DANGERS OF LATE STAGE DIAGNOSIS

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Late Stage Can Cause Permanent Damage

Lyme disease is a multi-system infectious disease, meaning it can spread throughout various (any & all) systems in the body.  Much like late-stage Syphilis, another bacteria in the spirochete family, Lyme disease can result in irreparable damage or require a long recovery from symptoms after successful treatment.  Both spirochete bacteria can result in neurological infection.  In patients with neurological Lyme disease, damage & degeneration may manifest in the central, autonomic, or peripheral parts of the nervous system, as well as in any combination of the three.  Neurological Lyme disease may also result in cerebral vasculitis, an extremely dangerous complication.

Damage to the heart & other organs can also occur from Lyme disease.  These are very dangerous conditions that may be over-looked & misdiagnosed for any particular patient.

Tick-borne infectious diseases have also been linked to the development of other syndromes & autoimmune disorders, which may persist even after the Lyme disease infection has been cured.  These include CIDP, POTS, other forms of dysautonomia, & autoimmune encephalopathy.  Some patients may be diagnosed with these secondary diseases without ever having a diagnosis for the original infectious agent that caused them.  Alternatively, some patients may have been diagnosed with Lyme disease &/or co-infections, yet not have a diagnosis of the secondary &/or autoimmune disorder.  These secondary diseases may now be the foremost problem, especially if patients have failed to show clinical improvement after long-term treatment for infectious disease, & require a wholly different treatment approach.  In either case of partial diagnosis, patients can remain debilitated for years because not all of the primary & secondary diseases are being identified and treated simultaneously.