🧠Neuro Lyme: When Lyme Disease Affects the Nervous System
Posted by the Nurse Practitioners at Lowcountry Wellness Center | Whole You: The HO Member Blog
If you’ve been struggling with strange neurological symptoms — buzzing sensations, memory lapses, dizziness, or intense emotional shifts — and standard labs or scans haven’t revealed answers, you might be dealing with something deeper: Neuro Lyme.
At Lowcountry Wellness Center, we often meet patients who’ve seen multiple providers, tried numerous medications, or been told it’s "all in their head." But when we take a root-cause, whole-body approach, a new picture often emerges: a stealth infection — like Lyme disease or a co-infection — has impacted the nervous system.
🧬 What Is Neuro Lyme?
“Neuro Lyme” is a shorthand term for neurological Lyme disease, or more specifically, neuroborreliosis — when the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi (or related species) affects the brain, cranial nerves, or spine.
In some cases, the immune system’s inflammatory response may be what drives the symptoms, more than the pathogen itself.
Common neurological or neuropsychiatric symptoms we see in practice include:
- Burning, buzzing, tingling, or numbness
- Word retrieval issues and “Lyme brain” (brain fog)
- Vertigo, motion sensitivity, or balance issues
- Panic attacks, emotional outbursts, or “Lyme rage”
- Depersonalization or a “zoned-out” feeling
- Visual floaters or light sensitivity
- Sleep disturbance, especially waking at 3–4 AM
- Startle reflex, tremors, or twitching
- Overreaction to sounds or smells
These symptoms may mimic anxiety, bipolar disorder, MS, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, or even early-onset dementia — which is why they’re often missed or misdiagnosed.
🔎 Why Testing for Neuro Lyme Is So Tricky
Lyme bacteria are stealth pathogens — meaning they hide from the immune system, evade detection on standard tests, and may live inside tissues like nerves, joints, or brain tissue. In fact, many patients with clear symptoms may test “negative” on conventional Lyme tests.
That’s why we rely on a clinical diagnosis plus specialty testing that includes:
- Symptom timeline: Did this begin after a tick bite, illness, trauma, mold exposure, or stress?
- Comprehensive tick-borne panels: We may use IGeneX, TLab, Vibrant Wellness, or Galaxy Diagnostics.
- Mold and mycotoxin testing: Mold exposure can worsen neurological Lyme symptoms dramatically.
- MARCoNS screening: This sinus colonization may interfere with immune signaling and brain fog.
- Other co-infections: Bartonella, Babesia, EBV, Mycoplasma, and others often complicate the picture.
We also evaluate inflammation, vagus nerve tone, sleep quality, and limbic system patterns — because healing requires more than antibiotics.
🧠What Causes “Lyme Brain” and Mood Shifts?
Lyme and co-infections can impact the blood-brain barrier, mitochondria, and neurotransmitters. This may explain why patients often report:
- Feeling like they’re “not themselves”
- Rage or crying spells with no obvious trigger
- Memory lapses or word-finding problems
- Low motivation or depersonalization
Inflammation in the brain is sometimes called “brain on fire.” It’s not a mental health failure — it’s a physiological response. Bartonella, in particular, is strongly associated with psychiatric Lyme presentations.
The limbic system (the emotional center of the brain) becomes dysregulated, the vagus nerve may go into chronic fight-or-flight, and the body gets caught in a loop of stress and inflammation.
🌿 Healing Is Possible: Our Whole-Person Approach
At Lowcountry Wellness Center, we don’t chase symptoms — we support systems.
Our Neuro Lyme protocol typically starts with:
- Drainage and detox priming: Open the lymph, gut, and mitochondria pathways first.
- Calm the nervous system: Breathwork, vagus reset, limbic retraining, and trauma-informed care.
- Antimicrobial layering: Botanical or pharmaceutical therapies, customized for YOU.
- Repair and restore: Support brain, gut, and mitochondria long-term.
We also teach patients how to recognize Herxheimer reactions (when you feel worse before you feel better) and how to gently support the healing process.
✨ From Surviving to Thriving
We’ve helped many people reclaim clarity, energy, and emotional stability after years of being dismissed or misdiagnosed.
You deserve a provider who listens, understands complex Lyme and co-infections, and treats you as a whole person — not just a symptom checklist.
If you suspect Neuro Lyme or have persistent neurological symptoms with no clear cause, we invite you to explore further testing and support. You're not alone — and you're not broken.
To healing, clarity, and hope,
Your Lowcountry Wellness Team
*This blog is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Please consult your healthcare provider before beginning any new health protocol, supplement, or therapy.
