Lyme Disease: The Great Imitator
Lyme disease is known as “The Great Imitator.” It manifests differently in each person who is infected. Some get sick right away, others it takes months or years. Symptoms vary widely and may range from mild to severe and change over time or even day to day. The longer you have Lyme disease the more symptoms may develop over time.
The Lyme bacteria, Borrelia, will disperse throughout the system and may infect any organ. It often leads to autoimmune diseases. Often patients will develop psychiatric conditions as well as physical symptoms.
Because of the widely varying symptoms the diagnoses of Lyme disease is often delayed or patients remain undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Please also read the article, “Lyme disease linked to other Conditions.”
(Maybe misdiagnosed is an improper term and we should be saying Lyme disease or one of it’s co infections can lead to or cause these conditions. In most of these cases these illnesses do not have a cause, so we could phrase it as, “Lyme induced MS,” or “Lyme induced Parkinson’s. Bartonella induced rage, Babesia induced fever.” Just a thought. Lyme bacteria might not be the cause of every case of these conditions but if there is a history of Lyme disease or a co infection, or a tick or other bug bite it should be greatly considered.
Many Lyme experts believe that Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed or can lead to the following conditions.
- ADHA (Hyperactivity Disorder
- Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome
- Alzheimer’s/Dementia
- ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)
- Autism
- Crohn’s disease
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Colitis
- Encephalitis
- Fibromyalgia
- Gastroesophageal Reflux disease
- Interstitial Cystis
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Juvenile Arthritis
- Lupus
- Ménières Syndrome
- Morgellon’s
- MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
- Osteoarthritis
- Pandas
- Parkinsons
- Prostatitis
- Psychiatric disorders (bipolar, depression, OCD, schitozophrnia etc.)
- Raynaud’s Syndrome
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Sleep disorders
- Thyroid disease
Note:
Maybe misdiagnosed is an improper term and we should be saying Lyme disease can lead to or cause these above conditions. In most of these cases these illnesses do not have a cause, so we could phrase it as, “Lyme induced MS,” or “Lyme induced Parkinson’s.” Just a thought. Lyme bacteria might not be the cause of every case of these conditions but if there is a history of Lyme or a tick or other bug bite it should be greatly considered.
Sources:
- Common Misdiagnoses CanLyme.com
- Misdiagnosis of Lyme Disease Web Md
- LYMEPOLICYWONK: Misdiagnosis of Lyme disease as MS –MyLymeData Quick Bytes
- MISDIAGNOSING LYME DISEASE THE GREAT IMITATOR by Dr Cameron
- Lyme Disease Is Spreading Nationwide: Misdiagnosis Is More Common Than You Think
- MS and Lyme Disease National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- Lyme related to MS, Fibro, Parkinsons, Lupus, CFS, ALS, Autism and other conditions
- The Surprising Link between Lyme disease and Fibromyalgia
View Results from the Lyme Misdiagnosis Poll Here
