Lyme Disease: Politics, Old Boys and Misery

Lyme disease and politics are strange company. No one’s health should ever be tied up in politics, but for some reason, Lyme disease is.  More specifically, chronic or long term Lyme disease is.  It’s like an “old boys” club where deals are made in back rooms with no thought or care for the misery they cause.

I am a Lyme Disease sufferer.  I was a very healthy man at almost 48, an outdoorsman, very active, and literally able to out walk and out work most men half my age.  I worked long days and could still run by the end of the day.  When I was first being checked out for this, my doctor said that I was healthier than most twenty year olds.

This photograph depicts a white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, which is a wild rodent reservoir host of ticks, which are known to carry the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, responsible for Lyme disease. During their larval stage, Ixodidae, or “hard ticks” feed on small mammals, particularly the white-footed mouse, which serves as the primary reservoir for B. burgdorferi. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Then, suddenly, in November of 2007, I got sick.  I felt like I had a bad flu, and just pushed through it, dragging myself out of bed and heading off to work, but when it lasted longer than three weeks, I went to see the doctor.  I say “the doctor,” because that is how healthy I was.  It had been so long since I saw a doctor that I didn’t actually have a doctor, and had to take whomever I could get.

First misdiagnosis

The doctor checked me out, took my blood pressure, heart rate, etc., looked at my throat, in my ears, eyes, nose, etc., asked the standard questions, then proclaimed that I had a “virus, a long lasting virus, one that could last more than two months.”  When I asked what kind of virus it was, he could not give a name, but simply said it was “a bad one.”

Just to be on the safe side, the doctor prescribed Amoxycillin for 5 days, “in case there was any secondary bacterial infection.”  From what I know now, that was one of the worst possible things he could have done.  Had he prescribed the antibiotics for three to four weeks back then, I may well have been cured, and would not be writing this article, right now.

As I have since discovered, giving a short run of antibiotics to someone who has been infected with the Lyme bacteria, officially known as Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), one of only a very few known spirochete or spiral shaped bacteria, is counterproductive and can make the disease worse.  Attacking it for only a few days with antibiotics, to put it in layman’s terms, “just makes them mad.”  The Lyme spirochete is a very unique bacteria that needs to be attacked vigorously for a period of three to six weeks, EARLY in the infection.  This means that early detection is critically important.

A misunderstood and under-recognized disease

Unfortunately, very few doctors recognize the symptoms of Lyme disease, which are many.  Those doctors who do know a bit about the disease have been educated to believe that only those who display the unique “bulls-eye” rash are infected.  This is simply untrue and old science.  The reality is that the true numbers might be less than 15%, and that does not include those who do have the rash hidden under hair.

But Lyme disease politics keep the facts from becoming mainstream.

Because of the lack of education among doctors, the fact that Lyme displays many symptoms similar to other diseases, and the very UNSCIENTIFIC IDSA standards, most people who have Lyme disease are not diagnosed early, are misdiagnosed completely, and finally, are denied proper treatment if and when they finally are diagnosed.  This travesty continues to be protected by a kind of old boys network that won’t admit when they’re wrong, but will aggressively their “right” to ignore and deny sound science that proves them wrong.

Lyme Disease and politics – help from a politician?

In 2006, the Connecticut AG set out to prove that the IDSA standards for diagnosis, treatment and insurance coverage were written in conflict of interest by those who had a vested interest in keeping things the way they are (The Old Boys Network).  He proved his case back in 2008 and the standards were ordered to be reviewed and if necessary, rewritten.  Yet they still have not been rewritten.

The fox is guarding the chickens.  The IDSA was ordered to carry out this review, of their own guidelines!  Naturally, they declared that the guidelines were excellent, cutting age science, the best in the world, etc., etc.   This is Lyme disease, politics and old boys at their finest…

The IDSA guidelines

Virtually ALL the western Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons are holding to these fatally flawed guidelines and attacking and often removing the licenses of any doctors so foolish to treat someone with long term Lyme Disease (like I have), a disease that has been PROVEN to be treatable in thousands of cases, already.  SO WHAT if there are no solid clinical studies?  When thousands are cured or at least, given a chance to live a reasonably normal life, not only does it show that it CAN be cured, but also that the clinical studies that HAVE been done are flawed.  (and easily proven so – the one that is presently cited did not follow the protocols shown to work in thousands of cases, but instead followed IDSA guidelines.)

