LYME DISEASE: THE GREAT IMITATOR

The symptomology of Lyme disease is varied and diverse, resulting in significant difficulty in diagnosis. Known as “the great imitator,” Lyme disease can mimic the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, MS, ALS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as well as more than some 350 other diseases. When patients do present with a number of infections and co-infections, including other tick-Born infections, it is this complicated presentation that we call Lyme Disease Complex.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO LYMES CLASSIC BULLS EYE RASH ? An initial bite from a tick can cause a rash that will appear in three months to a year. While the characteristic “bull’s eye” rash (erythema migrans) is associated with Lyme disease, the rash only appears in an estimated 50% of infected individuals, or it may appear in a different form. If this rash does appear, it will generally wane over a two to a four-week period. 70 percent of all patients who do present with Lyme disease complex never recall such a rash.

A REVIEW OF LYME DISEASE COMPLEX SYMPTOMS In the first month to six weeks following a bite from an infected tick, the initial symptoms that appear may include flu-like symptoms such as malaise, chills, fever, sore throat, achiness, and swollen lymph nodes. After these symptoms pass, infected persons will generally develop muscle and joint pain, which can be severe, temporary, and manifest in different areas. Shooting, burning, and prickling sensations, as well as numbness, may also be experienced. Neurological problems, such as facial paralysis may also occur, in addition to encephalitis and cognitive dysfunction, such as short-term memory loss. Panic, anxiety, or depression can also be caused by the infection.

IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER Importantly, Lyme disease does not follow the same course in all individuals. It is also worthy to note from our experienced LLMD (Lyme Literate Doctors) that clinically the patient may have multi-autoimmune disease diagnosis in addition to memory problems, word, name and other memory recall issues along with neurological and digestive symptoms as well.

  Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America and Europe, and one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom.