Lyme Disease Neurological Symptoms
by Kathy White, MSW, Corresponding Secretary
Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City
913-438-5963
Lymefight @aol.com
www. Lymefight.info
Lyme disease can cause physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. These
symptoms can be constant or may come and go from week to week, day to day, or even during
the day. They can vary in intensity from one minute to the next. A person can suddenly get a
terrible pain in the knee. It may be fine in a few minutes, and then the elbow may suddenly hurt
intensely. A headache may last for years but may vary in intensity throughout the day. The
ability to concentrate and to comprehend oral and written speech may vary throughout the day.
Blurry vision may come and go from day to day. Lyme can affect the heart, vision, and hearing.
Thinking Problems
Lyme disease causes problems with concentration, memory, thinking, and making decisions.
People can suddenly not recognize familiar places. Children may get lost walking to school or in
the school building and may walk right past the classroom door. People may have new difficulty
with spelling, writing, math, and writing checks. Adults may get lost driving familiar roads.
Conversation Problems
Thinking problems can change throughout the day. A person may be unable to carry on a
conversation or think of words to say in the afternoon, but talk fine in the morning. It can be
difficult to think of words to say, put the words in the right order in sentences, put the right
sounds on words, and hold the thought long enough to finish a sentence. Episodes of stuttering
and jumbled speech can occur.
Listening and comprehending oral and written speech can also be difficult. A person may not
be able to concentrate well enough to listen, especially to a long sentence, and may forget what
has just been said, making it difficult to respond appropriately. The mental process slows down,
so a person may only be able to remember or understand part of a sentence. When several
sentences are said in a row, the person with Lyme may still be processing the first sentence and
miss the rest of what is being said. Reading can also be difficult. It may be hard to concentrate,
and a person may need to read a sentence several times before understanding it.
Mood and Psychiatric Symptoms
Personality changes, mood swings, violent outbursts, depression, and panic attacks can
occur. There can be sudden suicidal impulses. Some people get visual and/or auditory
hallucinations. Insomnia is common. A wide variety of psychiatric illnesses can be caused by
Lyme disease, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder. When these
conditions are caused by Lyme disease, antibiotic treatment often helps tremendously.
Neurological Diseases
Lyme disease symptoms vary considerably from person to person. Some people develop
neurological diseases. Others may get pain and fatigue. The neurological symptoms often
cause a gradually increasing weakness in the legs, arms, and the rest of the body. Lyme
disease is often an underlying cause of neurological diseases such as MS, Parkinson’s,
Alzheimer's, ALS, autism, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Tourette's syndrome,
and Guillain Barre syndrome. Lyme disease can cause paralysis. These diseases can be helped
by antibiotics when the cause is Lyme disease. When autism is caused by Lyme disease,
antibiotics may cause a sudden change in behavior. It may become bizarre at first, as the
bacteria die off. A few days later, behavior may be normal, but autisic behavior may return after
the antibiotic treatment ends. When there is an unusual response to antibiotics, the
possibility of Lyme disease should be considered.