Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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- Well, that review failed to grasp the depth of the film. Some of the things he said were not addressed, were. I wonder if he really watched this?
He said there was no message that something has to be done. Well, yes, indeed. You'd have to zoned out not to have gotten that message. -
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bettyg
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copying this here to read and break up if necessary and PLEASE SIGN UP AND GIVE COMMENTS AT THE SITE!!
..The faces in "Under Our Skin" are undeniably compelling. A former Sea World trainer, a park ranger, a crew member on U2's "Vertigo" tour -- all formerly healthy, vibrant people undone by a mysterious disease.
Except, filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson claims in his crusading film, chronic Lyme disease is only mysterious because the health care and insurance industries are deliberately choosing to make it mysterious.
And what the subjects in the film find is that it's very hard to get effective treatment for a disease that your doctor believes doesn't exist.
Wilson's film isn't at all balanced -- it's an editorial, not a news article -- but balance is not required in a documentary.
The problem with "Under Our Skin" is that Wilson rests far too much of his case on those faces, and doesn't wade far enough into the raging debate over chronic Lyme disease within the medical community.
Acute Lyme disease, caused by a deer tick bite, is something every doctor, even every Cub Scout, knows about.
It's "hard to get, easy to treat," in the words of Jordan Fisher Smith, a former park ranger and author.
But what Smith contracted was much more insidious and devastating: A long-term illness leading to chronic, debilitating pain and neurological dysfunctions.
Dana Walsh was a member of U2's crew and seems like a glamorous, hip sort of thirtysomething, but she's also suffering from chronic Lyme disease.
The most memorable of the subjects, though, is Mandy Hughes, a former Sea World trainer who is occasionally rendered immobile by the pain, her fingers curling into claws as she writhes on the floor.
The video of her wedding day, when you can see the bride's face suddenly grimace during the ceremony, is heartbreaking.
We feel for all of these people (even though I'm not recommending the movie, I did go to the movie's website -- underourskin.com -- for updates on how they're all doing).
But Wilson should have used their stories as an emotional foundation for a hard-edged investigation into the Lyme disease debate, why the medical community flatly believes there's no scientific basis for chronic Lyme disease.
We even see one North Carolina doctor get his license suspended for prescribing an antibiotic that has helped many Lyme disease sufferers, but isn't officially sanctioned.
Instead, the movie kind of nibbles at the edges of the debate.
We see a doctor claim that there's no evidence to support a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease, but the statement is allowed to stand on its own, with no follow-up from Wilson.
The film would have been much more interesting (and powerful) if we had seen that same doctor watch the footage of Mandy writhing in agony, or even had an on-camera debate between pro- and anti-Lyme disease physicians.
"Under Our Skin" is undeniably made with passion and skill, and certainly connects on an emotional level.
But what it mainly accomplishes is to persuade us to tell ourselves that "It's horrible to have chronic Lyme disease," rather than "Something needs to be done about chronic Lyme disease."
UNDER OUR SKIN
2 stars
Stars: Mandy Hughes, Jordan Fisher Smith
Rated: Not rated
How long: 1:44
Where: Sundance
Opens: Friday
For fans of: "Sicko," "An Inconvenient Truth," Raid Flea and Tick Killer
Posted in Movies on Friday, October 9, 2009 5:00 am Updated: 8:22 am.
Review, Review Under Our Skin, Under Our Skin
� Copyright 2009, madison.com
**********************
need i say more! hogwash from the reviewer!
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bettyg
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2 comments left so far are:
The_Truth_Will_Out said on: October 10, 2009, 10:20 am
Agree totally with "lymeonline".
Under Our Skin is absolutely brilliant and brings to the forefront the controversy which has been going on behind the scenes, which most of the world is oblivious to.
The IDSA mantra that Lyme is "hard to catch, easy to cure" is utterly ridiculous and they should be ashamed to call themselves doctors.
Andy gave BOTH sides a fair crack at the whip to present their stance; yet the IDSA didn't manage to represent their view in any logical manner - as shown in the film.
The scientific evidence for Chronic Lyme disease and the PERSISTENCE of the COMPLEX Borrelia Spirochete is DETAILED and VAST.
for 70 studies which show the persistence of the bacteria.
