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Posted by wiserforit (Member # 9732) on :
 
This was posted in the letter section of the New York Times -- Worm also posted another letter on June 11th refuting the existance of chronic lyme.

Any eloquent writers care to respond to The NY Times?

Lyme Revisited (1 Letter)

Published: July 29, 2008

To the Editor:

``A Threat in a Grassy Stroll: Lyme Disease'' (Personal Health, July 15) blurs the distinctions between evidence-based medicine and a counterculture ideology that ascribes pain and fatigue syndromes to ``chronic Lyme disease.''

Only patients who have the Lyme rash can be confidently given a diagnosis of Lyme disease based on clinical judgment. If the disease is diagnosed in a patient with later manifestations of the infection in the absence of a positive Lyme antibody test, that individual should seek a second opinion from a provider who practices evidence-based medicine.

Most patients respond well to a two- to four-week course of antibiotic therapy. Anyone who has been prescribed antibiotic therapy for months on end should seek a second opinion, as numerous controlled trials have failed to show benefit from such extended courses.

Gary P. Wormser, M.D.

Allen C. Steere, M.D.

Dr. Wormser is chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at New York Medical College; Dr. Steere is a professor of medicine at Harvard.

Science Times welcomes letters from readers. Those submitted for publication must include the writer's name, address and telephone number. E-mail should be sent to [email protected]. Send letters to Science Editor, The New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018.
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Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
 
tori,

yep, PURE HOG WASH ... PU!! it's been posted several places elsewhere. [puke] [cussing] [toilet] [tsk]


i hope some ILADS mds reply to it since they can provide links to argue!
 
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
 
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He must have brain damage.

-
 
Posted by Anneke (Member # 7939) on :
 
Unbelievable.... They just will not shut up or tell the truth.
 
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
 
Keebler...

To ask if they have brain damage... you must first believe they actually have brains!

HA!

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Dear Editor,

It is quite interesting to note that Dr. Gary Wormser and Dr. Allen Steere feel that only patients with the Lyme rash can confidently be given a diagnosis of Lyme disease, especially when less than half of the adults with Lyme get a rash and less than 10 percent of children have one.

It is also interesting to note they think anyone with a negative Lyme test, who has been diagnosed with Lyme disease, should get a second opinion from one of their like-minded colleagues; especially after John Hopkins has proven the tests they recommend miss 75 percent of the people who are infected.

After carefully considering this infamous duo's comments, my only question would be- have they recently bought stock in companies selling cemetery plots, or are they still planning to live off profits generated by the unreliable Lyme tests, Lyme-related patents, research grants or the insurance companies consulting fees?
 
Posted by northstar (Member # 7911) on :
 
quote:

Only patients who have the Lyme rash can be confidently given a diagnosis of Lyme disease based on clinical judgment

I read this to say that clinical judgment, per CDC statements, is limited to the objective sign of a rash.

Have I misinterpreted?

If that is what they are saying, then they are again re-defining medical practice in general.

Northstar
 


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