05/11/2026
Lyme dysregulates the immune system in many ways. 
A negative Lyme test does not always mean there is no Lyme.
👉One of the CDC’s two-step Lyme tests, the ELISA, has been reported to miss up to 50% of cases early on.
Here’s why 👇
Because many standard Lyme tests rely heavily on antibodies — meaning they are often measuring the body’s immune response, not always direct evidence of the infection itself.
🦠Antibodies can take weeks to build after exposure, and someone may already be very symptomatic by then.
The immune system matters too.
Lyme can dysregulate immune function in ways that may change testing outcomes.
👀Steroids prop the immune system up.
🤧Immunosuppressants depress it.
Antibiotics dysregulate or limit the immune system.
This is why Lyme is rarely as simple as “positive” or “negative” result.
This is why we look at the whole picture…
history, symptoms, exposure, patterns, co-infections, not just one lab result.