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Suspected Brian Thompson shooter Luigi Mangione had allegedly talked about his health issues including his struggles with back pain, Lyme disease, and severe brain fog. Mangione was arrested on Monday, December 9, and later charged with murder by New York prosecutors. Ever since his capture, a slew of social media accounts allegedly linked to the suspect gained immense online traction.
On one such Reddit account, associated with Mangione by prominent outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and The Daily Beast, Mangione allegedly opened up about getting back surgery and brain fog affecting his studies. He also spoke about Lyme disease, an illness caused by borrelia bacteria, which often affects humans via the bite of a tick carrying the bacteria.
Luigi Mangione struggled with Lyme disease
Following the arrest of Luigi Mangione, a Reddit account seemingly belonging to the suspect went viral. As per CNN, the since-deleted account carried a lot of the same biographical information as Mangione including his age, alma mater, major, and struggles with back pain related to spondylolisthesis.
Through the account, Mangione had allegedly opened up about a variety of his ailments on various subreddits. This included his alleged struggles with Lyme disease and brain fog. According to the Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is common in the Midwest and the northeastern and mid-Atlantic U.S. states.
As mentioned earlier, it is usually passed on to the human bloodstream from bites from ticks infected with the borrelia bacteria. As per the Mayo Clinic, In North America, the bacteria is mainly carried by the deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick. The disease progresses through stages and gets worse without treatment.
The first stage of the disease can present with a single-circle rash spreading from the site of the tick bite. The rash, despite being a common symptom may also never present for some people. It may look like a target is often warm to the touch and not itchy or painful.
Symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic, associated with the first stage of the disease, which presents in 3 to 30 days include fever, headaches, stiffness in joints, muscle pains and aches, extreme tiredness, and swollen lymph nodes. Symptoms associated with the second stage of the disease present within 3 to 10 weeks of the initial bite.
Second-stage symptoms include rashes, stiffness and pain in the neck, swelling in the eye or eyelid tissues, muscle weakness on the sides of the face, and irregular heartbeats caused by immune-system activity in heart tissue. This also includes back and hip pain that spreads to the legs, pain or vision loss brought on by immune-system activity in the eye nerves, and weakness, numbness, and pain in the feet and hands.
Third-stage symptoms present within 2 to 12 months of the tick bite and include previous symptoms along with a few other ones. Arthritis in large joints is the most common third-stage Lyme disease condition in the U.S. The stage may also present with long-lasting pain, swelling, or stiffness.
The disease can even carry complications that last even after treatment is complete. Such complications include arthritis that doesn't go away, body pains, body aches, chronic tiredness, and memory complaints.
In the comments shared on the aforementioned Reddit account, Luigi Mangione also allegedly talked about his struggle with extreme brain fog. As per CNN Mangione revealed that the condition began after “hell week” hosted by his fraternity which caused him to start losing sleep.
Moreover, Luigi Mangione allegedly stated on Reddit that the brain fog caused his grades in university to dip. He also lamented how much medical professionals have yet to understand about the condition. CNN quoted Luigi Mangione's alleged Reddit account as stating:
"It’s absolutely brutal to have such a life-halting issue… The people around you probably won’t understand your symptoms - they certainly don’t for me."
Furthermore, Luigi Mangione's alleged Reddit page also revealed that he underwent testing for irritable bowel syndrome which was covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield medical insurance.
According to The New York Times, the Reddit page talked about having persistent back problems which worsened after a surfing accident in 2022 and after slipping on a piece of paper. As per the outlet, in July 2023, according to Luigi Mangione's alleged Reddit page and corroboration from his friends, Mangione underwent spinal fusion surgery.
Mangione detailed in his alleged Reddit page that he was off the pain meds days after the surgery and could walk, sit, and stand like normal. The New York Times quoted one Reddit comment from Mangione which stated:
"The surgery wasn’t nearly as scary as I made it out to be in my head, and I knew it was the right decision within a week."
The banner for Luigi Mangione's since-deleted X (formerly Twitter) account showcased a spinal fusion X-ray. The Reddit account allegedly associated with Mangione has also since been deleted.