The result of these guidelines being followed is a lot of very sick people who could be cured, or at least, given a very much better quality of life, using carefully administered and monitored antibiotics.  The Colleges instruct their doctors to tell their patients how dangerous long term treatment with antibiotics is, yet these same antibiotics are readily prescribed for life to people who suffer from certain cosmetic skin problems.

The Colleges further instruct their doctors to tell people that even though tests are positive for Lyme and various co-infections long after they have had a short run of antibiotics, they don’t really still have the disease, but that there are “several, very mysterious long term after effects caused by certain diseases that they don’t understand…”  Several names for these “after effects” include “diseases” such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fybromyalgia, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, and others.

(It is rather enlightening to note that while doctors do not know what causes these aforementioned “diseases,” they quickly dismiss what is known as Long Term Lyme Disease as a catch-all name for “diseases” like Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fybromyalgia, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, etc.  However, they take great offense to anyone who suggests that perhaps these “diseases” are the actual catch-all names.)

Unfortunately, the process from onset of symptoms to finally getting treated can take so long that the disease becomes virtually incurable, at least by any known treatment.  This includes everything you can name, from allopathic to natural medicine, homeopathics, diet, electric and any one of a number of ones in between.  An untold amount of wealth is being generated by unethical charlatans who take advantage of sick, miserable, desperate people.

What’s different about Lyme disease?

The reason that Lyme disease is so difficult to deal with, compared to most bacterial infections, goes back to two things – its shape and its adaptable protein coating.  It is a spirochete, a corkscrew-shaped organism that can burrow through the walls of blood vessels and into surrounding muscle and organs. Once there, it forms a dormant cyst, as well as several other forms, that are virtually impervious to any antibiotic tried.  Given the right conditions, these cysts will eventually reactivate and reenter the blood stream to reproduce.

As with any bacteria that is left untreated in the blood, if the body’s own immune system is not able to remove them, they will reproduce until the blood is overloaded.  This makes a sick person very sick, and without treatment, can kill its victim.  However, it is also unhealthy for the bacteria, as the overload creates conditions that are too competitive and even toxic to them.  In the case of Bb, when the blood begins to overload, many of the bacteria burrow out of the blood vessels and into surround tissue and organs, including the brain, heart, kidneys, etc., and also into joints, the cause of what is known as “Lyme arthritis.”

This process can happen again and again, depending on how long the patient goes without proper treatment.  The results are devastating, as I can attest to, and can cause severe health issues with as many as seventy plus symptoms.  These include severe neurological disorders, like pain, brain fog, depression, terrible fatigue, balance problems and more.   Critical heart problems can develop.  In studies done by Dr. Pat McGeer of the University of British Columbia, one of the top 100 neuroscientists in the world, who has studied Alzheimers for decades, he has found the brains of several deceased individuals who died with Alzheimer’s to be filled with Bb spirochetes and cysts.  There is NO question that carefully administered antibiotics would have been beneficial to those individuals.

Long term treatment

Once treatment does begin for an individual who is able to find treatment (an increasingly rare occurrence), the loading process must be reversed.  It is simply not possible to cure the disease with the standard protocol of antibiotics, since each time the bacteria in the blood stream are killed off by the antibiotics, a previous “layer” of cysts activates and reenters the bloodstream.  Unless there are antibiotics in the blood, the bacteria will flourish, and the process continues to degrade for the sufferer. The antibiotics must be administered until there are no further symptoms.  After the antibiotic treatment is terminated, the patient must be monitored until enough time has passed to be sure there is no reoccurrence of the disease.

