Dear family and friends,

As many of you know I was bitten by a tick in summer 2016 and went on to suffer lyme disease. As a result of alternative treatments, one of which has been long term herbal treatment, I have managed to slowly recover. Others have not been so fortunate. I am running the 10k race in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival with a good friend to raise money so that other lyme disease sufferers in Scotland can receive free herbal treatment which might otherwise be prohibitive to them.

Thank you very much for any support you can give.

Alison

My story

Being bitten by a tick is sometimes described as an encounter with ‘nature’s dirty needle’. The tick passes on whatever infections it is currently carrying from having bitten other mammals and birds. Not only are lyme bacteria passed on, but also other infections carried in blood - bacterial, viral and protozoan.

Lyme disease can be successfully treated if diagnosed within a short time period following the tick bite and before bacteria have spread, however this can prove difficult. Not everyone gets a classic bullseye rash ( 50% will not and I was one of these); not everyone sees the tick; the illness can present in different ways depending on the individual and can therefore be difficult to diagnose; blood tests for the disease are notoriously unreliable. If treatment is delayed, lyme disease can go on to become a chronic condition which can severely reduce quality of life and leave individuals with debilitating symptoms (these can include constant pain, strange neurological sensations, numbness, chronic fatigue, dizziness, breathlessness, heart problems, inability to concentrate, depression). In some cases, sufferers can no longer work and become housebound.

I was unable to secure a positive test for lyme disease in the UK (finally securing a positive test in Germany). Despite this, I saw the tick and had been well before being bitten. Through personal research was able to determine that I was indeed suffering from ongoing lyme disease. I am not alone in this experience and there are many in the UK who cannot access treatment for ongoing lyme disease as they have no positive test result. This can have terrible consequences – a potentially debilitating illness and no access to ongoing treatment without a positive test result. Lyme disease is an invisible illness and sufferers can look quite well while feeling very unwell. Lack of belief in their condition and lack of reliable testing means many can feel isolated and abandoned while dealing with terrible symptoms. Many do not have the resources to seek private treatment. There is no helpline to support these sufferers nor a clear path to follow to become well.

Through the help of the internet and other sufferers online, I was able to find alternative treatments which have enabled me to recover. It has been a long and difficult path. I am so grateful to all who have helped me to reach my current state of wellness and to those who have supported me along the way. I hope and pray that I will never return to the terrible symptoms that I had. I am still having treatment but it is now less intense.

Part of my path to wellness has been herbal treatment with various combinations of anti-microbial herbs over the past 16 months. I am running to raise funds so that others in Scotland can access this treatment for free.

Many thanks,

Alison

I have included some links below about how to protect yourself against Lyme disease and also a discussion article which includes Matt Dawson ( former England rugby player) who spoke openly about his own experience of lyme disease in 2017.

https://lymediseaseuk.com/walkers/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/22/lyme-disease-matt-dawson-diagnose-doctors