[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I've had Lyme disease (along with my father). For us, six weeks of antibiotics resulted in a full recovery. I for one wish cancer could be treated as easily.

While I would never compare Lyme to cancer, I have a couple friends with chronic symptoms that have been really debilitating. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Very serious.

[civis]

Originally Posted by Sigequinox

Because there's crap doctors everywhere..

Exactly. I know a couple which relocated from Virginia several years ago, the lady got bitten by a tick last year. She sent the tick for testing, and it was Lyme positive.

Now the best part: her family doctor refused to treat her for Lyme, saying she needs a specialist. OK, she calls a specialist and he says he can only treat a confirmed Lyme, so sends her back to her doctor!
She calls several other doctors in New Haven county, most of them refuse to see her, saying "we don't treat Lyme"!

After a week!! of search she finally finds a doctor willing to run her blood tests and treat her. Seriously they said that at some point they we ready to dump their jobs in CT and go back to VA, they were so pissed off by CT doctors attitude.
So much for "high cost" state doctors.

[JGBigGreen]

My family and I have been very underwhelmed by the quality of care at Yale (with the notable exception of the doctors and researchers at the Yale Child Study Center and the child psychiatrists affiliated with YNHH and Yale Medical School.

I had to fight to get my son's doctor to test him for Lyme after months of being symptomatic. Of course he tested positive and luckily the antibiotics resolved the illness with no side effects.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by JGBigGreen

My family and I have been very underwhelmed by the quality of care at Yale (with the notable exception of the doctors and researchers at the Yale Child Study Center and the child psychiatrists affiliated with YNHH and Yale Medical School.

I had to fight to get my son's doctor to test him for Lyme after months of being symptomatic. Of course he tested positive and luckily the antibiotics resolved the illness with no side effects.

You are not alone. Yale falls very short of most people's expectations. Yale might have fantastic researchers, but their medical care is only slightly better than average for most disciplines. I do find this interesting as it is friggen Yale. The same cannot be said of mass general/Harvard, that hospital is, as one WOULD expect, one of the best on the planet.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Sigequinox

You are not alone. Yale falls very short of most people's expectations. Yale might have fantastic researchers, but their medical care is only slightly better than average for most disciplines. I do find this interesting as it is friggen Yale. The same cannot be said of mass general/Harvard, that hospital is, as one WOULD expect, one of the best on the planet.

I disagree. Yale is among the country's most respected hospitals. You can find issues at any hospital even Mass General or Mayo. Jay

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

I've had Lyme disease (along with my father). For us, six weeks of antibiotics resulted in a full recovery. I for one wish cancer could be treated as easily.

If it's caught early enough, it's easy to treat. Some cases don't get identified until the disease has already done major damage, and may be too late to treat.

I think the OP is wondering why there's not more of a public information campaign about it.

[JGBigGreen]

I disagree. It is not even a top-20 ranked hospital. It is among Connecticut's most respected hospitals is a far more accurate statement.

Originally Posted by JayCT

I disagree. Yale is among the country's most respected hospitals. You can find issues at any hospital even Mass General or Mayo. Jay

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I brought up the low cost state because it does make a difference where it happens when you do not have medical insurance. I am not sure why your coworker was not tested for Lyme sooner. It is well known here and every one I know here that experiences symptoms are tested for it immediately. The person I am talking about had to fight for years to get tested. Jay

There is so much misinformation about Lyme it isn't funny. The CDC requires one to test positive in multiple bands when tested - yet any of those bands mean exposure to Lyme in some way. Exposure is exposure.

My GP does not believe in Lyme unless you have symptoms. Many people have Lyme with no past symptoms.

In 2015 my SO had a tick. I begged him to go to the doctor and he finally agreed. While he was washing up, the tick backed itself out of his body. He washed it down the drain. After conferring with 2 "country boys" at work who both told him that unless the tick was on him for 24-48 hours, he would be fine. Of course we had no idea when he was bit.

2 weeks later I see him still scratching at that area and he had a rash. Got him to the doctor and yep, he had Lyme (without the test - he had a bullseye). I think he was on Doxy for 3 weeks and has not had issues since, but I do worry about the future. I'm not convinced it's gone.

