Ben Stiller was on Letterman, said he has lyme disease. His son had it too, but got treated right away.
They took it pretty seriously, but did say that you can't get it on the West coast.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
quote:Originally posted by Michael_Venice: They took it pretty seriously, but did say that you can't get it on the West coast.
Harrumph! Who knows Letterman?
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Actually, from what I thought I heard -- he is not sure he has lyme - said maybe - they don't really know and that he is an "enigma" --- he injured his knee in Africa and, when back in California, has some fluid drawn out. The doctor said the fluid looked unusual and thought it might be lyme. They are not sure yet what it is.
They only have him on an anti-inflammatory right now for his knee. Hope it not a steroid if this is lyme.
I just saw the David Letterman clip here on the west coast.
Yes, I can't believe it but David did actually say there is no lyme in California, that it is just an "east coast thing" Oy, Vey !
And Ben said his son had lyme from a bite on the east coast last summer and he was just given "oh, I don't know - whatever the lyme disease" pill is . . . and indicated that was all there was to it. I am very glad his son is fine, he was very, very lucky.
To Dave's credit, he did say that the east coast ticks can carry several diseases in addition to lyme - (word has it that Dave actually had Ehrlichia in the past year or two but he did not mention that on the show tonight).
But, Ben made it sound like lyme is no big deal and the doctors, while baffled, are sure not very concerned.
I hope David will make some sort of correction to his statement about it being "just on the east coast" - Pamela Weintraub (author of "Cure Unknown") should be his guest - to help set things right.
If fans can get Betty White on Saturday Night Live, we should be able to get some ILADS Lyme authors on Letterman. He sometimes has authors who are not show business types. He is show business now, but he's had Dr. Oz on - it'd be a great service to everyone to have a few ILADS authors. I'm sure they'd even all help come up with a few jokes that could also be educational. -
Posted by Michael_Venice (Member # 17254) on :
Well, if they caught it really early..it does seem like many people recover pretty well. I have had a couple of friends' kids diagnosed since I got sick, and they freaked out because of my situation, but they were given antibiotics right away...and seem fine so far.
Letterman was really sick with some TBI about a year ago, I think. He said at the time that he felt more ill than after his open-heart surgery, and more than when he had shingles. He knows some about it, I think.
It's so hard to wrap our collective heads around the fact that, for some, it's really not that big of a deal and to many others, it's completely devastating.
It brings to mind, years ago, that clip of Michael J Fox, his hand was trembling/twitching and Letterman asked him about it, and he said he had a 'touch of lyme'. I've seen many speculate that the parkinson's could have been from that.
Who knows....that is wild speculation, but it reminded me of that.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
Thx, Keebler - someone or someones need to set Dave straight on our West coast proliferation of Lyme and co's, going on for quite some time.
Earliest time I heard from someone was they got infected here in the 50s, they think. Certainly by the 70s, it was happening.
CALDA ain't a joyride...
Michael, I have the sense that folks don't know how lucky they are to be able to nip it in the bud. Does add another screwy dimension to this whole thing when those who have had it and nipped it fast think it's no big deal.
Posted by daisyrlb (Member # 15686) on :
Harrumph! "Hear, Hear", Robin123.
Posted by RDaywillcome (Member # 21454) on :
I only watch films by those who gross $2.8 billion dollars and up... and he has only hit the $2.1 billion dollar mark.
Posted by ping (Member # 6974) on :
quote:Originally posted by Keebler: - Actually, from what I thought I heard -- he is not sure he has lyme - said maybe - they don't really know and that he is an "enigma" --- ... They only have him on an anti-inflammatory right now for his knee. Hope it not a steroid if this is lyme.... But, Ben made it sound like lyme is no big deal and the doctors, while baffled, are sure not very concerned.
Yeah, just keep up that anti-inflam and not treating for TBD; even if not a steroid, Stiller will come to know what a big deal it truly is... Humpf.
As mean as this sounds, I think people with this sort of mentality need to take a walk in our shoes...
Everyone will get their turn (with something).
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
Here's a good article where he talks about his symptoms, including night sweats. It sounds like he had a positive test.
Yeah, night sweats, huh? Not just Borrelia, but likely Babs and others too. Best wishes, Mr. Stiller... Be seein' ya here on LymeNet.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Hehehee... I kept thinking this was about Ben Stein!!??
So if you can't get it on the West Coast, then I guess you can't get it in Texas or Missouri either!!?? Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
And if you can't get it on the West coast, or Texas or Missouri, or...or...or... then how do they know they even have it on the East coast? I'm going to set them straight that this is all a mass global hallucination.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
i just get a kick out of people who say "oh no problem, take a couple of abx, and you're cured."
know-it-alls...
but hey you can lead horses to water but you can't make them drink.
