Julie-Ann’s Story

"I am a 33-year-old Lyme warrior living in the beautiful state of Maine. In 2017, I was diagnosed with Lyme, Borrelia miyamotoi, Babesia, Bartonella, C. pneumoniae, POTS, MCAS, and mold illness. Prior to this, I’d struggled with my health for over 15 years and saw countless doctors who dismissed my illness as “just anxiety”, depression, fibromyalgia, and chronic migraines. It took a full year of a very rapid health decline to finally get answers, and even then it was only because I advocated for myself and requested the proper testing. Looking back, I now remember pulling a tick off myself prior to my decline. The functional medicine doctor I was seeing insisted all my symptoms were due to candida overgrowth and blamed my MS-type symptoms on anxiety.

Unfortunately, my story is all too common among chronic illness warriors, especially women.

I share my story to help raise awareness about late stage Lyme. I did not know how devastating a disease tick-borne illness was until I received my diagnosis and learned that treatment would be far more complicated than two weeks of Doxy. Years later, I am still treating and fighting to regain my health. It is my hope that by sharing my story, I can raise awareness for early detection and prevent others from having to go through what I have with late stage chronic Lyme.”

Stories reflect the experiences and perspectives of the individuals featured and are not intended as medical advice.

Shelley’s Story