Woman who visited doctors 1,000 times over 20 years is finally told what's wrong with her - and it's incurable



A woman had to visit doctors more than 1,000 times over 20 years before they finally diagnosed her illness.



Christine Wicks, 65, first visited her doctor with persistent sore throats and ear pain in 1988.



As the pain worsened and spread around her body, dozens of GPs and specialists blamed her problems on everything from tonsillitis and strokes to multiple sclerosis and heavy smoking - even though she has never smoked.



Long-suffering: Christine Wicks, 65, pictured with husband Fred, has been diagnosed with a rare, debilitating infection ... after 20 years of pain

After two decades of being misdiagnosed experts finally identified the rare bacterial infection actinomycosis.

If the condition had been caught early it could have been cured completely using antibiotics but it has now caused so much scarring that Mrs Wicks will never be fully cured.



The grandmother of five has to undergo three hours of drug treatment every day just to contain the symptoms.

Actinomycosis is caused by certain bacteria entering body tissues, leading to abscesses, fever and muscle pain. If untreated it can spread to the heart and brain and lead to meningitis.



Long time waiting: Christine and Fred 25 years ago, before she developed the disease, and now she has finally been diagnosed



Mrs Wicks said: 'It was over-whelming never knowing what was wrong. Eventually, I went into a shell and didn't want to see any more doctors.

'I felt they thought I was making it up and at one stage I thought I needed psychiatric help.

'I had at least 1,000 visits to the doctor, although my consultant said it could have been 3,000 and I still wouldn't have been diagnosed because everyone was looking in the wrong place.

'The doctors just didn't know what to do with me.'

It was only when Mrs Wicks and her husband Fred, 69, a retired engineer, moved from Essex to Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, in 2000 that she found sympathetic doctor John Jacklin.

She said: 'I went to Dr Jacklin and he had the patience to listen and find out what was really wrong. At last there was someone who believed me.'

Dr Jacklin and staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, finally diagnosed actinomycosis after testing a sample Mrs Wicks provided.

She said: 'It is such a relief to finally understand what has been happening to my body for the past 20 years. I know I'll never be cured but at least I can fight this.

'I have a wonderful husband and magnificent friends, and most importantly the support of doctors, which is all I ever wanted.'

Her husband Fred has now been trained to administer her drugs three times a day through an intravenous tube in her chest, which must stay in until next February when doctors will judge how effective the treatment has been.



Gruelling treatment: Fred has been specially trained to administer her drugs three times every day through a catheter into her chest

Mrs Wicks now gives talks at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to raise awareness of her rare condition. Despite the constant pain, she is not bitter about being let down by the medical profession.

She said: 'I'm not angry. There's no point being angry. My therapy is talking to people and making them aware of this illness.'

Her consultant Dr Syed Tariq said other doctors may have missed the actinomycosis because the bacteria die if they come into contact with oxygen. He said Mrs Wicks is only the second case he has treated in 29 years as a doctor.

The NHS estimates one in every 300,000 people suffers from actinomycosis. The infection often starts in the mouth or throat and will only spread if the bacteria has chance to penetrate the body's tissues.

It can be caused by gum disease, dental surgery, or, as doctors think in Mrs Wicks's case, a small particle of food or fish bone getting lodged in the throat.

On June 2 this year, actinomycosis sufferer Owen Reilly, 44, from Lanarkshire, Scotland, had part of his left lung removed after doctors wrongly diagnosed him with lung cancer.