Tick ​​bite: Yannick is sent to a psychiatric hospital because he didn’t remove the tick quickly

Yannick D. (anonymous, name known to the editors) is not doing well to this day. However, he has at least been able to work again for a few weeks. The administrative employee in the third year of training was still in top form a year ago. “I had a perfect, fulfilling life,” recalls the 20-year-old in an interview with FOCUS Online.

He trained four times a week for the national soccer league, also in the gym, worked a 40-hour week and had many friends with whom he partied at the weekend. Then his life was turned upside down. Lyme disease made him sicker than ever before and he almost lost his trust in medicine and doctors, as he says.

Lyme disease affects more than 200,000 people in Germany every year

Lyme disease, by far the most common tick-borne disease, is diagnosed more than 200,000 times a year in Germany, experts estimate. The triggering bacteria – the Borrelia – can damage nerves, organs and joints. Diagnosis is often difficult and treatment is lengthy, with antibiotic treatment lasting longer than three weeks being controversial.

Vaccination is not available. There is only a vaccination against TBE, i.e. against tick-borne encephalitis, the other viral disease transmitted by ticks.

Two weeks after the tick bite, the ordeal began

Yannick’s horror trip because of Lyme disease began in early August 2020. While showering, he noticed that he had a small lump in the middle of his head. In front of the mirror he recognized a tick as a small black dot. He thought nothing of it, scratched something, it bled, after two days the swelling had subsided and the whole thing was forgotten.

But two weeks later he suddenly became seriously ill. “It was madness. I had various symptoms that completely paralyzed me, I felt sicker than ever before,” he recalls of the outbreak of Lyme disease.

The Lyme disease manifested itself with massive symptoms

So he, who used to eat a doner kebab between meals, suddenly couldn’t eat anything anymore. He could barely eat three more bites before he had to lie down because he was nauseous – like a severe concussion. “But the worst thing was the dizzy spells out of nowhere,” reports the 20-year-old. He was about to stand in the shower and he suddenly felt like he was on an airplane in severe turbulence.

Yannick describes other symptoms as follows:

• severe chest pain
• total exhaustion – “although I was in top shape beforehand, I couldn’t even walk 100 meters without having to lie down afterwards,” says Yannick
• massive night sweats, “I was dripping wet every night”
• temporary paralysis of the arms and fingers
• muscle spasms all over the body
• Fever

Only an antibody test for Lyme disease brought clarity

At first Yannick tried to handle it himself, but it was too bad. So he went to the family doctor, a substitute. This was the beginning of a true medical odyssey for the young man. At first, stress at vocational school was assumed to be the cause and Yannick was given zinc tablets. When his family doctor returned, he tried again. The doctor had a blood test done, but it was unremarkable. Stress was mentioned again.

“Finally, it was already the end of September, after I had researched the Internet, I asked for a Lyme disease antibody test,” says Yannick. Two weeks later he received the call to come to the practice. The test was positive for the various antibodies. “That was a stroke of luck for me, because the proof is usually not so clear,” explains the 20-year-old. The clear test result is more of an exception because false negative and false positive results are more common. Overall, Lyme disease is difficult to detect only through blood tests.

With the antibiotics, Yannick got better, then worse

The doctor prescribed him the antibiotic doxycycline for two weeks. Yannick took the pills. The drug worked well for the first few days, after which the condition deteriorated again. The doctors thought it was an allergic reaction and replaced the antibiotic with another.

“But I rather suspected that it was a Herxheimer reaction,” says the young man in retrospect. This is an immunological reaction. Triggers are toxins released by the bacteria as they decay when attacked by the antibiotics. The body can react to these toxins with severe symptoms. Why does Yannick assume it wasn’t an allergy to the drug? “I’ve been taking doxycycline again for a while and tolerate it well, so I’m not allergic.”

Family doctor finally instructs Yannick in psychiatry

However, the replacement antibiotics did not work as well, and the symptoms actually got worse. The family doctor said that after two weeks of antibiotic therapy, the Lyme disease should have healed and that Yannick’s symptoms were now psychological. He therefore suggested treatment in psychiatry for panic disorders.

The patient agreed to the admission because he was getting worse and worse and he simply wanted to leave no stone unturned that might help him. He had nothing left to lose. “By the way, I’m not the only one who ended up in a psychiatric ward with Lyme disease, through my contacts I got to know a few people who had a similar experience,” he reports.

Antidepressants and psychotherapy do not help

At the beginning of November he spent two weeks in the psychiatric ward, tried to take advantage of all the offers there, took antidepressants and took part in the talks – for which, however, he became too weak over time. He could barely walk. He realized, “I’m wrong here and so I released myself again”.

The doctors’ odyssey continued. In total, he collected 26 different diagnoses, from psychological problems such as panic disorder to cervical spine or chronic migraines, although he had no headaches at all. A big support was and is his girlfriend, who Yannick met the day before Lyme disease broke out and who still stands by his side and supports him to this day.

Help from specialists in infectious diseases and Lyme disease

He did not give up and continued to seek help. “It was only when I called the Borreliosis Association that I got the confirmation that I was not the only one and that many people felt the same way as me, that was a little bit of my salvation,” he says today. He began considering private practice as well. On the Internet he came across a medical community that specializes in infectious diseases such as Lyme disease.

After a detailed anamnesis, the blood was examined again there for Borrelia and co-infections. Because ticks can also transmit other pathogens with their bite. In addition, viruses and bacteria, which are already present in small numbers in the body before the tick bites, can gain the upper hand if the immune system is then weakened by Borrelia.

Therapy from conventional medicine plus naturopathy

“These investigations revealed that, in addition to Borrelia, there was also an infection with various other typical pathogens, such as Babesia, Bartonella, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and mycoplasma.” Based on these results, Yannick was proposed a new treatment plan. It consists partly of three different antibiotics and partly of many dietary supplements for the immune system. This includes vitamins such as B12, C, D, as well as selenium and zinc, but also algae and herbs such as wild garlic, nettle and others that are supposed to support the liver and kidneys in detoxification.

Recently back to work

With the treatment, Yannick’s condition has improved significantly. “I can even cycle 45 kilometers again and I’m finally able to work again,” he says happily, even if he doesn’t think about football yet. He is well aware that his therapy does not correspond to the treatment of Lyme disease according to the guidelines applicable in Germany, but he adheres to the opinion “whoever heals is right”.

Three wishes – more freedom of therapy, more research and more health insurance benefits

Based on his experiences and in view of the many affected and fellow sufferers, Yannick finally formulated three wishes for medicine in Germany:

“1. Every doctor should be able to decide for himself how he treats without having to fear reprisals from his associations and unions.

2. More research for Lyme disease. There are some new findings in the US that could improve therapy. For example, a study shows that Borrelia can form spores in the body that are difficult for antibiotics to reach, for example with the usual duration of treatment.

3. Doctors shouldn’t argue about Lyme disease therapy. You should accept that colleagues follow paths other than your own. In the USA, the legislature in some states has even banned this public dispute. Health insurance companies there cover the costs for treatments like the ones I receive – that would also be desirable in Germany. The most important data and studies have been available to the scientific service of the German Bundestag since 2017.”

Yannick’s advice to all those affected is to question everything, read studies and seek advice from self-help groups. He explains: “Trust your gut feeling and doctors who really want to help you. For example, ask yourself if you would buy a used car from this person.”

Transparency notice: This article first appeared in July 2021.