You may also like to look at a study titled "Rapidly progressive frontal-type dementia associated with Lyme disease" which demonstrates a tragic case of a gentleman diagnosed with Dementia after being treated with a course of antibiotics for Lyme Disease.
He showed improvement whilst on antibiotics but relapsed when the antibiotics were stopped. He was institutionalised for the psychiatric condition but soon died.
The authors of this study concluded that "Lyme disease must be considered even in cases with purely psychiatric presentation, and prolonged antibiotic therapy may be necessary"
The IDSA continues to cite the following study to support its view that "long-term antibiotics are not beneficial in treating Lyme disease", the very study performed by Klempner
("Two controlled trials of antibiotic treatment in patients with persistent symptoms and a history of Lyme disease. New England Journal of Medicine, June 12, 2001")
which has been trashed by an independent research group (amongst others) as being flawed and "bad science".
Various organisations are often cited to substantiate the IDSA guidelines, namely the CDC, ALDF and EUCALB - when those very organisations actually hold no independent viewpoint at all but merely voice and duplicate that of the IDSA Lyme disease panel.
Different organisations are being cited to give the appearance of wider and more authoritative backing from different, independent sources when the membership of these organisations actually contains the very same people amongst their number and, therefore, disqualify them as an independent source.
There is no corroborating evidence from varying authoritative points of reference, then, to support this view promulgated by IDSA;
there is, in fact, only one point of reference - the guidelines as set out by the IDSA Lyme disease panel, which is currently under investigation for GROSS conflicts of interest! ................................
lymeonline said on: October 9, 2009, 11:16 am
Did you watch this entire movie? Some of your arguments about the film do not match what the movie offers.
Andy does show both sides and breaks down the Lyme debate in a very down-to-earth way.
He does interview doctors on both sides of the debate. What the anti-Lyme doctors say is basically all they are willing to contribute.
To have two doctors debate face-to-face would be nice, but it is easier said than done. There are limitations when you are dealing with such a decisive topic.
You may not recommend this film, but Lyme Disease is alive and well in Wisconsin.
It is one of the top ten states in the United States for reported cases.
It is considered an endemic state by the CDC.
If you don't contract Lyme Disease in Wisconsin, chances are you will know someone who does have it.
There are pockets of the state that are seeing very concentrated cases of the disease. These people are very disabled from this disease.
Throw in the fact that there are a very limited amount of doctors willing to treat this disease (in fear that if they do they will lose their license) and you have yourself a little medical dilemma.
Don't forget, insurance companies have refused to cover these treatments, treatments that do work.
I encourage people who live in endemic areas (Wisconsin & Minnesota) to watch this movie, if for no other reason, to know how to protect yourself and your family from what is a very real and present danger in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
For those of us with Lyme Disease, this movie is a godsend and has moved Lyme Disease to the forefront, showing issues that many of us already know exisit, but making it mainstream for others to see what we struggle with.
Under Our Skin is an amazing film, the photography is top-notch and the information is startling.
It is hard to believe that in 2009, it is difficult for people to get treatment for a disease that is considered so wide spread, even worse, to have certain doctors tell you it does not exist.
I am living proof it does exist and even more so, that long-term antibiotic treatments do help patients regain their health.
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- The critic in my city also panned the film.
Question: how many of the advertisers for the newspaper are hospitals or medical centers? How many doctors advertise in the paper?
Are there many (or any) ILADS-member LLMDs who are freely allowed to practice in your state? If not, it's likely the state's IDSA "leaders" have a relationship with members of the local press, too. That is the case in my state. We've never been able to get a fair news article or television feature. Never.
Likely reasons for the reviewer's myopia. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
UOS wins top award at International Health Film Festival
UNDER OUR SKIN was just awarded ``Best Feature Film-Silver Award'' at the 1st International Health Film Festival in Kos, Greece. The tiny island in the eastern Aegean sea was the home to Hippocrates, father of medicine.
Over 80 films competed and were juried by industry professionals as well as physicians. -
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kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
Sent email. Wasn't able to figure out the comment section today but did catch the writers' email address
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
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need i say more! hogwash from the reviewer!
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