Antibiotics for Lyme Disease -- How Long is Enough?

How long to treat patients with Lyme remains an issue of controversy. With traditional antibiotic therapy, lasting 2-4 weeks, 10-20% of patients will have ongoing symptoms including fatigue, joint pain, insomnia, and complaints of “brain fog.” Indefinite long-term treatment is advocated by ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society), based on a patient's symptoms. In contrast, IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America ) only recommends 2-4 weeks treatment. The two groups are bitter adversaries.