My Two Cents

Yesterday, an article was put out by the Chicago Tribune about a very touchy subject: the decades-long war that has been waging over the existence of chronic Lyme Disease. If you haven't read the article, you can do so here. This is my response to the article:

Lyme Disease is riddled with politics. A fierce and ugly battle has been raging for years over the very existence of chronic Lyme Disease. Columbia University Medical Center's Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center explains part of the Lyme controversy here.

While scientists, doctors, insurance companies, government agencies, and anyone else who can join in, are so busy fighting over every single aspect of the disease, the victims, those caught in the middle of the Lyme war, are left to gather dust in the corner. We are expected to wait and suffer quietly, while the never-ending debate rages on over how to handle us. In the meantime, our stories of endless pain and agony are being swept under the rug.

Having Lyme Disease makes me feel like a young child whose parents are on the verge of a nasty divorce. Both Mom and Dad are pulling my arms in different directions, because they both know what's best for me, but they can't seem to agree on the same thing. When it comes to Lyme Disease, everyone wants to be the parent, everyone knows best, and everyone wants to be right. "Chronic Lyme exists." "No it doesn't." "Yes it does." Sometimes, when there is such a fuss over whether or not someone is right, you forget what you're even fighting about. And if this battle goes on much longer, no one with Lyme Disease will have any arms left! It is time to take a breather, stop fighting, and do more research!

There is a gaping hole in the Tribune's story that really needs to be addressed. At the top of the article, there is a picture of a man who was misdiagnosed as having Lyme Disease, when in fact it turns out he has been suffering from cancer. It is, of course, a heartbreaking story, but we are not shown the other side of the story: those who have Lyme Disease, but have been misdiagnosed--the very REASON that Lyme Disease becomes chronic.

Most doctors do agree that when caught and treated early, Lyme Disease is pretty easy to cure. The problem lies in what to do with those of us, like me, who do have Lyme Disease, have already done our short course of antibiotics, and aren't cured. The tests show it's still in our bodies and our symptoms are still there. Our symptoms do not lie. Is a cancer patient abandoned if one round of chemo doesn't cure them?

According to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, "There is considerable impairment of health-related quality of life among patients with persistent symptoms despite previous antibiotic treatment for acute Lyme disease. However, in these two trials, treatment with intravenous and oral antibiotics for 90 days did not improve symptoms more than placebo." The problem lies in a lack of effective treatment for the chronic form of Lyme Disease, not whether or not a chronic form of the disease actually exists.

There is so much that is unknown about Lyme Disease, especially those cases like mine that have gone misdiagnosed for months or years. The sad thing is, many people (doctors included) will read the Chicago Tribune's article, and believe every word of it, when in reality, scientists have only touched the tip of the iceberg in what is known about Lyme Disease.

I have enough pain in my body already from Lyme Disease without adding all of this controversy on top of it. To me, the answer is this: stop bashing each other and do more research!