NEWS: Lyme disease "a living hell" for Montreal physician
Once unable to find medical care for her own battle with Lyme, this doctor now helps others with the disease.
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From the Montreal Gazette:
Lyme disease a ‘living hell’ for Westmount MD
Physician visited seven doctors but no one could help
MONTREAL – In late July 2002, Westmount resident Maureen McShane was doing some weeding at her cottage in St. Donat.
“I reached behind my knee to wipe some sweat off of my leg when I felt something behind the knee. I pinched off a tiny object, about the size of a poppy seed, and it fell out of my fingers into the dirt.”
Thinking nothing of it, she continued working in the flower bed.
“That day in the garden, was to become the start of my descent into … a living hell,” the 56-year-old physician said.
“About two weeks later, I awoke with a horrible pain in all my joints. I had neck stiffness, and my muscles hurt. Six weeks later, I had facial and eye twitching and a number of other odd symptoms. It only got worse from there and I soon had chills, sweats and brain fog. I couldn’t think clearly and lost my memory moments after I said something. I couldn’t sleep.”
McShane started consulting doctors in Montreal. “I visited infectious disease specialists, neurologists, rheumatologists, and primary care specialists and visited the emergency room of the Jewish General.”
She was evaluated by seven doctors, but no one could help her.
Read more here.
I have lived in Mansfield, Ont since 1990 with a family physician in North York.
That difference in location proved to be unfortunate.
In the summer of 1994, I developed the hellish symptoms described by Maureen and sought treatment through my family physician.
Many tests were performed and treatment began with anti-inflamatories and included sedatives to relieve anxiety.
Although lyme disease was considered as a possible cause of my symptoms, I was never treated with antibiotics. After a year of investigation I was told by the specialist at North York General that there was nothing that they could do for me. I was on my own. I hope no other person in Canada has to go through this.
Thank you Maureen for raising awareness of this terrible, debilitating disease.
Since that final visit in 1995, I have not consulted a doctor with respect to those symptoms and have never been treated. To this day occasional night sweats, foggy days and phantom pains remain a part of my life but never to the approach the those hellish days 15 years ago.
By the way, I was refused disability insurance coverage subsequent to the year of investigation without findings.
Was weeding my garden last september.Became very sick the following day-my hand was swollen and the pain was intense. My dr diagnosed bacterial infection and started me on antibiotics for a week. By the weekend i was in a lot of pain-went to emerge in trenton-lots of bloodtests-ekg-urine tests-all negative-went to nova scotia to visit my daughter-was not better-saw her dr.-more bloodtests and exrays-all negative-came home in March-still in a lot of pain-called the health unit-was told to get tested for lyme-which I did-but my dr said that lyme eas not in canada-I researched and found that out of 60 symptons i had 41.My blood test was also negative.I was told several times to start taking vitamin B.aS FAR AS THE HEALTH UNIT-MY DR.-THE HOSPITAL-and my optomitrist there is nothing wrong with me. I forget a lot of stuff-still have a lot of pain-when I walk it feels like i.m going to fall over. This may sound silly but this is what it feels like- like something is running through my body and stops to bite every few minutes. What di I do now?
Bernadine lloyd
Bitten in July 2007. Misdiagnosed at emergency after finding the tick on me.I'm finally on antibiotics since May 2010 after seeing Dr.Ben Boucher in Port Hawkesbury NS. I'm slowly recovering from Lyme and Bartonella. I live in Nasonworth,an area just south of Fredericton N.B.