MILPITAS, Calif., October 13, 2022 — Over the years, Meghan Bradshaw had seen dozens of doctors at some of the most prominent medical institutions across the country. She was seeing everyone from gastrointestinal specialists, urologists, rheumatologists, and internal medicine doctors. But nobody could figure out her condition.
It got to a point where Bradshaw was completely debilitated. Her knees began filling up with fluid. Her doctor diagnosed her with rheumatoid arthritis, which is the closest thing he could think of to explain her “mystery” illness. She had to have her hips replaced at 26 years old.
But luck would begin to change for Bradshaw when a functional medicine doctor began asking questions about her upbringing. Upon discovering Bradshaw was from New Jersey, where blacklegged ticks are extremely common, her doctor thought she might have Lyme disease, and suggested she be tested.
Bradshaw chose to be tested at IGeneX, a private California-based lab that specializes in tick-borne diseases. “IGeneX has a great reputation in tick-borne infection testing, and is definitely a more accurate option for a patient to choose,” said Bradshaw. “My doctor helped me understand that [other] testing options are just highly inaccurate.”
Test results from IGeneX confirmed that Bradshaw had Lyme disease. “I learned that the missing piece of the puzzle was that it was tick-borne illnesses all along. This was a really overwhelming finding for me. It was a great sense of relief because I finally felt validated in everything that I had been experiencing.”
The Importance of Early Detection
Meghan Bradshaw has now had 16 of her joints reconstructed and eight joint replacements, all because of the late detection of Lyme disease. Her story has been widely reported in media such as Today, Daily Mail, and Insider, and is a clear example of the importance of early and accurate tick-borne disease diagnosis.
Tick-borne diseases are on the rise and prevention should be on everyone’s mind, particularly during the spring, summer, and early fall when ticks are most active. Most experts agree that the best patient outcomes are achieved when these diseases are diagnosed and treated as early as possible. “When a tick-borne illness is misdiagnosed, the disease-causing infection has more time to spread, which can lead to severe or chronic health issues,” says Dr. Jyotsna Shah, President of IGeneX. “That can lead to years of escalating costs for patients and their families due to ongoing doctor visits, diagnostic tests, medications, and other medical expenses.”
IGeneX surveyed 198 of its patients about their experience dealing with a tick-borne disease, and the results were stunning. According to the survey:
- 45% of patients needed more than three years to obtain the proper diagnosis
- 36% of patients spent more than $10,000 on tests, treatments, appointments, and other costs
- 65% of patients were forced to quit a job or cut back on their hours due to their symptoms24% of patients saw more than ten doctors before receiving a proper diagnosis
- 86% of patients suffer from long-term side effects from not having been diagnosed sooner
Researchers hope that the survey will help educate the public on the risks associated with delaying testing or relying on old testing techniques. “In our view, many patients are missed because much of the testing recommended by general practitioners is based on technology from 25 years ago,” says Dr. Shah. “Science has progressed, and we can now give patients a much more accurate diagnosis than was available years ago.”
For an infographic of key findings from the survey, please go here. For a video profile of Meghan Bradshaw conducted by IGeneX in May 2022, please go here. For more information on tick-borne diseases and how to get tested, please visit www.igenex.com or www.cdc.gov.
