What is Lyme disease misdiagnosed as?

Chronic Lyme disease, for instance, has symptoms very similar to those of several other chronic illnesses, such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, fibromyalgia, and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. Multiple sclerosis and arthritis also have symptoms similar to Lyme disease.

What disease can mimic Lyme disease?

Why is Lyme disease so misdiagnosed?

The bacteria that causes Lyme disease is hard to detect with current lab tests, making misdiagnosis of the disease is common. Lab tests for Lyme disease can produce both false positive and false negative tests. False positive tests occur when the test incorrectly suggests a person has the disease.

What autoimmune mimics Lyme?

Studies have documented several cases of Lyme disease that appeared to trigger or mimic autoimmune diseases, including Sjogren's syndrome, dermatomyocitis (DM), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and spondyloarthritis (SpA).

How often is Lyme disease misdiagnosed as MS?

14% of chronic Lyme patients report being initially misdiagnosed with MS and roughly 2% are misdiagnosed with other neurologic diseases, like ALS, Parkinson's and Multiple systems atrophy. Now you might think no harm/no foul—so long as they eventually correctly diagnose and treat the Lyme disease.

Misdiagnosis for Lyme disease patient sets her back

Can Lyme look like MS on MRI?

Lyme disease symptoms may also have a relapsing-remitting course. In addition, Lyme disease occasionally produces other abnormalities that are similar to those seen in MS, including positive findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Can Lyme mimic MS?

Lyme disease can have delayed neurologic symptoms that mimic symptoms of MS. They include muscle weakness, blurry vision itching, burning, stabbing pain, or pins and needles, confusion, cognitive dysfunction, and exhaustion.

Can ANA be positive with Lyme disease?

Rheumatoid factor (RF), antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and the presence of other spirochetal infections have been reported to be the source of false positive serologic tests of Lyme disease.

Can Lyme disease be confused with rheumatoid arthritis?

Lyme disease can sometimes be confused with other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both Lyme disease and RA can become debilitating if not treated. When treated, Lyme arthritis symptoms usually go away. On the other hand, treatment for RA can slow the progression of the disease, but not cure it.

Can Lyme turn into lupus?

Moreover, long-term exposure of the host's immune system to spirochetes can contribute to the development of chronic autoimmune disease de novo. We report a 35-year-old woman with a combination of LD and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and in this case, LD was the most likely trigger for SLE.

Can Lyme disease be missed in a blood test?

No. The tests for Lyme disease detect antibodies made by the immune system to fight off the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi. Your immune system continues to make the antibodies for months or years after the infection is gone.

Why do some doctors dispute the diagnosis of Lyme disease?

Without laboratory findings, however, most doctors are uncomfortable with diagnosis and treatment of chronic Lyme disease. This may be because Lyme disease symptoms can be mistaken for those of other illnesses, such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and depression.

Can Lyme disease lie dormant?

Lyme disease can remain dormant for weeks, months or even years. When symptoms do eventually develop, they can be severe and patients often need aggressive treatment. Intravenous treatment is often required to treat late-stage infection. Late-stage treatment can last many months as seen in other infections as well.

How do you rule out Lyme disease?

A doctor will test your blood for antibodies that are trying to fight the bacteria in your blood. One of these tests is called the ELISA test, and you'll often have a second test called the Western blot test to confirm you have Lyme disease. To treat Lyme disease, you may need to take antibiotics for up to a month.

Can Lyme disease be misdiagnosed as polymyalgia rheumatica?

How to avoid misdiagnosis in older patients. The presentation of Lyme disease may resemble that of polymyalgia rheumatica. What's more, the latter may occur in patients who have positive serologic findings for the former.

Is Ehrlichia the same as Lyme disease?

Ehrlichiosis is part of a group of diseases that spread through tick bites. Other diseases that spread through tick bites include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and anaplasmosis. The bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis commonly infect white-tailed deer and sometimes other animals in the wild.

What has the same symptoms as Lyme disease?

Called the “great imitator,” Lyme disease can present a variety of symptoms that mimic a wide range of illnesses, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, depression, insomnia, and autoimmune disorders such as RA and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Does Lyme arthritis show up on xray?

There are no X-ray findings associated with Lyme disease. However, an X-ray may be helpful in the diagnosis of complications of chronic Lyme arthritis.

Can Lyme disease be mistaken for osteoarthritis?

It is not uncommon for patients presenting with arthritic pain in the knee to be misdiagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. However, one major difference between Lyme disease and arthritis is that Lyme arthritis often manifests in larger joints, and often only on one side of the body – in one knee, for example.

What is the most accurate test for Lyme disease?

A blood test does not only detect Lyme disease; it is the most accurate and preferred test for diagnosing the disease. If a patient with Lyme disease shows signs that the central nervous system has been affected by the disease, western blot testing on the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be performed.

Can Lyme trigger an autoimmune disease?

A growing number of studies indicate that Lyme disease may trigger an autoimmune response in some individuals or symptoms may mimic an autoimmune disease.

Can Lyme disease cause autoimmune problems?

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 are the neurological symptoms of Lyme disease?

What are the symptoms? Neurological complications most often occur in early disseminated Lyme disease, with numbness, pain, weakness, facial palsy/droop (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache.

Can a neurologist diagnose Lyme disease?

However, it's important to remember that seeing a specialist for symptoms related to Lyme disease without treating Lyme disease is costly and dangerous. In other words, a rheumatologist or neurologist will not be able to treat your Lyme if no diagnosis has been made.

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.