Difference Between MS and Lyme Disease

MS is a chronic, generally progressive, lifelong condition that can range mild to severe, whereas Lyme disease can be treated and usually cured.

1. Can Lyme disease be mistaken for MS?
2. Is it Lyme disease or MS?
3. Does Lyme disease cause brain lesions?
4. Does Lyme disease show up on brain MRI?
5. What was your first MS symptom?
6. What are the 3 stages of Lyme disease?
7. What are neurological symptoms of Lyme disease?
8. What does a Lyme disease flare up feel like?
9. What diseases are similar to multiple sclerosis?
10. What disease has the same symptoms as Lyme disease?
11. Can you have Lyme disease for 20 years?
12. Does Lyme show up in blood work?

Can Lyme disease be mistaken for MS?

Lyme disease can cause delayed neurologic symptoms similar to those seen in multiple sclerosis (MS) such as weakness, blurred vision caused by optic neuritis, dysesthesias (sensations of itching, burning, stabbing pain, or “pins and needles”), confusion and cognitive dysfunction, and fatigue.

Is it Lyme disease or MS?

Differences. The biggest one is that MS has no cure, while most people with Lyme disease can recover fully within weeks with antibiotics. In some people, some symptoms of Lyme disease can linger for months or longer after antibiotics, a condition called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.

Does Lyme disease cause brain lesions?

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.

Does Lyme disease show up on brain MRI?

MR imaging findings of the brain in Lyme disease are rare, even in patients with known Lyme disease who have neurologic manifestations.

What was your first MS symptom?

While some people experience fatigue and numbness, severe cases of MS can cause paralysis, vision loss, and diminished brain function. Common early signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) include: vision problems. tingling and numbness.

What are the 3 stages of Lyme disease?

Although Lyme disease is commonly divided into three stages — early localized, early disseminated, and late disseminated — symptoms can overlap. Some people will also present in a later stage of disease without having symptoms of earlier disease.

What are neurological symptoms of Lyme disease?

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.

What does a Lyme disease flare up feel like?

a red, expanding bull's-eye rash at the site of the tick bite. fatigue, chills, and general feeling of illness. itching. headache.

What diseases are similar to multiple sclerosis?

These include fibromyalgia and vitamin B12 deficiency, muscular dystrophy (MD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), migraine, hypo-thyroidism, hypertension, Beçhets, Arnold-Chiari deformity, and mitochondrial disorders, although your neurologist can usually rule them out quite easily.

What disease has the same symptoms as Lyme disease?

Symptoms of B miyamotoi infection are similar to those seen in Lyme disease: fever, chills, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, and fatigue. One key difference: patients with B miyamotoi disease rarely develop a rash.

Can you have Lyme disease for 20 years?

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.

Does Lyme show up in blood work?

A blood test for antibodies to the bacteria is the preferred test for the diagnosis of Lyme disease. However, if a person has central nervous system symptoms, such as meningitis, then IgM, IgG, and western blot testing may sometimes be performed on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).