How long does Lyme disease last?

Quick answer

With treatment, Lyme disease usually lasts a few weeks. CDC says antibiotics are typically taken for 10 days to 4 weeks, and people treated early usually recover quickly and completely. Some people have fatigue, aches or trouble thinking for months after treatment. Most improve over time, although full recovery can take many months.

A typical timeline

Everyone is different. Your timeline depends on how early you were diagnosed, which parts of the body were affected, and your overall health. See Lyme disease treatment and stages of Lyme disease.

If it is not treated

Without treatment, the early rash may fade, but the infection can spread over days to months. CDC lists later problems such as more rashes, facial palsy, nerve pain, heart rhythm problems and arthritis. Lyme arthritis typically appears within one to a few months after infection, and the swelling may come and go (CDC). Getting treated helps shorten the illness and prevent these problems.

Lingering symptoms after treatment

Some people still feel unwell after finishing antibiotics. CDC calls this post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Six months after treatment, fatigue, body aches and trouble thinking are 5 to 10 percent more common in people who had Lyme disease than in people who did not, according to studies cited by CDC. The cause is unknown. Most people get better with time, but it can take many months. CDC reports that long-term antibiotics were no better than placebo and carry serious risks. Learn more, including the patient-advocate view, in chronic Lyme disease.

Lyme disease 20 years later

People often worry about what Lyme disease means decades down the road. One of the longest follow-up studies checked 84 people 10 to 20 years after they had Lyme disease in the Lyme, Connecticut, area, and compared them with 30 people who never had it (Kalish et al., 2001):

• Overall, the groups did not differ much in current symptoms or memory and thinking tests.
• Lasting nerve problems, such as facial weakness, were more common in people who had facial palsy.
• People with facial palsy who did not get antibiotics at the time more often reported joint pain and sleep problems years later.

The takeaway: most people were doing well long term, and lasting problems were tied mostly to infections that were not treated with antibiotics. This is one study, and it cannot speak for every person.

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