LYME AND TICK CO-INFECTIONS IMITATE OTHER DISEASES 

Lyme and its co-infections mimic other diseases which can make misdiagnosis common. Some common diagnoses are listed below but there are more. Patients may spend decades going from doctor to doctor spending hundreds of thousands of dollars before they  finally figure out they have Lyme. The internet is full of stories of patients reporting they were diagnosed with multiple diseases in the list below, receiving the standard treatment for the diseases, but not finding any real improvement.  Some also reported noticing a brief period of rapid improvement when taking a course of antibiotics for an infection which can be a sign that it is Lyme causing all the illness.  

​Of course, it is important to rule out other diseases but it is also important to know what Lyme imitates as well.  Most Lyme patients experience multiple symptoms over time and possibly symptoms mimicking some of the conditions listed below. An example would be a teen who never seems hungry, avoids food and loses weight, all while having migrating joint pain interspersed with periods of chronic fatigue. Later the teen may complain of vertigo and stomachaches. 
  • Attention Deficit Disorder
  • Arthritis - Rheumatoid or Juvenile
  • ALS (Lou Gerhig's disease)
  • Anorexia (as in not eating leading to extreme weight loss) or lack of appetite 
  • Alzheimer's Disease (actor and musician Kris Kristofferson recently discovered this)
  • ​Autism - The Connection between Lyme and Autism
  • Bell's Palsy (or facial or upper body tics)
  • Behavior changes such as extreme anger, oppositional behavior or Lyme "rage"
  • Candida (yeast infection)
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Cognitive deficits over time
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Heart conditions - a variety including heart block and POTS
  • ​Hepatitis
  • Hyperactivity
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome or generalized digestive complaints including sudden appearance of allergies
  • Lightheadedness, dizziness, vertigo
  • Lupus
  • Mononucleosis (Epstein Barr virus)
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
  • Other psychiatric conditions, many- including rapid onset bipolar, depression, anxiety
  • Parkinson's
  • POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) - this can be common with teens
  • Respiratory ailments, many including shortness of breath, rapid breathing, chest pains (common in teens with Lyme), "air hunger"
  • Stiff neck (but not meningitis)
  • Sudden allergies to various foods (our son had a sudden onset of a milk allergy that lasted about 4 months at one point)
  • Vertigo (dizziness, lightheadedness)