the patient
should be referred to a specialist.The introduction of a new NICE guideline
Be prepared
If walking in
tick-infested
areas, carry
a removal tool