Thyrotoxicosis Resembles Lyme Disease

Excerpt

To the Editors: The diagnosis of Lyme disease rests on both clinical (1) and serologic (2) findings. Patients living in endemic areas, however, may be treated for Lyme disease despite negative serologic findings. We have recently seen three such patients who actually suffered from undiagnosed thyrotoxicosis.

Patient 1. A healthy 41-year-old man had a 2-month history of excessive fatigue, malaise, profound proximal muscle weakness, and bilateral burning hip and thigh pains, preceded by a flu-like illness with fever and sore throat. He lived in a wooded, deer-infested area of Connecticut. A 2-week course of antibiotics for presumed Lyme disease did