In early 2025, I was diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease and its co-infections bartonella and babesia after living with it for 7 years. May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and off the back of Endometriosis Awareness Month in March, I share this post in hope that as awareness spreads, so will research, treatments, and faster investigation from medical professionals so that sufferers do not continue to lose their livelihood to these insidious diseases.

*Disclaimer; I am not a medical professional, just someone who has had to become their own advocate and now advocates for others

Endometriosis and Lyme disease

are two of the most misunderstood and under-diagnosed illnesses of our time. And the consequences of leaving both untreated are devastating, life altering, and in some cases life-threatening. The longer they are left to develop, the more resistant to treatment they become, and create larger systemic complications.

Caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium and transmitted via tick bites, Lyme is often accompanied by coinfections such as Bartonella and Babesia, which complicate diagnosis and dramatically worsen symptoms. Antibiotics can CURE it if detected in time. But chronic Lyme is where it gets complicated and controversial. Despite the growing number of chronic cases globally, many patients—especially in countries like Australia & the Uk—remain neglected, misdiagnosed, or told their symptoms are psychosomatic.

God has a twisted sense of humour—but ultimately knows what corners to press us into in order for us to evolve. Adversity is a privilege. But first, it hurts.

A Brief Detour; My Story to Diagnosis

After wrestling with chronic pain for over a decade, I was diagnosed and treated with endometriosis and chronic fatigue in 2023—a diagnosis I fought for after years of medical gaslighting, questioning my own sanity and pain tolerance, and enduring severe physical and mental deterioration. The grief of discovering endometriosis is a complex chronic disease with no known cause or cure came with its own set of psychological repercussions. I refused to believe it, and did everything within the realms of traditional and alternative medicine to be one of the women to find their own cure, including surgery, hormonal treatment, fortnightly pudendal nerve blocking injections, naturopathy, acupuncture, cbd oil, eating the ‘perfect’ anti-inflammatory diet, daily exercise, yoga, meditation, sauna, red light therapy, coffee enemas, cutting edge supplements, ancient herbal elixirs, Chinese medicine, liver flushes, psychotherapy, Buddhism, exorcism, prayer, mind-over-matter stuff. I even fasted for 60 days (water then juice) in an attempt to starve the disease, reduce inflammation, and increase organic stem cell production and immune function.

I invested all my faith (and savings) into each treatment. While I experienced periodic lifts in symptoms, they returned with vengeance. It became apparent there was more to the problem. That’s when my fasting coach suspected Lyme, His assumption was correct. With some research I also discovered that conditions like endometriosis are near impossible to get under control when combined with the systematic inflammation, immune dysfunction, and cell mutations caused by Lyme, which is true for many comorbidities and highlights the importance of early detection.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 Peter 5:8

Physical and Psychological Toll

When Lyme disease becomes chronic or is left untreated, its effects can be debilitating. Physically, patients suffer from:

Acute joint and muscle pain
Migrating neurological symptoms
Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, heart palpitations, POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)
Vision problems and internal vibrations
Headaches, migraines, brain fog, difficulty concentrating
Hormonal and digestive disruption
Nausea, appetite loss, and food intolerances

Coinfections amplify the suffering:

Bartonella is associated with rage, panic attacks, paranoia, neuropathy, and cognitive dysfunction.
Babesia, a malaria-like parasite, causes air hunger, night sweats, chills, chest pain, and profound exhaustion.

Psychologically, these infections are profoundly mind altering. Brain inflammation, known as neuroborreliosis, can lead to:

Acute anxiety, crying spells and depression
Dissociation, memory loss, and personality changes
Panic attacks, suicidal ideation, and phsychosis
Misdiagnosis as bipolar, BPD, or schizophrenia

Medical Neglect and the Research Gap

In Australia, most doctors learn that Lyme disease is not endemic—despite growing evidence of tick-borne illness in the region, or at least in Australians as travel abroad becomes more accessible. Testing is outdated and inaccurate, and many physicians are unfamiliar with chronic presentations or coinfections. Patients are routinely dismissed, misdiagnosed, or offered psychiatric care without proper investigation.

Globally, there’s a lack of research funding due to political controversy and outdated testing protocols. Most public health systems fail to acknowledge persistent infection, despite thousands of anecdotal reports and emerging studies showing biofilm formation, immune evasion, and stealth behavior of Borrelia.

Advanced Treatments in Germany & Mexico

In the absence of sufficient care at home, many patients turn to integrative clinics abroad. While diligent research is advised to determine the quality of any prospective clinic, countries like Germany and Mexico have become hubs for innovative and intensive treatments which often involve a combination of:

Ozone Therapy (including 10-pass and EBOO): kills pathogens and improves mitochondrial function
Hyperthermia: full-body heating to 41.6°C to eliminate pathogens inaccessible by antibiotics
IV infusions: including glutathione, phosphatidylcholine, methalyne blue, vitamin C, silver, and antimicrobial herbs
Peptide and immune therapy: to rebalance the immune system and reduce autoimmunity, including IVIG

Stem cell therapy (mesenchymal): for regeneration and immune modulation
IV antibiotics + antifungals, tailored to each patient using PCR and dark field microscopy
Exosome therapy: for neurological recovery
Rife, frequency, and bioresonance therapies: target stealth pathogens without harming the microbiome
Plasmapheresis and Photopheresis: for blood cleansing

These centres treat Lyme disease as a systemic, persistent, and multifactorial illness—which is the reality for many.

**Disclaimer; there are possible risks and side-effects associated with all treatments; alternative and traditional. Extensive research is required before committing to any protocol or clinic.

My Treatment

I was treated at Lyme Mexico directly after being diagnosed. In cases of chronic Lyme, like mine, which went undiagnosed for 7 years, a course of oral antibiotics (the standard treatment option in Australia) is not enough and often make the pathogens smarter, and more resistant.

I spent two months undergoing intensive treatment at the clinic for up to ten hours per day, six days a week. While it was the most challenging, it was the most positive clinical experience I have had to date. The Dr’s and nurses were all experts in Lyme and its confections, committed, efficient, attentive and always willing to share their knowledge with compassion and sensitivity to every symptom and concern I shared. The treatments on offer are some of the most advanced, on par with the best-known Lyme clinics in the world, with an additional focus on detox to clear out the dying spirochetes and reduce the herxheimer response.

Every body and journey with Lyme is different. I will not publicly recommend any clinic or offer medical advice. I will share that Dr Morales, the founder of Lyme Mexico is globally reputable in cases of chronic Lyme, and while I am still three months into home treatment and recovery has been rocky, I feel closer to remission each day, and am moved to tears with the gratitude I feel to have been treated in such an outstanding environment, where I met patients who are some of the wisest, most hopeful humans I now know. As Ren, who has also battled Lyme, recently articulated;

“Humans are pretty fucking amazing - and weirdly - this condition which seems to strip and steal so much from people has a good way of exposing what’s underneath - and exposes what I choose to believe are some core components of the nature of humanity - goodness, empathy and resilience. Maybe some of the things it's stripping and stealing were never really that valuable anyway.”

Conclusion

Chronic Lyme and its coinfections are not rare, psychological, or imaginary. They are real, multi-systemic illnesses with profound physical, cognitive, and emotional consequences. Until the medical mainstream catches up, patients must advocate fiercely—and sometimes travel far—for the care they deserve.

Until then, cultivate faith, and have grace for a body that is fighting.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” That is why I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” —2 Corinthians 12

Lyme in Australia: The Disease That ‘Doesn’t Exist’—Until You Have It