Furthermore, studies have now proven that Bb produces a biofilm, which will protect colonies of bacteria right in the blood vessels, and worse, in the brain.  Recent studies have shown that certain “Alzheimer’s plaques,” found in the brain tissue of people who died with the condition, are Bb biofilm.  This was proven using DNA-specific staining for electron microscopy.

While there are claims of several tests (NOT the IDSA standard tests, which are totally useless) that claim to be able to accurately test for the presence of Bb in the bloodstream, there is no test for Bb in the cyst form, nor for biofilm.  According to leading experts in the disease, and according to the acceptable standards for diagnosis given by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the only way to accurately diagnose and monitor Lyme disease is by the symptoms.

Lyme disease politics and misery  

To date, the Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons continue to deny the vast amount of modern and excellent science available on Lyme disease and co-infections commonly carried by presently known vectors, such as the black-legged deer tick and the western deer tick.  Much the same is happening in most countries in western Europe.  Lyme disease politics are a global issue. Many people are very sick and getting sicker.  There are children who will never enjoy a decent quality of life, and who may not even reach adulthood.  Even in this very small area where I live, I know of two such children, both of whom had positive, visible evidence of Lyme disease (one had the rash, which was misdiagnosed, and one still had the tick in her scalp, which tested positive for Bb, after being discovered buried under her skin possibly months after infecting).  Neither of these children is able to get treatment for Lyme disease, even though they have it, even though it is crippling and even though there are thousands of people who HAVE been successfully treated with a long course of antibiotics.

The Colleges simply call all the evidence “anecdotal” and therefore unscientific.  The only clinical test which they have carried out, which they claim proves that long term Lyme cannot be effectively treated with antibiotics, did not follow the protocols that have been shown to work in the field. Instead, they followed IDSA protocols, treating for no longer than 6 weeks.  In fact, they missed or ignored evidence of positive results from their own study when they observed that some of the people on the antibiotics got sicker  while those who were on the placebo did not change.

Had they taken a closer look at the anecdotal evidence, and had they read their own university science manuals a little more carefully, they would have discovered something called the “Herxheimer reaction,” something that is VERY common when treating a bacterial infection with antibiotics.  It is caused by the massive die-off of bacteria, and manifests itself with flu-like symptoms, including some or all of the following:  headache, chills, diarrhea, terrible fatigue, upset stomach.

Ongoing misery

Why is this such a problem?  Why do the Colleges continue to deny this problem exists, refuse to question their protocols, ignore good science by reputable and even acclaimed scientists, prosecute good doctors who try to abide by their oath and help people, and ignore an order from a high court?  It is always interesting to follow the money.  Where is the money?  Conspiracy theories make interesting movies, but the bottom line is, that for something as massive as this total denial of service to occur, there has to be a massive amount of money involved as well as massive corruption.  This goes to the highest levels, including provincial, state and national political levels.

There is evidence that the AG of Connecticut was on the right path.  He proved in a court of law that the IDSA standards, which virtually all western countries follow, were written by people with vested interests in the protocols used for testing for Lyme disease, treating long term arthritis symptoms caused by the disease, and insurance companies whose policies only pay during an active disease, and not for chronic symptoms.  The courts ordered the standards reviewed and rewritten in 2008.  That still has not happened.  Why not?  The only way for any organization to so blatantly ignore such a court order is for politics and the “Old Boys Club” to be at work.

That Old Boys Club was able to convince a State Attorney General to let the fox guard the henhouse.  In a deal of some kind, the charges were dropped, provided the IDSA review their guidelines and make any necessary changes.  They waited for a period of time, then announced that “after careful review,” the standards and guidelines were perfect.

Where does that leave sufferers and the doctors who treat them?

British Columbia, Canada, has begun licensing Naturopathic Doctors who pass an approved exam to prescribe antibiotics and certain other allopathic drugs.  Sadly, very few Naturopaths have taken any specialized training for recognizing and treating Lyme disease, so this has overloaded the ones who do.

Some state legislatures in the USA have been passing “stop gap” legislation making it illegal for doctors who treat Lyme disease to be prosecuted by their College.  But until this whole issued is settled, and the politicians and Old Boys develop a conscience, the misery continues…