She now goes about her daily life symptom-free and is focusing on ensuring her immune system functions properly.
Whilst on holiday, the young woman – who works as a physiotherapist and manual therapist – woke up in the middle of the night with a burning pain in her left ankle. It turned out she had been bitten by a tick. A few days after the bite, she felt a tingling sensation on her left side; she couldn’t decide whether it was caused by an infection from the bite or by sitting for long periods. She heard about DualDur from one of her patients, as she mentioned in our previous conversation. She also had this test carried out. We discussed what has happened since then.
Once the diagnosis was made and he’d received targeted treatment, his condition improved, as he’d mentioned earlier. What has happened since then?
The first course of antibiotics wasn’t enough; afterwards I still had migraine headaches, which I’d never had before, so I put it down to that. I went back for another DualDur blood test, then I consulted Dr Klára Esztó, who, after reviewing all my blood test results, prescribed another course of combined antibiotics. She said that the previous treatment had certainly been effective against one strain, and this one would hopefully work against another, as the pathogen has several subtypes. She also said that the pathogen typically cannot be completely eradicated from the body. A great many people are carriers, either showing no symptoms at all, or having symptoms but not knowing what is causing them. Just because it cannot be detected in the blood at the moment does not mean that the pathogen is not lurking in the tissues. So, if symptoms do appear, it is worth seeking treatment; in addition, the immune system needs to be kept in good shape, which is something I have always been mindful of and continue to be.
Have you had any further tests or examinations, and if so, what were the results?
My GP recommended a blood test to screen for comorbidities, so that we could have information about other pathogens that are prone to recurrence. I had this done through the state healthcare system, and apart from one virus, I had antibodies to everything else, and no recurrent presence of these pathogens was detected.
What advice would you give to others in a similar situation, particularly regarding Lyme disease and pregnancy, given that you mentioned in our previous conversation that you are planning to have children?
Dr Esztó also said that problems do tend to occur in untreated pregnancies, but in her experience, this is not typical where antibiotic treatment has already been given. I looked into this when we were trying for a baby, but for other reasons, having a baby is not on the agenda at the moment.
Does your diagnosis of Lyme disease and the treatment affect your daily life and future plans?
My Lyme diagnosis no longer affects my day-to-day life; I’ve let it go. I feel I’ve done everything I could. I didn’t want to take any more antibiotics because of their effects on the body, but as I have no symptoms, I didn’t go for another test after the second course of antibiotics. Instead, I’m focusing on ensuring my immune system is functioning properly, and I’m trying to restore the balance of my gut flora, which I think the two courses of treatment have, unfortunately, really disrupted.
Do you have any advice you’d like to share with others who find themselves in a similar situation?
My advice is to listen to your gut feeling and keep looking into the matter until you feel at ease. Unfortunately, you can get very differing opinions from experts, and it’s hard to work out which is the right path to take. This is, of course, the case with almost every health issue. So I think it’s worth finding someone you trust and following their advice.
(C) Lyme Borreliosis Foundation
