I laughed out loud when the one doctor suggestion Lyme because of the internal bleeding and the patient improved on steroids. It turned out to be the proper diagnosis!
The only "real" Lyme symptoms I notice was the "arthritis" and the bullseye they found that clinched the diagnosis at the end of the show.
They also contridicted themselves early in the show prior to giving the patient steroids. One dr. said it may be a bad idea if there is infection present as it would supress the immune system.
In the end - I'm happy they showed the Rash and mentioned the disease. People who don't know about Lyme won't remember the steroid stuff.
Posted by TexasChaos (Member # 7465) on :
I was so mad that they focused so much on the congenital head anomaly and not on the illness... and then when they finally confirmed the Lyme diagnosis, the show ended literally three seconds later. No follow-up info, no discussion about treatment, nada!
But, like you said, any little thing that helps raise awareness...
Posted by AZURE WISH (Member # 804) on :
Last week (i think it was last week)scrubs had an episode where the rash ended up being in the pataints hair.
Where the heck did they get that steriods would improve lyme though... i dont think the idsa is even that dumb
No one said.... start him on abx either.
I hope people realize a tv show like that is just entertainment and should not be relied on for research or informing medical opinions concerning there health.
i think they could have made it much more exciting. lyme can present with so many kinds of symptoms (seizures, psych, cognitive, various pains, cardiac etc) and they could have found a coinfection to go with it...
having said that i still do like the show.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Oh, great. It's still early here and not on yet. I hate "House" due to his attitude of arrogance. (However, he is a dectective. That I like).
But now I'll have to watch it. thanks for the notice of steroids. I can't get upset now and let it wash over me by the time it airs.
Thanks (no, really, I guess!).
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Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
I posted on general about this.
The heart problems and the twitching are both symptoms of Lyme. I for one have uncontrolled movements from Lyme, including twitching of my pinky finger. It was nice to see that symptom recognized.
But the steroid bit was really screwed up.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
I was planning to post about this episode, and title it, Dr. House is an Idiot!
I got so pis$ed off that he ruled out Lyme as a possible diagnosis just because the patient did not have a bullseye rash.
Actually, the writers and medical consultants are the idiots.
What people will remember is that it can't be Lyme unless there is a bullseye rash.
Carol
Editing to add: There are a number of people here who know enough about diagnosing and treating Lyme that they could hire out as a consultant.
[ 14. November 2007, 01:50 AM: Message edited by: Carol in PA ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Exactly !
And to add to Carol's reply . . . that lyme just disappears when you get on to the next order of business.
Let's see: this kid was bleeding out of his stomach. His liver was shot, he had heart problems. they put him on steroids, which would make the lyme blossom, and - oh, my - they do a very complex major surgery and he walks out with a big smile on his face, ready to be normal.
Not one remark about, oh, the rash is not a sure thing. No other questioning or remark about treatment, co-infections check, or long recovery - if very lucky and he has a fortune for a real doctor.
I'm all for good writing and hope the writers, in general, get what their due regarding royalties for web stuff . . . but I hope the writers for " use this time to learn a little about medicine.
Geez. How hard is it to learn a few points that could have made this accurate - and actually taught something ?
If most of the US doctors aren't going to, we do look to the writers to get it right. Sad, but true. What people see and hear on TV really matters. We will hear over turkey, "Just get up and get on with it. That kid did on 'House'" ??!!!
Oy, Vey!
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Posted by Soleilpie (Member # 8481) on :
As soon as I heard "heart block," I automatically thought of Lyme disease. Of course, not all heart block is because of Lyme, but I guess it's because I'm consumed by Lyme lol!
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
You know, SOMETIMES steroids are necessary with Lyme- like with bad pseudotumor cerebri with kids sometimes- or to stop someone from going blind- or if they have bad dermyocystis-
But I didn't see it, I am just TRYING to htink positive!!!!!!!!!! I have only seen HOUSE once (I go to bed early & get up early!!) but I really liked it a lot!! I hope the saying Lyme at all made up for the bad stuff- Best wishes, Sarah
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
The steroids would probably reduce the symptoms that are a result of the inflammatory process caused by Lyme. However, the downside would be that they would make the infection stronger.
We do have to remember that they need to condense everything into an hour. Lyme was condensed into about 10 minutes of the show. So things will always be wrong because of the time frame they put everything in.
The positive was the recognition of Lyme and the recognition that Lyme can cause heart block, muscle movements and that the bulls eye could be hidden.
The biggest negative was the strong suggestion that you can't have Lyme without a bullseye. This is particularly concerning because the young man was African American, and the rash can appear like a bruise on darker skin.
Posted by Lisianthus (Member # 6631) on :
I think the writers took a break on this episode! I normally love this show, but this episode stunk!
They did no research on lyme at all, they knew nothing about it, other then someone supposedly needs a bullseye rash to have lyme.
I heard that they base episodes on actual cases, if this were a true case I feel sorry for this guy.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Sarah,
thanks for the reminder that " . . . You know, SOMETIMES steroids are necessary with Lyme- like with bad pseudotumor cerebri with kids sometimes- or to stop someone from going blind- or if they have bad dermyocystis- . . ."
and, it's good to see that most of us get the drill with replies like "But it makes lyme worse" sort of thing.
Steroids can be life-saving at times. However. the treatment guidelines have specific instructions around how to take abx 48 hours prior to any steroids, if possible, and all this under a LLMD, of course, would be best. There is a section on this in the treatment guidelines at www.ilads.org
For newcomers to this site and for those with undiagnosed lyme, whose doctors don't have a clue, therein lies the danger. And, for that reason, the lack of clarity on HOUSE could cause lots of damage out there.
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