Lyme Science Blog

Physician Reluctance in Lyme Treatment: Risks for Patients Dr. Sarah reviewed the file carefully. Her patient exhibited all the classic symptoms of Lyme disease and had been exposed to ticks. But the test was negative. She knew from experience that early Lyme tests miss up to 50% of cases, yet she hesitated to make the […]

Lyme or Long COVID? Making Sense of Persistent Symptoms Three years after beating Lyme disease, Jennifer tested positive for COVID-19. Months later, the same crushing fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain that she experienced with Lyme had returned. Was it Long COVID — or Lyme again? Doctors disagreed, and meanwhile she felt worse by the

Stopping Lyme Disease Treatment Too Soon Can Backfire After 37 years treating Lyme disease, I’ve seen patients naturally wonder when they begin to feel better: Do I really need to keep taking these medications? In Lyme disease, this question comes up often. After weeks or months of therapy, fatigue, joint pain, or brain fog may

Risk Factors for Chronic Lyme Disease While many people treated for Lyme disease recover completely, a significant number develop chronic Lyme disease with persistent symptoms that continue long after standard antibiotics. These patients often report having ongoing fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, neurological changes, and emotional strain that disrupts their lives. Understanding the risk factors for

Low-Dose Naltrexone for Lyme: What We Know (and Don’t) Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has gained growing attention as a potential supportive therapy for people with chronic Lyme disease and persistent symptoms that may not fully resolve with antibiotics. Originally developed as a treatment for opioid and alcohol dependence, naltrexone in much smaller doses appears to have

Lyme Disease Pain After 37 years treating Lyme disease, I’ve seen pain patterns that looked like medical mysteries. Maria came to my office with a pain map that looked exactly that way. “It was in my knee last month, then my shoulder, now it’s in my ribs,” she explained. “Every doctor thinks I’m making it

Why “Occam’s Razor” Fails in Chronic Lyme Disease In medicine, Occam’s razor teaches that the simplest explanation is often the right one. But for chronic Lyme, this idea is sometimes used against patients. Ongoing symptoms are too quickly explained away with theories that don’t fit the real experience. The simplest answer—that the infection may not

Do Ticks Survive the Winter in the Northeast? The Winter Myth That Puts People at Risk Many assume freezing temperatures wipe out ticks. As a Lyme disease specialist, I can tell you this isn’t the case. Ticks survive winter in the Northeast by sheltering under leaves, soil, and snow, allowing them to reemerge as soon

Lyme Antibiotic Resistance: What to Know Why Lyme Antibiotic Resistance Matters Lyme antibiotic resistance is an emerging concern in patient care. While resistance is often discussed in the context of hospital-acquired infections or global health, it also affects those with tick-borne diseases. Patients with Lyme sometimes require multiple antibiotic courses, especially if the infection is