Lyme Disease Treatment Questions and Answers

When Lyme disease is caught early, it is most often cured within two to four weeks of treatment! However, if Lyme disease is left untreated, it can lead to several harmful conditions and effects, such as arthritis, chronic joint inflammation, cognitive difficulty, facial palsy, impaired memory, and neuralgia. Moreover, while Lyme disease is always curable, some patients experience post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) even after successful treatment. With PTLDS, patients may experience symptoms of confusion, fogginess, or difficulty thinking, fatigue, and pain for six months or more. However, the symptoms of PTLDS do gradually subside and lessen over time but cannot be treated in the same way as Lyme disease. Unfortunately, there is currently no proven treatment for PTDLS.

The three stages of Lyme disease are as follows:

1. Early localized: This first stage can last between one to four weeks and is characterized by an expanding, circular red rash that resembles a bullseye. You may experience flu-like symptoms during this stage, such as fatigue, headache, stiff neck, fever and chills, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. However, some individuals with Lyme disease do not experience any symptoms during this first stage. When treated in the early stage, Lyme disease rarely progresses to the second or third stage.
2. Early disseminated: In the second stage, which occurs a month after the initial infection and can last for up to four months, the infection begins to spread and affect the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system. The initial rash will have expanded, with the potential of more rashes appearing on the body. Other symptoms you may experience include pain, numbness or weakness, inability to use facial muscles, headaches or fainting, poor memory and concentration, pink eye, joint pain, and occasional heart palpitations. Unfortunately for some, symptoms do not begin to appear until the second stage of Lyme disease.
3. Late disseminated: When Lyme disease is not caught early enough, it can progress into the third and final stage and begin to cause damage to the brain, joints, and nerves months or years after the infection. Symptoms in this stage may include arthritis, numbness and tingling in the hands or back, extreme fatigue, inability to control facial muscles, problems with memory, mood, or speech, insomnia, and, although rare, heart problems.

Given the scope of how Lyme disease can affect your body, it is critical to seek medical attention as soon as possible after the first signs of Lyme disease! If you are concerned that you may have Lyme disease, our expert physicians at Reddy Urgent Care can help. You can either call us or come to our clinic for a walk-in appointment.

The standard treatment for Lyme disease is oral antibiotics, which is most effective when used in early-stage Lyme disease. When caught early, Lyme disease rarely progresses past the first stage, and the infection is most often cured within two to four weeks of treatment. As mentioned, patients may continue to experience “phantom” symptoms of the disease for months after successful treatment due to an autoimmune reaction. When Lyme disease does progress into later-stage Lyme disease, intravenous antibiotics are typically required to fight the infection.

If you are dealing with Lyme disease or are concerned that you may have developed this condition, we would be happy to help at Reddy Urgent Care! We welcome you to come to 4237 Atlantic Ave in Long Beach, CA. We are open seven days a week, from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekdays and 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekends.