Chronic Lyme Disease

Dave Clarke, MD

“A long list of symptoms has been attributed to persistent infection by the organism that causes acute Lyme disease. Some of these symptoms are:

  • Fatigue

  • Muscle and joint pain

  • Cognitive difficulties (brain fog)

  • Headaches

  • Sleep disturbances

However, the medical community largely does not recognize chronic Lyme disease as a legitimate diagnosis because:

  • Evidence for persistent infection is lacking

  • There is no benefit from prolonged antibiotic treatment

  • There is an association with other brain-generated neuroplastic symptoms

  • A study showed excellent response to treatment with pain/illness recovery psychology. 

Therefore, it is likely that the brain plays a role in generating or contributing to the symptoms.”

  • Why would the brain do this? Nearly always, one or more types of stress is involved even if this is not fully recognized at first.

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  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    Experiences that would make you sad or angry if they happened to a child for whom you care.

  • Stressful Personality Traits

    Such as focusing too much on the needs of others, excessive self-criticism, perfectionism, lack of assertiveness, and many others.

  • Unrecognized Negative Emotions

    Such as anger, fear, shame, grief, or guilt.

  • Triggers

    Including people, situations, or events that remind you of stressful situations.

  • Current Life Stresses

    Such as work, parenting, pressure from loved ones, or major life changes.

  • Mental Health Challenges

    Such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that all these sources of stress can be successfully diagnosed and treated.

To explore whether this applies to you, take the self-diagnostic quiz below. It consists of 12 simple 'Yes or No' questions. The more 'Yes' answers you provide, the more likely it is that the resources on this website can help.