House passes chronic Lyme disease bill

Since 1997, Kent Haydock has led efforts to manage Darien's deer population and stop the spread of tick-borne Lyme disease.

[south pine creek person]

To Ann Gershon
Chronic lyme disease does exist. I have been living with it for 11 years. If you think that the extended use of antibiotics is physician driven you are wrong. They promote the long term use of antibiotics because they are confronted with hoards of people like me who are chronically sick and can barely function....and are offered no other alternative. There is plenty of data out there....Why don't you get busy collecting it. Put your money where your mouth is.

[Allison Koziol]

...And why is this finally being taken seriously!?! Because now someone has been impacted who has the power and position to do something about it. My grandfather used to say, "If I'm working as a ditch digger and the five guys next to me get laid off, that's a recession. When I get laid off, that's a depression." It's the same case here. It doesn't exist until it impacts the right person and all of a sudden...what do you know...it DOES exist.

[A mother and Horse]

I am sooooooooooo happy to see this today! It is about time, Dr. Jones and my doc can practice & be left alone by a this corruption!

I love it! What an accomplishment in the world of Lyme Disease! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

You know the Infectious Disease of Society is not just hating the Attorney General of CT this morning!
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Central NJ ID physician]

Not being from CT myself, I don't know a lot of details about this legislation. On the surface, however, it seems very reasonable - I don't like it at all when a government agency presumes to tell me how I can or can't treat my patients. If an individual patient perceives harm from treatment or lack thereof, there are civil (malpractice) means for dealing with that, and there is always, of course, the ability to seek out a second opinion. If a physician's practice has a pattern of being inappropriate or unacceptable (as judged by regional or nationwide norms), then there are mechanisms in place for investigation, disciplinary action, fines, revocation of licensure, etc. More legislation (as is often the case) is not the answer.
I do disagree, however, with the notion of chronic Lyme disease as an actual active infection that benefits from antibiotic therapy. I don't know any physicians who would deny that patients who may have developed Lyme disease could have chronic SYMPTOMS, and could certainly be suffering, but that does not mean they have a chronic INFECTION. The most rigorous studies in the literature simply do not support that association. Whether those symptoms are immunologic, neurologic, psychological, etc. is an area for further study. What the literature does support is that there are clear, defined, predictable risks to long-term antibiotics, some of which can be fatal, and some of which have an impact on the community health (e.g., spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria), not just on the patient being treated.

[Mary-milehightic k]

This has been a long time coming!.... Its a start in the long road for Lyme patients with a disease that no one wants to admit is the fastest growing infectious disease in the United States.

[A mother and Horse]

Central Id NJ MD,

If you are so right, you should print your name...If you were bit by a tick 28 years, ago and went without treatment...What would you have????

It would take more than more than 28 days of oral antibiotics?

And I would greatly risk, your choice of treatment, then the one I am on.

Can you please reference the study or studies where the people have died from over use of antibiotics?

Thanks!

[Lcr]

Swine Flu — or the first symptom of Lyme Disease? With the emergence of possible Swine Flu cases coinciding with the start of peak season for lyme disease, which one of the first symptoms being “flu-like” illness - I wonder how many people will be tested for swine flu - test negative and be relieved - but then not realize that it could possibly be lyme disease?
Lyme disease symptoms in its early stage include fever, chills, headaches, stiff neck, fatigue and muscle aches.
Swine Flu symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, stiff neck, fatigue and muscle aches.

[lakes592]

It's about time! Thanks for writing about this very serious issue. I hope other states will follow.

[nancy sloane]

I am a home infusion nurse and have seen hundreds of cases of chronic lyme. Many of these patients have documented evidence of this by either positive serology, positive MRI, positive lumbar punctures, or positive aspirations. All of the above have live spirochetes present or lesions in the brain. How this can be disputed is absurd. Thes patients need and deserve long term antibiotic therapy.

[Greg]

"Connecticut is the worst state [for Lyme], and Fairfield and New Haven counties are the worst in the state," Haydock said. "It's just devastating to hear these doctors can't prescribe what they know is correct."

Since Mr. Haydock has been known to have played fast and loose with the facts, this statement is typical of his repertoire.

In fact, those two counties are not the worst for the number of Lyme disease cases: The correct answer to this is WINDHAM COUNTY!

Mr. Haydock to inform readers of exactly how deer numbers are supposed to havelowered th culling deer is supposed to curb Lyme Disease incidents. Not only do they have more cases of Lyme Disease, but interestingly, they have a lower deer population!

Has slaughtering deer in Fairfield and New Haven Counties made a significant dent in reported cases of this disease? Giving people false hope that this would be true is deplorable!

[NKJ]

Hunting not only has NOT really reduced deer populations but hasn't cut down on anything that deer are supposed to be guilty of!

If hunting truly reduced populations, why would they have to do it year after year after year without numbers really changing - that is the question!!!!

And the answer is very simple.

[Andrew McGovern]

I was bitten in 1985 on the left inner thigh while bank fishing for largemouth bass in a high weeded wooded area in north central Kansas. The Dr. didn't know what the bite was from, a 6-8 inch bulls eye rash. Since then, I've had all the symptoms and now live on SS disability. I had a blood test through the VA system in 2003, to late to correctly prove if it was Lyme but the test came out positive and the Western Blot neg. So who knows? I do, and I have LYME. I compared my bite with photo's on the net. It was the same.

[Robbie C]

People need to take this disease seriously read this interview with a person that has Lyme.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1590...

[george washington]

can;t say as if I know him

[Stop the madness]

I guess it is good news that the state legislature is taking time out of promoting transvestite power in the public schools, increasing the power of the state, and the other nonsense they spend time massaging to acknowledge the obvious. It would be really cool if they actually investigated the origins of Plum Island disease. They might also find the origins of the "swine flu" in the process.

[TSGordon]

I was bitten in Arkansas by a tick that was flat and tan, not black. Within two days it turned to a blackish welt. Then the pains started to migrate through the connected muscles, up and down my leg. As tick bites go, these symptoms were unusual. This is serious. Conventional medicine suggests "get treatment asap!" -But help was actually two weeks away, which put me perilously close to allowing it to go 'chronic,' which is vital for all you readers to grasp.(I have since met two people who fit this category.) It took a natural Doctor to lead me to this amazing 'CURE,' which happens to be a combination of SuperSilver and Allicin. The process took about 19 days for me to be convinced it was truly flushing out the enzymes. It took well over 2 months to really attack the red welts which at one point covered my leg and rump.--The real danger is allowing it to spread to your organs, because, once there, you will need to confer with numerous specialists, the 'conventional' ones will have you pumped-up on chemical 'drugs.'--Silver reacts to these by forming coagulates which will make you nausiously sick. Life will be miserable.

[addendum]

Dear Editor; I do not represent any of the above companies, but I am happy to teach others what I know. My career is in cooking and nutrition and organic agriculture. Lyme sufferers may e-mail: tsgordon-at-redlineav-dot-com. , although I cannot offer much hope to those of you who have had this for more than 3 years!

[David Musick]

PJ Langhoff published a new book on the politics of Lyme. I highly recommend it.

_The Baker's Dozen the Lunatic Fringe_
ISBN: 978-0-9654580-6-1

[Dave]

Don't forget, I found that Lymes could lead to tranverse myelitis, which happened to me. The study looks like it was written about me...maybe you too?

http://www.myelitis.org/_printit.php

[Dave]

Screwy link, try this

http://www.myelitis.org/tm.htm