lesions

[mariah123]

can lymes disease cause m.s. lesions

[Ricobord]

I have about 20 small fuzzy spots in my brain that look like small, old MS lesions (they're unenhanced).  I had Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella at the time they were found.  I also had quite a few MS-like symptoms.

They don't know exactly why some Lyme patients get "lesions" and others don't.  It is not a measurement of how sick you are, as some don't have any. Bartonella is believed to cause them, as well as the virus HHV-6. Migraines can also cause them, but I haven't had migraines as a symptom of Lyme.

So, if you're going through an MS work up, and you have some lesions, Lyme is still a possibility, even if you test "negative."  I tested false negative on a screening test and a CSF test.  I was also CDC negative on a Western Blot.  IGeneX called my WB positive, though, as I had Lyme specific antibodies.

Have you been tested already?

[mojogal]

In my experience, I was misdiagnosed with MS from my Bartonella lesions on an MRI. Bart's is a co-infection of Lyme.

These lesions appeared other places on my body, but the ones in my brain cause many neurological symptoms that I still experience and some of them mimic MS symptoms.

It took an LLMD to recognize them as Bartonella and not MS.

[JackieCalifornia]

I agree with Wonko's comments.  Because MRIs cannot tell the difference between MS and Lyme, a Lyme specialist will often use another scan called a SPECT scan that operates in a different way from an MRI, so the test can find indications of Lyme that is clearly not MS.

Non-Lyme specialists tend to use MRI only, and the fuzzy spots that show up on an MRI look like MS to a doc who is not familiar with Lyme .... as many docs are not.  

In your situation, I personally would find a Lyme specialist for a second opinion.  My Lyme doc used a SPECT scan and it was very helpful in diagnosis, so then I was treated for Lyme and got well.

Wishing the same for you!  Let us know if we can help further --

[wonko]

I am not medically trained but it is my understanding that Lyme can cause damage that can appear on MRI similar to the damage caused by MS.  When I was 28 my brain MRI scan had 7-8 lesions, a couple that were several cm in diameter near the corpus callosum, which gave worry that I had MS even though I was ultimately diagnosed with Lyme.

Lyme does not always cause lesions, though.  Many people very sick from Lyme for a long time will have normal MRI's.  Lyme is not diagnosed through MRI, but it can be diagnosed by blood tests and/or clinically through symptoms.

Do you think you have Lyme disease?  Anyone being worked up for MS should look into Lyme as a possibility, in my opinion.  While both can be very disabling, Lyme is more treatable.