She can still recall the day: Lyme Disease misdiagnosis

Diane Blanchard can still recall the day 20 years ago when a tick attached itself to the nape of her neck while she was gardening on Long Island, outside of New York City. She never had the characteristic bull’s-eye rash of Lyme Disease, and her diagnosed was delayed until the next year. Her doctor prescribed a three-week course of antibiotics.

But her symptoms persisted for ten years, until she learned she had a lingering form of the disease. Nine years of on and off treatment with antibiotics followed.

"None of us want to take antibiotics, but if it is the only remedy that is offered at this moment that gives us relief, that allows us to function, then we’re stuck," she said. "We wish we could find a cure. Until we do, we must remain open-minded."

Now she is the co-president of Time for Lyme, an advocacy group.

Advice: Spray your ankles with DEET bug spray before going into the woods, and check yourself afterwards.

Read another of our Lyme Disease stories, or read Stephen Smith’s source story in today’s Boston Globe.