Billie Shepherd, the former TOWIE star, has spoken out about her secret battle with Lyme disease, describing the experience as 'horrendous.' The 35-year-old, who appears in the new ITV reality show 'Sam And Billie: Sister Act' with her sister Samantha Faiers, revealed that the bacterial infection left her unable to get out of bed and in excruciating pain.
Billie first noticed symptoms in January, waking up with intense pain in her elbows and arms. 'I thought I must have slept funny. I tried to ignore it but as the days went on, the pain went all over my body to the point where I couldn't even get out of bed,' she said. Despite multiple visits to doctors and numerous blood tests, it took two months to diagnose Lyme disease, believed to have been caused by a tick bite possibly three years ago that lay dormant until her immune system weakened.
The condition caused reactive arthritis, extreme fatigue, and a painful rash. Antibiotics and steroids failed to help, and Billie says she got worse after the last course. She turned to a holistic doctor recommended by her sister and began natural medicines, which slowly led to improvement. 'I was hysterical, crying, because I was in so much pain,' she recalled, adding that she needed help from her husband Greg to even use the toilet.
Billie relied on Greg, her sister Sam, and her mother Suzanne for daily support. She also had to explain her illness to her three children, Nelly, 11, Arthur, eight, and Margot, two. 'I explained honestly why I wasn't very well,' she said. The family has also dealt with a separate health scare: Margot was rushed to hospital by ambulance after a seizure, a moment captured in the opening episode of 'Sister Act.'
