Lyme Disease and the Politics Behind it

[maxx]

Recently I watched a doc. on Lyme disease which was quite chilling. Hundreds of thousands of people have it and are not receiving proper treatment in the U.S. because insurance co.s don't want to pay for another chronic disease so they say it isn't chronic. Doctors who have treated patients successfully over about 3 yrs are losing their licenses because the IDSA's treatment guideline for Lyme disease are for only a month. The IDSA is a board where 9 out of 13 members have links to the drug industry. I'd like to know how they got their jobs on that board because that needs to change. Lyme disease can attack any organ including the brain and may be linked to the syphilis bacterium. The doc showed one doctor who was researching the spirochete in his spare time. He felt that Lyme might be linked to MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and ALS. He looked at brain samples from Alz. patients and 7 out of 10 had the Lyme spirochete. I don't know if anyone else is researching this. The doc showed the devastating results of untreated Lyme including convulsions and paralysis. It is a health concern that is being overlooked because someone's profits are affected. More info at www.underourskin.org.

[Original63]

Simply all you have to do is follow the money. It leads to the Corporate agenda. Why pay for treatment of people that Corporations and their patrons[[elected ones) care nothing about[[that would be the 90% of Americans who aren't benefitting from tax cuts).
We have been downsized in importance by our bought and payed for elected officials who are supposed to represent us, and instead represent the very Corps and institutions that have fired 40 million Americans.
Get used to these stories because you will hear many more of them as long as The Agenda is being followed. Remember you are only as American as your wallet can afford.

[oladub]

Lyme is relatively ignored considering it's extent and severity. I live in a place where it is a big problem. three members of one of the neighbor's family have had it. I know one guy who had complications and had to have his leg amputated. In the last week, I've had one deer tick and one wood tick removed. Both had probably been attached for over 24 hours. Both were on my lower back and were big enough to feel when I woke up. My wife yanks them off. She had one on here ear this week too but I noticed it a couple of hours after she came in from gardening. Caught right away, a shot takes care of Lyme but a lot of people don't have any signs or just think they are feeling under the weather for a couple of days and ignore that symptom. Rings only occur half the time and sometimes where they aren't noticed in the mirror.

A vaccine was being marketed which worked. However, the demand for that vaccine was not strong and it's producer took it off the market because the liability insurance was so high on the product that the producer could not make any money on it. Tort reform may ave provided an option. I would have taken the chance with the shot because Lyme is such a problem here but didn't have that option and Lyme Disease doesn't have good political connections. Farmers and rural residents must not complain enough. As it stands, I probably should go in and have a blood test for my most recent encounters with overnight ticks.

[Gistok]

My first encounter with deer ticks was about 35 years ago in Germany, when my cousin's husband found one in his arm. They mentioned that you have to remove not only the tick, but also the head of the tick, which often stays inside under the skin after removal of the body. They mentioned all the side effects of this serious problem. At that time I had never heard of it... and mentioned that it was unknown in Michigan....

Has this always been a problem here, that only recently has come to light as a serious health issue? If so, yes a lot of folks have some explaining to do.

Or did this get "imported" like so many other non-native "critters".

[oladub]

Gistok, It's an import. "The history of Lyme disease in Connecticut began in 1975 when a cluster of children and adults residing in the Lyme, Connecticut area experienced uncommon arthritic symptoms." http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3136&q=388506

[Original63]

Nice Post Oladub, fact based... Keep it up

[oladub]

Nice Post Oladub, fact based... Keep it up

Facts and numbers are my friends!

[firstandten]

Facts and numbers are my friends!

Even facts and numbers need context LOL !!

[Gistok]

Thanks for the info Oladub.... and Maxx!

[jcole]

As someone who has had Lyme's for at least 15 years and probably much longer, the promptness of treatment is of utmost importance. If it's caught and treated as soon as the bullseye rash is visible [[IF it's visible which is only about 25% of the time) it can be 'cured'. If not, you develop chronic symptoms which can abate and return time and again. I've developed chronic arthritic symptoms and have periods of memory lapse, but then mine wasn't treated right away; I never had the rash. I had inter venous antibiotics at home for a month when it was first discovered and then once again about a year later with several courses of ingested antibiotics.
The cover up of Lyme disease in most states isn't only due to the insurance companies; it's also based upon tourism. Michigan fought tooth and nail against any cases of Lyme being attributed to having been contracted here; they want them to be attributed to out of state visits. Mine was assigned to Virginia because I had taken a trip there within a few years of being diagnosed.
Oh, and I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia which is a fairly common side effect to infectious diseases.
But according to Michigan, there was nothing wrong with me and if there was I didn't get it here.

[1KielsonDrive]

Even facts and numbers need context LOL !!

True. Thank you.