When you are suffering from debilitating symptoms, we know that there is nothing more frustrating than not receiving answers from medical professionals. After all, they are doctors—shouldn’t they be able to tell what is going on in your body? The reason we have terms including “Lyme-literate doctor” is because many doctors out there never think to test for Lyme disease when someone comes in with frustrating symptoms. Here are a few of the reasons why Lyme disease seems to be so hard to diagnose:

The Symptoms Vary

While you may be suffering from frequent joint pain and fatigue, someone else with Lyme disease might be struggling with breathing and flu-like symptoms. When the symptoms are so different from case-to-case, many doctors don’t think to look for a shared root cause. Most diseases share symptoms: A cold means a runny nose and cough, the stomach flu means vomiting and nausea, etc. However, this isn’t the case with Lyme disease.

The Time of Year and Location Changes Attitudes

In the spring and summertime, many doctors do know to check for Lyme disease. They are aware of where the tick population is high, and they also know that people can become infected from just one bite. However, if you live in an area where there are not many ticks, or if you feel symptoms in the winter, your doctor may not think to check for Lyme. After all, a tick bite at that time would be extremely rare! What doctors commonly miss is asking if you have recently traveled anywhere with a tick population. If you’ve been experiencing fatigue and joint pain for quite some time, think back to when your symptoms began. Were you in an area known for Lyme disease outbreaks? If so, mention this to your doctor.

No Obvious Signs

Most doctors are looking for a bulls-eye rash before they make a Lyme disease diagnosis. However, some people never get this rash, or only get it on hidden parts of the body that the doctor may not see. We also still lack reliable diagnostic tests that can tell us for sure if Lyme disease has begun to wreak havoc on your body. Even if your symptoms are strong and painful, it’s extremely common to be misdiagnosed in the beginning stages and require further treatment later on.

Only Rely on Test Results

As we mentioned, we still lack reliable tests that can tell us if Lyme is the culprit of your struggles. False positives and false negatives happen all the time, and some studies have shown that up to 50 percent of the patients tested for Lyme disease have a false negative test result. Lyme disease is usually diagnosed based on symptoms, health history, and exposure risks to ticks.

Lyme Disease Natural Treatment

If you are struggling with symptoms that no one seems to understand, contact us. Our team of Lyme-literate doctors at Arne Chiropractic are here to help you on your path to wellness. Together, we can work to free you of your chronic pain and fatigue through a Lyme disease natural treatment.