No Lyme disease evaluation as part of a post-COVID-19 assessment?

May 8, 2022

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Welcome to another Inside Lyme Podcast with your host Dr. Daniel Cameron. In this episode, Dr. Cameron will be discussing a paper which makes no mention of a Lyme disease evaluation as part of a post-COVID assessment.

By Dr. Daniel Cameron

The case was first described by Roth and colleagues in the journal Global Advances in Health and Medicine, in a paper entitled “Addressing the Long COVID Crisis: Integrative Health and Long COVID.”¹

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A 44-year-old man was evaluated for Long COVID seven months after a mild COVID-19 infection. “He had pre-existing type 2 diabetes, complained of daily headache, fatigue with excessive daytime sleepiness, and brain fog,” wrote the authors.

“Although he had seen numerous specialists, including a neurologist, ophthalmologist, and otolaryngologist prior to presentation, his symptoms persisted.”

“A 48-year-old female who presented to the clinic 9 months after mild COVID-19 infection with lingering symptoms of worsening migraine headache, non-exertional shortness of breath (SOB) without wheezing, episodic chest pain and palpitations, frequent panic attacks, and fatigue. She had a medical history of controlled mild intermittent asthma, hypertension, migraine, and a history of right carotid artery dissection 10 years ago,” wrote the authors.

A patient seen 7 months post-COVID presented with lingering symptoms of anosmia and dysgeusia, loss of appetite with 20 pounds unintentional weight loss, joint pain, brain fog, and extreme fatigue.

A broad range of illnesses might explain post-COVID manifestations in these three patients, including Lyme disease. There was no mention of a Lyme disease evaluation as part of their initial post-COVID-19 assessment. Lyme disease manifestations of Lyme disease include extreme fatigue, headaches, brain fog, panic attacks, sleep disturbances and joint pain.

These patients improved with various treatment regimens. “The team uses a combination of symptomatic management and self-care to help patients recover, combining conventional medicine with an individualized integrative health care plan based on the patient’s symptoms, life goals, medical needs, and lifestyles,” wrote the authors.

Unfortunately, all three patients described had lingering symptoms. There was no mention of a Lyme disease evaluation as part of their follow-up post-COVID-19 assessment.

The following questions are addressed in this Podcast episode:

What is post-COVID?
What are other names for post-COVID?
How often does post-COVID occur?
How many cases are there of post-COVID?
What are the similarities between post-COVID and Lyme disease?
What are the consequences if Lyme disease is not recognized?

Thanks for listening to another Inside Lyme Podcast. Please remember that the advice given is general and not intended as specific advice to any particular patient. If you require specific advice, please seek that advice from an experienced professional.

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This Inside Lyme case series will be discussed on my Facebook page and made available on podcast and YouTube. As always, it is your likes, comments, and shares that help spread the word about this series and our work. If you can, please leave a review on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts.

References:

Roth A, Chan PS, Jonas W. Addressing the Long COVID Crisis: Integrative Health and Long COVID. Glob Adv Health Med. 2021;10:21649561211056597. doi:10.1177/21649561211056597

Comments

4 responses to “No Lyme disease evaluation as part of a post-COVID-19 assessment?”

Catherine Johnson

05/09/2022

I asked the same question when hearing scientists and doctors ask why some people get more sick than others when infected with Covid. We know the growing prevalence of Lyme disease in our population. 400,000+ REPORTED cases per year. Just to clarify what many of us know, the reported numbers are grossly underestimated because there is no reliable testing or treatment for Lyme in mainstream medicine. I myself tested negative 3 times for Lyme before I did my own research and learned that Lyme can evade and hide when under attack by the immune system or antibiotics. I was on Doxycycline and thought it would take a positive Lyme test to get help…little did I know. I stopped taking doxycycline and after 30 days requested another Lyme test. It came back CDC positive. My doctor knew I had Lyme and even said after getting another prior negative test that “Blood tests suck!” When it finally came back positive he said “We were jumping up and down when these results came back” I knew they would because of the research that I did and because I was still very sick. But I wasn’t jumping up and down, I was upset that I knew more about Lyme and how it behaved than an internal M.D. I expected that I would finally get help because I “passed” the CDC criteria. That idea was a fantasy. I saw every specialist they sent me to, passing the buck, because they aren’t allowed and don’t have the education or protection from medical boards to treat what I now call “Long Lyme” As an example; When I needed knee surgery 2 years later, the orthopedic surgeon who deals with nothing but joints and bones, referred to Lyme disease as “Lymes”. Not a day of education if you don’t know the name of the town in Lyme Conneticut, where BB was first discovered by William Burgdorfer in children with arthritis. I contracted breakthrough Delta last July. I can’t differentiate some of the symtoms of Long Covid to possible reactivated Lyme. My opinion is cynical about this. It’s already obvious Lyme will not be considered in a Covid evaluation because if there is a correlation, the medical boards and insurance companies would have to admit that “Long Lyme” is real and they would have to stop calling the symptoms ‘something else’ cover, treat and possibly cure Lyme with inexpensive antibiotics and supplemental care. “there are no profits in a cure” I’m still paying debt from 2017 related to being shuffled from one specialist to the next, always believeing ‘surely this time….’ I’m wondering how long it will be before they start calling the continuing symptoms of Covid ‘something else’ as the damamge it causes over time looks like other diseases, conditions and syndromes. The only chance we have that it wont occur is that the worlds scientists are collaborating. I’m hopeful the powers that have been able to keep chronic Lyme ‘something else’ will not be able to hide the truth so easily with Long Covid.

Reply
1. Melissa
  
  05/09/2022
  
  Catherine Johnson – if you read this please know two things; 1) I can totally relate to your frustrations and am so sorry you have to deal with this. 2) I recommend setting up an appointment with Dr. Cameron who helped me beat Lyme in 2019 after years of being sick and other doctors failing to help me despite lots of positive Lyme tests.
  
  I credit Dr. Cameron with saving my life. I am finally testing negative for Lyme since 2020, thanks to Dr. Cameron who refused to give up on me.
  
  You’re not alone, and you CAN get better.
  
  Reply
  1. Catherine Johnson
    
    05/16/2022
    
    Thank you, Melissa. I have the same belief as you do about Dr. Cameron’s empathy and knowledge treating Lyme disease patients. I have exchanged a couple emails with him. He cannot give me medical advice but can talk about what some of his experiences have been with other patients with symptoms similar to my own. He is a a very kind person I deeply respect. I live in Minnesota and do not have the resources to travel to the east and because insurance companies won’t cover Lyme treatment beyond short term antibiotics, I would have to pay out of pocket. Sadly, if I had known I was never going to be helped during the ‘doctor shuffle’ for two years, maybe I could have saved the money and gotten an appointment with Dr. Cameron. I haven’t worked since getting Lyme. It’s taken the best and last years of my career, I’m 58 now. No one wants to hire a person who has been out of the workforce for years due to illness at my age. If I had the financial means left (my husband is the sole support for our family now at age 64) I would travel and see Dr. Cameron… tears streaming… knowing that finally it could be possible to get out of this body that imprisons me now. I’m so happy you found him and are feeling better. Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragment.
    
    Reply
Donna Falcone

05/09/2022

The more things change the more they stay the same. I ask that question whenever I hear of long COVID and people appear offended, as if it’s blasphemy to doubt the pro-LONG COVID narrative. The anti-chronic lyme narrative is stronger than the truth in most places. IMO: If the CDC was really interested in public health they would stop hiding the truth about Lyme.

Reply