Chronic Lyme disease, which is also called post-Lyme disease, is a condition surrounded by controversy. For many years, some doctors refused to recognize the disease. Although the condition is now widely recognized, the best options for treatment are still debated. Lyme disease results from the bite of a tick infected with a parasite called Borrelia burgdorferi. If the disease is diagnosed and treated early, most people recover completely. In approximately 10 to 20 percent of Lyme disease cases, however, patients develop chronic, persistent symptoms, explains the Lyme Disease Research Foundation of Maryland.
Oral Antibiotics
When patients are first diagnosed with Lyme disease, doctors usually prescribe oral antibiotic medications, such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, cefuroxime or erythromycin. Doxycycline is the most commonly used antibiotic for the treatment of Lyme disease, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health. Pregnant women and children younger than 9 years old are usually given cefuroxime or amoxicillin. The first round of oral antibiotics is usually prescribed for 10 to 28 days, depending on the severity of symptoms. If this initial treatment does not alleviate symptoms, doctors may prescribe a second dose of oral antibiotics, usually for two to four weeks, explains MedlinePlus.
Intravenous Antibiotics
If Lyme disease is not diagnosed early, and the disease has reached a more severe stage, doctors often administer antibiotics directly into a vein through an intravenous needle, instead of prescribing a pill to be taken orally. Ceftriaxone is the antibiotic usually used for intravenous administration, reports MedlinePlus. The intravenous treatment usually lasts two to four weeks.
Additional Antibiotics
The controversy surrounding chronic Lyme disease emerges when symptoms persist after two treatments of antibiotics. Several studies have shown that additional treatments with antibiotics do not improve Lyme disease symptoms, reports the University of Maryland Medical Center. Long-term use of antibiotics, however, can cause a patient to become allergic to the medication and sometimes results in infection with a different type of bacteria called clostridiumdifficile, explains UMMC. For these reasons, most doctors think long-term use of antibiotics is not helpful. However, some critics have claimed those studies are flawed. In 2008, the Connecticut Attorney General's Office released a report stating that the Infectious Disease Society of America's guidelines for long-term treatment of Lyme disease were influenced by financial conflicts of interest, and should be reassessed.
Alternative Remedies
Because some patients become frustrated by the inability of doctors to treat chronic Lyme disease, they may turn to alternative remedies. One alternative treatment that has been growing in popularity is bismacine, an injectable product. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that this compound contains high levels of a metal called bismuth, which can be toxic. Bismacine has been linked to heart and kidney failure and at least one death, according to UMMC.
