Being diagnosed with a disease can be a terrifying thing, especially if it’s one that ends up in one’s memory being zapped not to mention the ones that result in your death. One of the most famous songwriters, Kris Kristofferson, was struggling with memory loss. He was convinced it was due to Alzheimer’s disease, when it was a misdiagnosis. He later found out that he had contracted a tick-induced Lyme disease.
Kris Kristofferson was Misdiagnosed
In 2016 he was interviewed by Rolling Stone Magazine. Kris Kristofferson has been the master of music during his career, having none of than Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley make covers of his songs. In his later years, he started noticing his memory slipping. “I see an empty chair/Someone was sitting there…I’ve got a feeling it was me/And I see a glass of wine/I’m pretty sure it’s mine,” said Kris.
Big thank you to @VinylMePlease for making ‘The Silver Tongued Devil and I’ the Record of the Month for March. Get a copy on AAA 180g “Black and Blue” Galaxy vinyl here: https://t.co/rj8o6QvcVq pic.twitter.com/4Ov2jlNegZ
— Kris Kristofferson (@kkristofferson) February 16, 2023
As it worsened he went to see his doctor. It was then that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He and his wife grappled with this reality for many years; they told the Rolling Stone reporter. The doctor never gave them any inkling of a thought that he had been misdiagnosed. However, the truth was that the doctor was entirely wrong. He did not have Alzheimer’s disease. He has Lyme disease, which was brought on by a tick bite. The worst part about this whole ordeal, according to his wife, Lisa, was that Kris Kristofferson had been taking prescribed medication for Alzheimer’s disease. This mean he was dealing with the side effects from that as well. “He was taking all these medications for things he doesn’t have, and they all have side effects,” said Lisa.
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How Did This Happen?
According to reports, Kris had actually been diagnosed with fibromyalgia 19 years ago. This is when sharp pains from muscle spasms shoot through your body. This is allegedly meant to be a sign that a doctor should test their patient for Lyme disease. However, it wasn’t known at the time. Lisa then mentioned that at that time, they lived in Malibu, meaning ticks were abundant. “We were in LA at the time, in Malibu, and I just don’t think doctors were looking for it or aware of it there then. But now we know it’s everywhere. There are signs on my local playground that say beware of ticks,” she said.
When a black-legged tick is infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, and it bites a human, it can transmit that to its victim. This is how Lyme disease forms. According to the CDC, the “typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.”
Coincidentally, while Kris Kristofferson was filming the movie “Disappearances,” he spent a lot of time rolling around in the dirt. This is also a likely place where he could have been bitten by a tick.
A Modern-day Miracle
After finally getting the correct diagnosis, Lisa and Kris Kristofferson immediately went to get the right medication so he could start treatments. “I went to a local pharmacy and picked up Kris’s prescriptions for doxycycline and Alinia. Soon after, we also started Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) of the frontal lobe.“
Thanks to the change in treatment, his family saw a changed man. “Kris is as sharp as he’s been in the past 20 years because of his treatments,” said a close friend at the time. “His wife, Lisa, and his eight children see a different Kris now. It really is a modern-day medical miracle.”
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Sources
- “Kris Kristofferson’s Lyme disease misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s. CBS. Mary Marcus. July 20, 2016
- “A Slow Slipping Away.” Lyme Diseases. Dana Parish. 2016
- “Kris Kristofferson says his memory loss was due to ticks, not dementia.” Global News. Carmen Chai. June 9, 2016