Written by Zoe Lewis
WHEN Rowville mother-of-three Rhonda Murphy was bitten by a tick in 2004 while on holiday in Scotland, she had no idea it would leave her sick for the rest of her life.
Although she didn’t know it at the time, Mrs Murphy had contracted Lyme Disease and after arriving home developed meningitis, Bell’s Palsy and severe eczema - all symptoms of the condition.
>>TELL US: Have you ever had complications from insect or tick bites?
She said she was constantly sick, but doctors looked at the symptoms in isolation.
Over the next few years, she was put on antibiotics and told by doctors she had chronic fatigue syndrome and a similar condition called fibromyalgia.
“I felt like a hypochondriac,” Mrs Murphy said.
A gastroenterologist finally gave her a blood test that was positive to the disease, but despite treatment, her condition did not improve.
She was told about treatment clinics in Germany and the US, and with the help of a local doctor sent blood tests away and received medication to treat the disease.
Mrs Murphy, 56, said Australian doctors needed to be more aware of the disease and more willing to treat it.
She has spent more than $200,000 on treatment and said she was now “90 per cent in remission”, but still took medication and used holistic therapies to control symptoms.
The former teacher and curriculum co-ordinator said she would not be able to work again.
She said if someone was diagnosed within a month of being bitten, a course of antibiotics could cure Lyme Disease, but symptoms of the condition varied for each person, making diagnosis hard.
This month sees the launch of the inaugural Lyme Disease Appeal, to raise money for the Karl McManus Foundation for Lyme Disease Research and Awareness.
Mr McManus was diagnosed with the disease after being bitten by a tick in Sydney in July, 2007 and died last year.
The foundation is aiming to raise $1 million to fund a research centre at Sydney University.
Details: www.karlmcmanus foundation.org.au"
Quoted from website: http://knox-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/tell-us-rare-disease-from-tick-bite/
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