Case study: Diagnosed after two-year illness

Katrina Anderson, a former nurse, suffered a mysterious long-term illness that doctors could not diagnose. She became convinced she was a hypochondriac.

But, as she was about to refer herself to a psychiatrist, tests revealed she had Lyme disease.

She said: "I was lethargic, with joint pain. I had headaches and high temperatures. I was off work for about nine months but all the tests were coming back without answers. I had this thing on my leg that looked like a cancerous growth but the doctor said it was just an insect bite.

"Eventually I asked to see a psychiatrist because my life had come to a halt but I was sent to an infectious diseases unit where they did more tests."

The 51-year-old was eventually diagnosed after two years of illness. She still suffers from a range of problems including muscular aches and tinnitus.

She believes she caught the infection from a tick on one of her dogs, and that it may have happened in her own back garden.

She added: "There is ignorance and a lack of awareness (about tick-borne disease]. I do find day-to-day things very difficult and I don't want anyone else to go down the same road. If I had been diagnosed earlier I would not be in the pain I am in today."