249: How a Missed Lyme Diagnosis Destroyed a Family (And How to Stop It Happening to Yours)

My guest Nicole Bell is the CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics and author of the memoir What Lurks in the Woods. She didn't come to this work by choice — she came to it because her husband's tick-borne illness was misdiagnosed as early-onset Alzheimer's. By the time the real root cause was identified, it was too late. He passed away in 2022. This conversation matters. If you or someone you love has been dealing with unexplained mood changes, cognitive decline, fatigue, joint pain, anxiety, or any of those symptoms that seem to have no clear cause — this episode is worth your full attention. We talk about why the standard Lyme test misses far more people than it catches, what co-infections like Bartonella and Babesia actually do to the brain and body, and how Galaxy Diagnostics is using a completely different testing approach to find what older tests can't. --- HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE 🔬 Why the standard Lyme test is failing patients The most common Lyme tests are based on ~30-year-old antibody technology. The problem? Borrelia (the bacteria behind Lyme) is a stealth pathogen that hides in tissues, actively suppresses the immune system, and doesn't circulate freely in the blood. If your body isn't mounting a detectable immune response, antibody tests will miss you — and they do, routinely. 📍 Lyme is everywhere — not just in "Lyme country" Epidemiological data shows Lyme is present in all 50 states. Nicole found a tick crawling across her suitcase in a hotel parking lot in DC. You don't have to hike through the woods to be exposed. 🚫 The bullseye rash myth Johns Hopkins research shows only about 14% of Lyme patients get the classic bullseye rash. Another ~60% get a rash that gets misdiagnosed, and about 30% get no rash at all. Don't let the absence of a bullseye close the door on this diagnosis. 🧠 Mood and cognitive symptoms are often the first sign Nicole's husband's first symptoms were irritability, rage, anxiety, and depression — not joint pain. Tick-borne pathogens infect whatever tissue they reach, so presentation varies wildly. Brain involvement looks like a mental health or cognitive issue. Joint involvement looks like rheumatoid arthritis. Heart involvement looks like carditis. 🐱 Bartonella: the co-infection nobody's talking about enough Bartonella is often spread by fleas, not ticks — and cats are a natural reservoir. It's been linked to OCD, anxiety, PANS/PANDAS, psychosis, and schizophrenia. A Columbia University study found 43% of psychosis patients tested PCR-positive for Bartonella, which was statistically significant vs. controls. A published case study describes a boy with sudden-onset homicidal and suicidal psychosis who recovered fully after Bartonella treatment following his family adopting a kitten. 🦟 Babesia requires a completely different treatment Babesia is a parasite — not a bacteria. Antibiotics won't touch it. Treatment typically involves anti-malarial drugs. It's been linked to chronic fatigue and ME/CFS, and emerging research from NC State suggests it's far more prevalent (and far more low-abundance) than standard testing shows. Nicole's husband's donated brain showed evidence of a Babesia species previously thought to only infect deer. ⏱️ A 30-day delay in treatment can more than double your risk of chronic symptoms Johns Hopkins research shows this. Early detection isn't just nice to have — it's the difference between recovery and a lifetime of chronic illness. --- NICOLE'S ONE STEP FOR YOUR HEALTH TODAY Listen to your body. If something feels off, it is. You might not be the medical expert, but you are the expert in you. It's not normal to be exhausted all the time, or to have joint pain, or to feel like a different person. Start asking why — and find a provider who will go on that journey with you. --- For the complete show notes and resources visit https://inspiredliving.show/249 Connect with Julie: Website: https://juliehowton.com Instagram:   / julie.howton   --- KEYWORDS Lyme disease testing, Lyme misdiagnosis, tick-borne illness, Bartonella, Babesia, co-infections, chronic Lyme disease, autoimmunity, autoimmune disease, Lyme and autoimmune, Lyme disease symptoms, neuropsychiatric Lyme, Lyme and dementia, Lyme and Alzheimer's, Lyme urine test, Galaxy Diagnostics, digital PCR, direct detection Lyme test, chronic fatigue syndrome, ME/CFS, Lyme and mental health, Bartonella and psychosis, tick testing, Lyme co-infections treatment, functional medicine, root cause medicine, Julie Howton, Inspired Living #LymeDisease #TickBorneIllness #Bartonella #Babesia #LymeTesting #Autoimmunity #ChronicIllness #ChronicLyme #LymeMisdiagnosis #GalaxyDiagnostics #RootCauseMedicine #NicoleBell #InspiredLiving #FunctionalMedicine #ChronicFatigue #MECFS #BrainHealth #NeuroLyme #LymeAwareness #LymeWarrior