A month or so later, I found something on me. I couldn't tell what it was so I went to the same clinic, but got a different doctor. That guy was a complete jerk and if I hadn't known to ask for the Doxy he never would have suggested it. (CT allows you to get a double dose of Doxy immediately after getting bit instead of waiting for a test that may or may not meet CDC standards). This guy said that he's been bit 100s of times and never had Lyme - therefore no one would get it. I didn't get the doxy that time as he insisted whatever he pulled off me was not a tick - though he couldn't say what it was (probably should've taken it though).

In 2016 I got bit twice and same thing, went right in and asked for the Doxy and got it, as the first time I had ticks in a baggie (4 were on my stomach) and the second time it was embedded in my leg and the dr removed it. Thing is, I can't ask my regular GP as he'll give me a hard time about it. Real ethical, right?

You're almost better off going to a walk-in clinic or a CVS minute clinic for the double dose if you know you've been bit.

Originally Posted by civis

Exactly. I know a couple which relocated from Virginia several years ago, the lady got bitten by a tick last year. She sent the tick for testing, and it was Lyme positive.

Now the best part: her family doctor refused to treat her for Lyme, saying she needs a specialist. OK, she calls a specialist and he says he can only treat a confirmed Lyme, so sends her back to her doctor!
She calls several other doctors in New Haven county, most of them refuse to see her, saying "we don't treat Lyme"!

After a week!! of search she finally finds a doctor willing to run her blood tests and treat her. Seriously they said that at some point they we ready to dump their jobs in CT and go back to VA, they were so pissed off by CT doctors attitude.
So much for "high cost" state doctors.

See above. No one wants to admit Lyme is an issue. Who knows why? There are some groups that address this. There is sort of an underground of doctors. But they are pretty much out of pocket.

Originally Posted by JGBigGreen

I had to fight to get my son's doctor to test him for Lyme after months of being symptomatic. Of course he tested positive and luckily the antibiotics resolved the illness with no side effects.

Sounds like my doctor. I have tested positive in one band for past exposure (was tested in 2013 but I've been bit since then). I never had symptoms but still tested positive.

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

If it's caught early enough, it's easy to treat. Some cases don't get identified until the disease has already done major damage, and may be too late to treat.

I think the OP is wondering why there's not more of a public information campaign about it.

Even with quick treatment I know people who have flareups as years go on. I'm not convinced that any treatment works 100%. I kind of feel it's luck of the draw. And Lyme is nasty stuff if it gets its hooks into you. It can get into your heart, your brain. I have friends that get completely knocked out when it flares up. As a matter of fact, I knew someone in the early 90s that had it. It's not a pretty disease and they don't really understand it.

I'm not an expert. My experience is mostly because I've been bit, I know a lot of bikers and hikers that have been bit, and I have an auto-immune disease that has been linked to Lyme. It has been said that a long term dose of antibiotics to cure the Lyme will help the autoimmune disease, but try finding a doctor to prescribe THAT if you don't test positive in the correct number of bands.

If you find a doctor that is wiling to discuss Lyme - make sure you hold on to them wherever they go!

It's maddening.

[CarnivalGal]

The CDC refuses to admit that Lyme Disease can be chronic, despite evidence to the contrary. Ironically, the people who make that decision (and treatment protocols) just happen to have a financial interest in NOT recognizing it's chronic nature or the possibility that it can be transmitted in other ways.

I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY CALLED UNDER OUR SKIN. It can be found on Amazon Prime and Netflix for free. There is also a sequel called Under Our Skin Emergence. It explains and details how incredibly debilitating this disease is and how horribly corrupt the CDC is.

[massnative71]

One of the big problems is that the Elisa tests the CDC relies in only test positive on 50% or so of cases, so in other words it you catch it there is a 50% chance of getting a false negative. Most doctors will not treat it without a positive test confirming it, so people will go months to years untreated when it then becomes much more debilitating and difficult to treat.


I also hear that it is pretty standard for doctors to not test for it in "non-endemic" areas, regardless of whether you have state coverage or whatever.