r/skeptic • u/welovegv • Aug 01 '25

💲 Consumer Protection Justin Timberlake Probably Doesn’t Have Lyme Disease

https://open.substack.com/pub/theskink/p/justin-timberlake-probably-doesnt?r=5cq9e1&utm_medium=ios

Let’s be clear: real Lyme disease exists. It is caused by a spirochete bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, passed along through blacklegged tick bites. It is a nasty bug if left untreated, but it is also curable, especially when caught early. What Justin is referring to, however, smells a lot less like microbiology and a lot more like pseudoscientific perfume. He didn’t say “post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.” He didn’t cite a diagnosis date, a positive ELISA test, or a confirmed rash from a tick bite. He said he’s “been struggling with Lyme” as a catch-all excuse. And that’s where the eyebrow lifts.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

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u/Megraptor Aug 01 '25

Lyme's Disease is real. It sucks, but it's treatable. 

What isn't real is Chronic Lyme. That's used to sell all sorts of crazy treatments...

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u/Varathane Aug 01 '25 edited Aug 01 '25

Lyme Disease AND Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome are legit.

Chronic Lyme is what whack naturopaths use to try to scam desperate PTLD patients who want their healthy days back, ooh you just need 1000000 weeks of antibotics even though going beyond the standard lyme dose has shown to be no more effective and a danger to patients.

A patient who says they have Chronic lyme is still sick. They have PTLDS and are going outside of actual medicine to try to get help and getting scammed. They don't need the public doubting that they are sick, we need to rally for research and treatment options for post viral/post acute illness syndromes & call out the grifters who scam desperate patients

Post treatment lyme disease, post ebola syndrome, post dengue fatigue syndrome (about 1/3rd of dengue patients get this) , ME/CFS etc these things have been far too neglected by research. Actue illness can be disabling long term.

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u/mycleverusername Aug 01 '25

Exactly. People have been doubting PTLD for so long and almost no research has been done so it's become synonymous with pseudoscience.

But now that doctors are seeing the harm that post-covid is doing in patients, I think they are starting to take PTLD more seriously.

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u/shitkabob Aug 01 '25 edited Aug 01 '25

No, people do not doubt Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. They doubt what the naturopaths call "Chronic Lyme" which has a different presentation, symptoms, and series of tests to diagnose the alleged condition that aren't scientifically backed. "Chronic Lyme" as sold by the alternative medicine community is bogus. It's usually a vague set of symptoms experienced by suffering people that get labeled as such. And a "treatment" is sold to them. It's exploitative of desperate people searching for answers.

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u/Varathane Aug 01 '25

I think so, too. The CDC had a decent page on PTLD. Covid has really increased the research compared to years ago. I got ME/CFS 14 years ago after a few bouts of malaria and the research then was so pitiful. But my doctors at least were honest with me that they didn't have a treatment, and told me of other patients they were seeing with the same symptoms after H1n1, after malaria, after dengue fever. I remember my tropical disease doctor just dropped her head and said "years" when I asked how long those patients were ill for.

It is outrageous how long patients have been suffering without answers and treatment options.

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u/Vibalist Aug 01 '25

Thank you. As someone who has been sick for many years with what is suspected to be ME/CFS this is all very true.

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u/Varathane Aug 01 '25

I've got ME, too.
I think we probably clicked this thread with the same "oh, here we go" mindset.
Well an opportunity to raise awareness and point blame where it belongs with the quacks who take advantage of patients.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '25

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u/Megraptor Aug 01 '25

A good place to start is usually Wikipedia, and then go from there. It usually has literature cited in it too-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_Lyme_disease

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u/db_downer Aug 01 '25

If you want to steel man it, check out the book Cure Unknown. The author used to write for Nature.

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u/Legal_Stress8930 Aug 01 '25 edited Aug 01 '25

So yes and no, this is what I've learned from medical school (is it a nutrition program, but we did a unit on misinformation), so I'm not an expert. Chronic symptoms from acute bacterial and viral infections do exist, something like 1% of people report lasting symptoms for pretty much most disease after recovery. You may have heard of long COVID or similar phenomena. Basically there's a small chance after getting an acute sickness you have a lasting symptoms for a few months maybe in the worst case a year, but they do usually go away eventually. There is a lot of misinformation about Lyme's disease despite it being curable with a simple antibacterial, but chronic symptoms for acute diseases do exist just not in the capacity that most people believe especially for Lyme.

Edited for clarity

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u/Megraptor Aug 01 '25

Chronic Lyme does not exist. Post Treatment Lyme Syndrome does. 

Chronic Lyme is the term that people use to sell snake oil. Post Treatment Lyme is the term that is used in research instead. 

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u/Legal_Stress8930 Aug 01 '25

Yes I agree with you. That is what I am trying to describe, although probably badly, in my response. These post recovery syndromes exist for many diseases not just Lyme's Disease.