In this video, Dr. Diane Mueller addresses a listener’s question about whether Lyme disease can persist unnoticed for years and later flare up. She explains that Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia, which can enter dormancy, hide in hyaluronic‑acid‑rich tissues such as joints and eyes, and reactivate when the immune system is dysregulated by stress, toxins, or illness. Mueller notes that transmission is not limited to ticks; some mosquitoes can also carry the bacteria. The classic bullseye rash appears in fewer than one‑third of cases and may be hidden on the scalp or hair, leading to missed diagnoses. Because dormant Borrelia can reactivate in various tissues, chronic Lyme can mimic fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, migraines, movement disorders, and other conditions, making it hard for clinicians to recognize. She highlights that many doctors lack Lyme literacy, resulting in inadequate testing—often using inaccurate assays that yield false‑negative results. Mueller promises a forthcoming video on proper Lyme testing and directs viewers to a free quiz at getwellquiz.com for guidance on appropriate lab tests. The overall message emphasizes the need for awareness of chronic Lyme’s hidden nature, its potential triggers, and the importance of better diagnostics.
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Can you have Lyme for years without knowing it, or can it flare up later? That is what we are discussing today. I am Dr. Diane Mueller, your Lyme and mold expert, and this is a very, very pivotal, pivotal question because so many people think of Lyme disease and unfortunately so many doctors and clinicians think of Lyme disease and just think about things like the classic bullseye rash. And that people need to have this and have fevers and all these different symptoms in order to have Lyme. Chronic Lyme is only first now beginning to become recognized in the conventional medical community, and it's not even being recognized that well yet. The thing about Lyme is it is a bacteria infection caused by a bacteria that is very similar in structure and function to the bacteria that causes syphilis. The Lyme bacteria has the ability to go into dormancy, to hide, and to come out. This Lyme bacteria loves the component of our body called hyaluronic acid, so it loves to hide in places like our joints and in our eyes where we have a lot of this hyaluronic acid because it is a food source for it. So many people can get Lyme. Now we know it is also not only transmitted by ticks but also carried by some mosquitoes. Many people can get Lyme at a very, you know, at an earlier age, and it could look like a, like a cold. It could look like a flu. Maybe it is not even severe enough for the immune system to attack it. It's less than a third of people that have the bullseye rash, and even those that have it, it might be somewhere such as in these— on the scalp or in the hair somewhere. So it is missed because it is hidden on the body. So many people, when they get bitten, they do not even realize there's a problem. And like I said, Borrelia can go very dormant, causing basically no situations, no symptoms, until something triggers it later to come out of dormancy and actually reactivate. So when we're talking about can it flare, absolutely. We see that things that are going to dysregulate the immune system, such as extreme toxin exposure or a sickness or stress, right, these types of scenarios can cause Lyme to flare and to essentially come out of the hiding and then this is where symptoms will actually manifest. So many people have undiagnosed Lyme sometimes for decades because when Lyme reemerges after being dormant, it tends to attack our muscles, it tends to attack our connective tissue, it tends to attack our nerves. And because these types of cells run throughout our entire body, Lyme can look like fibromyalgia for one person. It can look like migraines and chronic fatigue for another. It can look like dyskinesia and strange movements and Parkinsonian-like syndromes for another person, all because of where the Lyme has actually decided to live, proliferate, and attack. Now, the problem is most doctors are not yet recognizing this chronic Lyme state. So many people are not being tested for it. Now, when people are being tested for it, many times the tests are inaccurate, and that is a big problem because a lot of people are getting tests and told that they are negative when it's a bad test and a doctor doesn't know Lyme disease and is not Lyme literate, so does not understand a good test that should be done. I am talking about Lyme testing in my next video. So please make sure you subscribe to get that information as that will come out really soon. You are also welcome to go take my free quiz at getwellquiz.com where you can get information on what lab tests you might be missing, how to get good lab tests, and much more. Thank you for listening. We'll see you all soon.
