What are the long term effects of Lyme disease?

Chronic symptoms of Lyme are a much longer list and may include vertigo, ringing in the ears, short-term memory loss, light and sound sensitivity, mood swings, anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, and serious cardiac problems.

How does Lyme disease affect the body long term?

Untreated Lyme disease can cause: Chronic joint inflammation (Lyme arthritis), particularly of the knee. Neurological symptoms, such as facial palsy and neuropathy. Cognitive defects, such as impaired memory.

Can Lyme cause permanent damage?

Can Lyme cause permanent damage? Without treatment, Lyme can cause permanent damage. But most people with late-stage Lyme disease can recover if they get treatment with antibiotics.

Is Lyme disease a lifelong condition?

If treated, Lyme disease does not last for years. However, for some people, the after-effects of the disease can linger for months and sometimes even years. Alternative medicine providers call this condition "Chronic Lyme disease," but this title is simply wrong.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease years later?

A Warning In The Last Stages Of Lyme Disease

What causes Lyme flare ups?

Triggers for Lyme disease vary by person, but they can include: emotional stress (such as a divorce, death in the family, or accidents) physical stress to the body (i.e., surgery, physical harm, concussion) life stress or stressful events.

Can Lyme disease flare up years later after treatment?

You're at a greater risk for post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome if you're infected by the bite of a diseased tick. If the infection progresses to the chronic stage, your symptoms might continue for weeks, months, or even years after the initial tick bite.

What are neurological symptoms of Lyme disease?

Neurological complications most often occur in the second stage of Lyme disease, with numbness, pain, weakness, Bell's palsy (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache.

What are the 3 stages of Lyme disease?

Is Lyme disease an autoimmune condition?

Lyme disease manifests as an autoimmune disorder, Sjögren's syndrome. Lyme disease symptoms can mimic many other illnesses and have been linked to several autoimmune diseases including Sjögren's syndrome [1], Dermatomyositis [2], and Guillain-Barre syndrome [3].

What does Lyme do to your brain?

“Brain fog” is a term people commonly use to describe it. In some cases, Lyme disease can cause encephalopathy. Its effects include memory loss, confusion, difficulty forming words and thoughts, difficulty focusing, and personality changes. These symptoms can be very subtle when they develop late in the disease.

Does Lyme disease lower life expectancy?

Take away message: In the long run, Lyme does not affect your life as much as other health conditions. It is important to live a healthy lifestyle regardless of whether you are struggling with Lyme disease or not.

Can Lyme disease come back years later?

When people who have been treated for Lyme disease recover but later come down with its symptoms again, is the illness a relapse or a new infection? The question has lingered for years. Now, a new study finds that repeat symptoms are from new infections, not from relapses.

Can you have Lyme disease flare ups?

Chronic Lyme Disease causes continuing, low-grade symptom flare-ups, and can occur when a patient has been infected for more than a year before seeking treatment or when steroids have been prescribed prior to the Lyme diagnosis.

Can you get Lyme disease twice?

Reinfection: You can get Lyme disease again if you are bitten by another infected tick, so protect yourself from tick bites. People treated with antibiotics for early Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely.

Can you have Lyme disease for 20 years?

In the early 1990s, it also became apparent that patients may develop pain, fatigue, or neurocognitive syndromes soon after contracting Lyme disease, with these conditions sometimes persisting for years [24–26].

What happens if you go untreated for Lyme disease?

What happens if Lyme disease is untreated? Left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to joints and organs, causing significant damage. Arthritis, heart disease, and nervous system problems are common complications of untreated Lyme disease.

What is Stage 4 Lyme disease?

Late persistent Lyme disease

If Lyme disease isn't promptly or effectively treated, damage to the joints, nerves, and brain may develop months or years after you become infected. It is the last and often the most serious stage of the disease.

Does Lyme disease show up on brain MRI?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The brain MRI of a young patient reveals MS-like lesions in this individual with a fully positive IgG Lyme Western blot, indicating immune reactivity against the agent of Lyme disease. Unlike SPECT and PET images which assess brain function, MRI captures the physical structure of the brain.

What does Lyme neuropathy feel like?

The symptoms may include: Pain that could be described as “sharp,” “burning,” or “throbbing” Pins-and-needles tingling sensations, most often felt in the hands and feet. Numbness or a reduced ability to feel sensation.

What does Lyme disease fatigue feel like?

Not just a mild case of the flu, but a full-on bout of intense fatigue coupled with aches, fever and chills. Imagine this feeling goes on for days, and then weeks, and then months, sometimes even years.

Can Lyme cause weight gain?

Stubborn weight gain is not unusual in that the bacteria damage the metabolism, thyroid, adrenals, and gut. It's disheartening, truly.

Can Lyme disease affect your muscles?

Musculoskeletal involvement, particularly arthritis, is a common feature of Lyme disease. Early in the illness, patients may experience migratory musculoskeletal pain in joints, bursae, tendons, muscle, or bone in one or a few locations at a time, frequently lasting only hours or days in a given location.

Can Lyme disease cause lower back pain?

Inflammation caused by the infection may play a role in the development of pain in the nerves, joints, and muscles. Though Lyme disease is most commonly associated with a circular rash on the skin after a tick bite, pain throughout the body — including back pain— is a common symptom, too.

Can I get Social Security disability for Lyme disease?

Lyme disease has a complex set of symptoms that can become disabling. If you have Lyme disease and your symptoms significantly limit your ability to work you may file a claim for Social Security Disability benefits.