Interview for Eva Magazine

For Eva Magazine I was recently interviewed about living with chronic Lyme disease. Herewith the article.

Charlie (37) has accepted that he is only at 70 per cent of his ability - he is enjoying life to the full again, albeit within limits.

"From my teenage years, I had several tick bites, but I never saw a red circle. From 2006, I felt tired more often and had the flu. During that time, I also contracted a tropical virus in Southeast Asia, which I did not recover from - my symptoms were dismissed as 'residual symptoms'. But every year I deteriorated, until my pain became unbearable. I had muscle and joint pain, nerve pain and migraines.

I finished my studies, but stopped playing football, running and my part-time job. The GP referred me to the internist; there it came out that I had chronic fatigue syndrome, along with ME. With some, psychological therapy helps, others grow over it themselves, they said. But it has to come from somewhere, right?

I felt it was not right. In 2013, my blood was tested in several laboratories, including in Germany. This showed that I had Borrelia bacteria, with co-infections - and it had been in my system for years. The doctors here accepted that I had Lyme disease, but apart from antibiotics, they couldn't do anything for me.

For me, the antibiotic treatments did not work. Then I started looking in the alternative corner. From orthomolecular to energetic therapies, acupuncture and infusions. Each time it seemed to work for a while, but I still ended up sick in bed. In between, I developed several other ailments, such as appendicitis and testicular cancer, so things got mixed up.

As for Lyme, I flipped the switch in 2017: I am sick, accepting that I am only at 70 per cent of my ability. I stopped treatments and medication. I still have pain and fatigue symptoms, but I have it under control. I should not overstep my limits too much.

Accepting that you won't get better feels like grieving. This has been a process of several years. I had to say goodbye to what I felt was my identity, my dreams for the future - I had wanted to start a family. I was out of the rotation for a few years, a time when my friends were buying houses and having jobs. But having gone so deep has made me appreciate life more. I now celebrate life with people I love, I work full-time and am busy in a good way. Mentally, I am no longer concerned with being sick. But Dutch winters are tough: now I'm figuring out if I can live part-time in Spain. I hope that that last piece of the puzzle will fall into place, and I can continue to live carefree."