Posted by daisyrlb (Member # 15686) on :
BTW, no Lyme Disease in Oklahoma either. That bulls-eye rash I got was unique looking though.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
it ain't in texas either. i had a allergic reaction to a spider bite!!!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- To clarify, Mr. Stiller did not say he was having night sweats. Dave just ask what some of the other symptoms are (not what HIS symptoms were) and Ben said "night sweats . . ." he never said he was experiencing that.
He had a serious injury 3 1/2 weeks ago to his knee. One doctor asked if he ever had lyme. He has not been tested for nor diagnosed with it. Now, sure we all know that it's possible but I sure hope the guy does not.
But, were I to be him, I'd sure be consulted other doctors besides the Yahoos who called him an "enigma" and can't tell him what is wrong. I do hope he finds his way to a good LLMD for a good evaluation. Hopefully, he'll walk away with a much simpler answer than we all received - after many years of being told the doctors had no clue. -
Posted by peacemama (Member # 17666) on :
Mr. Stiller did say he was having night sweats in an article I saw online.
Also. . no chance in the world that that sort of presentation is from an acute infection. . how do I know? My husband just had the same thing happen with a slight irritation from a dance workshop.
We are now 4 for 4 in our house of lymies. This is exactly how he presented. Fluid in his leg and intense bruising. Our health care practitioner thinks rickettsia in addition to everything else we've got.
Posted by canefan17 (Member # 22149) on :
He was saying if it wasn't, I'd have to have an orthoscopic procedure, so if it is Lyme disease, I won't have to have the procedure done, which is great."
^^^ Ben has no idea lol
Posted by nick.j (Member # 25233) on :
Here is a link to the full show that Ben Stiller appeared on: LateShow3-23-10
It looks like the full shows are only available for a limited time, so who knows how long this link will be good.
The segment of the interview about LD is at roughly 16:00 to 22:00 in the show video.
As for what they said about LD in California, Letterman said something like "you don't typically get Lyme Disease in California" and Stiller said something like "no it's an East Coast sort of thing".
I wasn't surprised to hear them both expressing the very commonly held belief that LD only exists on the East Coast, but I didn't feel like either said they were sure that it didn't exist in California.
Stiller had said that his son got LD on the East Coast, so Letterman's comment seemed a little irrelevant anyway, since Stiller had clearly traveled there himself as well.
I thought they kind of glossed over the implied possibility that Stiller might have gotten LD from his son (I know human-to-human transmission isn't supposed to be possible, but some claim it does happen.)
Posted by RESOLVED. (Member # 24991) on :
Sad to say, and I don't wish harm on anyone but...if a celebrity or whatever they call themselves these days, ever got misdiagnosed (ie, Montell Williams??)and suffered with Lyme, it might actually all come out. Afterall, aren't they the most important people in the world anyway?
Posted by ping (Member # 6974) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lymetoo: Hehehee... I kept thinking this was about Ben Stein!!??
TC - You're not missing anything not knowing who Ben Stiller is.
L2 - Now THAT'S hilarious! I think Stein is a hoot anyway... Can't imagine the mayhem he'd be with Lyme... Hope he never finds out.
Resolved - Just one celebrity? There are many celebs, including a former U.S. Pres. It will take a lot more than a few... Them, their spouses, children and grandchildren, for starters. Even better, include Bum Steere, The Worm, Spliced-Gene, their kids and grandkids. We might see some action then.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
I often wonder if the Worm actually does have LD and it has affected his brain in a very serious manner.
I also wonder if he does botox injections into his lips. Or is it sort of a pinochio syndrome, but instead of the nose getting longer, the lips keep getting bigger.
Seriously though, these celebrities are going to have to get very ill and also their children; and then get brave enough to admit they have it. Those that do have it don't want to admit it, because it might ruin their careers.
Posted by LoneDove (Member # 16516) on :
quote:Originally posted by Michael_Venice: Well, if they caught it really early..it does seem like many people recover pretty well. I have had a couple of friends' kids diagnosed since I got sick, and they freaked out because of my situation, but they were given antibiotics right away...and seem fine so far.
"Seems fine so far" is the key. I went to the dr. immediately and insisted he give me doxy script. I didn't feel anything right away either. That was a few yrs ago. It seems so people get really sick right away and some it takes years and is a slow descent. I think that it what happened with me. I was online here a year ago but it was so depressing I just didn't want to be here. Now a year later and another tick bite, I could hardly walk with intense stabbing, burning pain in my heels. Other symptoms I thought were unrelated - vertigo, fuzzy thinking, terrible fatigue, etc. now fit in the lyme & coinfection pattern.
Posted by ThatColorGreen (Member # 16016) on :
i like how actors find themselves to be medical experts and spread their absolute knowledge to all of America
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