Hello, I know it's long but please read!

I am not trying to push anything upon any of you, but if someone had not informed me I would have never known that I did not have MS.

I am a 22 year old male formerly a resident of Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada. I was bitten by a tick in my right shoulder when I was ten years old. I did not have the classic target rash that doctors state you must have to have contracted Lyme disease. Obviously being young I was quite alarmed and pulled the tick out of my shoulder leaving the head to continue burrowing into my shoulder. I went to the doctor had the tick removed and the tick was sent to a lab to be tested for lyme disease. The test came back "negative".

Through my teens years I can now recall many problems now that I am aware of the effects of Lyme disease. I became very tired, often not being able to keep my head up or my eye lids open. My cognitive functions began to decrease. Quite often I was plagued with flu like symptoms as well as sleep issues and memory loss. When I was fifteen numbness and tingling began in my left foot progressing through my left leg up the left side of my back and into my left arm and hand lasting for 3-6 weeks I cannot remember accurately. Being quite concerned I went to see my family GP at the time and he told me just wait it out see what happens your probably fine...... I then requested an x-ray of my spine and everything came back normal. He told me I would be fine and just to wait it out, it will go away at some point. Being young I took his advice and yes after a few more weeks I was fine. Then it happened 4 more times from 15 years of age to 20 years of age. Every time I went to my GP and was told the same thing oh just see what happens it should go away... Each time it did after several weeks. Then in march 2006 at the age of 20 my vision in my left eye became severely distorted. I went to an optometrist which immediately rushed me to a retinal specialist. Who through a series of visits determined that I might have optic neuritis, something common in Multiple Sclerosis Patients. However the retinal specialist said it was not classic optic neuritis, it seemed quite different. The retinal specialist then sent me to an opthamologist who determined I was partially colour blind and there was nothing more he could tell me. By this point it was june of 2006 coming up on my 21st birthday and I was lost with no more doctors willing to help me and fearing that I may go blind. After about 6 emergency room visits I finally found a doctor who sent me to a neurologist which led me to an MRI. The MRI detected brain lesions. I went to my new GP at the time who sat me down at the age of nearly 21 and said, "The MRI has found Brain Lesions that suggest Multiple Sclerosis, this is a life altering diagnosis you need to plan around the fact that your body most likely will not function as it is now. Do not rely on being able to work and use the function of your legs properly for much longer". How could he even have the right to say such things...??? Or how could he even tell me I have Multiple Sclerosis off of an MRI result that says "Brain Lesions that may suggest Multiple Sclerosis". There are so many disease and other issues that can cause these Brain Lesions. Immediately I requested a Lyme disease test because of my past, this was actually my second Lyme Disease test "requested by me" in Canada and both came back negative. So on I went with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and began to see a doctor at one of the MS clinics, who reviewed my case and confirmed the diagnosis from my MRI result and no further testing. The MS Doctor said to me "Your brain lessions and your symptoms refelt Multiple Sclerosis and I believe your case is very cut and dry and does not need more testing". Multiple Sclerosis is NOT an easy disease to diagnose, nor should a diagnosis of MS being taken so lightly... In less than 4 months I went from possible optic neuritis to Multiple Sclerosis to being put on MS meds "Rebif Interferon Beta 1". Which has a whole list of scary side effects by the way. So I remained with my diagnosis for the next 15 months, taking my MS meds 3 times a week, doing self injections of the rebif at home. Rebif constantly left me feeling worse than better. I would get awful flu like symptoms, horrible joint aches and many other issues. The worst of all was waking up the next more after my shot and my spine felt like it was completely drained of fluid. It felt as if my spine was stapled together and when I would move it felt like everything was being ripped apart. Anyway I stuggled through the side effect and my condition was rapidly becoming worse. After about 8 months I was beginning to have trouble getting up stairs and my vision was so bad I could barely see the TV clear from 10 feet away. At about 15 months I had to use the hand rail to get up a flight a stairs and even that wasn't easy! "I have not listed the other 28 symptoms of my condition that I had been having because the story would go on forever"... Then one day my girlfriend saw something on the discouvery channel about this girl that was having the same issues I was, and the doctors were telling her the same thing and that she needed psychiatric help she was mentally unstable. She then on her own found out she had Lyme disease through some testing lab in Europe. I then began consumed on the computer researching which led me to a lab in California that would test for Lyme disease and they were acclaimed to be the most accurate testing in north america I believe. So I sent my blood down there and after three weeks I had a positive Lyme Disease Result. That was about the best Christmas present I think I have ever received! I know that's kind of odd to say but Lyme Disease is much better than MS!!! A week Prior to my Lyme positive result I was informed that my liver enzymes were quite high and I had to discontinue the MS medication. So with my positive Lyme result I saw a amazing doctor in Hope British Columbia who has led me on the path of recovery through antibiotics! My vision has drastically improved since being on the antibiotics and my legs feel like they used to 5 years ago!!! My other 28 symptoms have began to go away as well! I only hope I will continue to improve as I am and now I am trying to create awareness about this ever growing issue. I can only imagine how many people are going through what I have gone through and I bet many of them will never find out that they have lyme disease, not one of the many other disease commonly mis-diagnosed as Lyme Disease!

Sorry if I rambled and this may be long but please don't let people around you go improperly treated or mis diagnosed if you have even slightest idea that they may have had some exposer to ticks. Which could very well be something as simple as gardening or hiking.

Thanks for your time.