Julia O’Shannassy tells of her Lyme Borreliosis struggles
March 6th, 2014, Fernie, BC, Canada
Every spring, I am one of the many that flock to the South Country to bike as I await the annual snowpack melt. I have been warned of the ticks in the area often, but have never been too worried about them. I have a helmet on my head… and would know if I encountered a tick, right? Wrong.
Recently I had the opportunity of speaking with Julia O’Shannassy. The last time I had spoken with her, she was training for the intense BC Bike Race. I was sad to learn that since the following autumn, roughly October 2012, she has not been well.
Originally, she just felt extremely exhausted and presumed she was coming down with the flu, or that she was overworked. She realized she was not getting any better so went went to see her GP. They ordered blood work, and saw some abnormalities so began a series of additional tests.
I have had an undiagnosed Syphils infection for 20 years. I have had many blood tests here in BC and have never tested positive hence all of my text book clinical signs and symptoms have been dismissed as something else. Syphilis, like Lyme, is an infection by a Spirochette (Spiro keet.). Sadly I can relate to most of the symptoms suffered by “Lymeies” and the trauma of being dismissed by doctors.
Just wondering if theres anything that one can consume to repel ticks? Theres an herbal product out of Alberta that claims to repel mosquitos Mozi- q, i think.