Topic: Highly inadequate article on Lyme in Newsweek online. Write!
David95928
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3521
posted
Newsweek online (MSN.com)has a short article on reducing one's risk of Lyme disease. It includes a link to write to the editors. This could be a REAL opportunity. I suggest being polite.
-------------------- Dave Posts: 2034 | From CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Hi David,
Could you post the direct link here for all of us who love writing letters of rebuttal? thanks
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Here is the article:
Health: Bitten By the Bug Newsweek Updated: 11:34 a.m. ET June 14, 2006
At least 20,000 Americans a year are afflicted with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by ticks.
If left untreated, the infection can spread to the heart, joints and nervous system.
Later this year, the Infectious Diseases Society of America is expected to recommend that doctors prescribe a single dose of antibiotics to people whose tick bites put them at high risk for the disease.
Here's how to lessen your odds of getting infected:
Insect repellent should contain DEET, which wards off ticks with its smell.
Dress in light colors so it's easier to spot ticks.
They feed on humans for at least 72 to 96 hours; use tweezers to remove them.
"Favorite areas are under the armpits and in your groin," says Dr. Gary Wormser of New York Medical College.
If you show symptoms of Lyme--fever, headache, fatigue and a rash at least the size of a half dollar--see a doctor.
He'll probably prescribe a two-week course of medication.
--Karen Springen
Rate this story Low High Current rating: 3 by 30 users
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Okay, found this at the bottom of the page:
posted
Well, maybe if the accident scene had included ticks also, we might get more interest......
"Terrified motorists detect ticks crossing the road, swerve to avoid them, car and people destroyed in the accident"
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
Well, I just wrote to them.
I was brief. I was brutal.
Sorry, but it is articles like this that keep people sick.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
I wrote them too, and attached a copy of my 4 LEGAL size lyme disease brochure I typed 2 years ago and updated with ACCURATE info for her to use on her 2nd story about lyme correcting her mistakes!
I tried to rate it to ONE, but it didn't work; wasn't user-friendly for neuro lymie.
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
Okay, I'm confused about rating the article.
Do I rate it 5 stars becauses it's an important topic, or do I rate it one star because it's inadequately written?
You can read and rate the article every day, if you want. Press on one of the stars.
Another thing, there is a link on the right side that says "BLOG TALK There are no posts that link to this article yet. See the most blogged about articles on Newsweek."
Dr. Wiseasp, where are you when we need you?
Carol
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
posted
I rated it 0.5 but would like to write a letter-where do i send it-I couldn't find a link.
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
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janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
posted
I rated it 0.5 but would like to write a letter-where do i send it-I couldn't find a link.
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
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OK, so here I was wondering how I would spend my day tomorrow.
I guess I'm finaly updating my blog....and then pointing to that one page piece of crap that Newsweek is referring to as 'journalism'.
I can't believe Newsweek actually published that piece of fluffy garbage.
The photo is nice & vivid.
Check in with y'all later.
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Ann-OH
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2020
posted
Here is the reply I sent: [quote] Your article "Bitten by the Bug" in your June 19th issue was a very brief and very light view of Lyme disease. The idea of treating this extremely dangerous infection with one pill of doxycycline is ludicrous and even more so coming from the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The horrific thing is that doctors reading this will test for Lyme disease and only if it is positive will give one pill and say the patient is cured. They will not realize that it was meant for cases presenting immediately after the tick bite. At best the doctor will give a two-week course of antibiotic, which is not enough to stop the disease from spreading.
Your international edition published a serious article on Lyme disease last December in which Lyme disease was characterized as it really is:
[quote] "Not only is Lyme disease tricky to diagnose--not everybody gets the circular rash, and lab tests still aren't wholly reliable--it can take a decade or more for mental disorders to set in.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that nine out of 10 cases of Lyme diseases remain unreported. There are 15 species of borellias--making them the most common tickborne disease-producing bacteria in the world."
Doesn't sound like a one-pill curable disease to me, and it is irresponsible for anyone to say it is. [end quote]
posted
Thanks for bringing this absurd article to our attention, David.
Nancy
Posts: 688 | From Florida | Registered: Aug 2001
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Someone else posted about this, and I posted a reply by newsweek to that post! I deleted it from my email. I don't have time to look for it. Bettyg
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David95928
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3521
posted
Nancy, it's nice to hear from you. How is your son doing?
-------------------- Dave Posts: 2034 | From CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Michelle M
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7200
posted
Thanks, David. Here's my morning email to them.
Good morning, Editors.
This is about the poorest piece of fluff I've ever seen. Honestly, guys. Do a little homework. Dr. Wormser is one of the chief reasons there are so many chronic lyme disease patients walking around ill today.
There are tons of peer-reviewed studies documenting the fact that borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme, can and does survive repeated courses of antibiotics -- a fact blithely ignored by Wormser and his minions at the Infectious Disease Society. Instead, they ascribe lyme patients' lingering misery to "post Lyme syndrome" and refuse further antibiotics when a wealth of evidence is staring them in the eye that it is caused by continuing bacterial infection.
Below is a little primer for you, in case you think I made that up. There are many, many more.
Please don't publish garbage like this that lends credibility to fools without doing your homework first. We hold journalists to a high standard to research and investigate, not just repeat what they're told.
Microscopy, Culture or PCR-verified cases of persistent [seronegative] Lyme borreliosis
(peer-reviewed PubMed-linked summary article copy/pasted here; cannot paste it here because has parentheses in it but good patient listing of cases of persistence in the face of multiple rounds of antibiotics)
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
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Then on the right where is says "Blog Talk", it will say "1 blog discussing" this article - click on that link where it will take you to a brief excerpt of my blog entry, and then click on it from there.
I'm suggesting this because no doubt Newsweek has software that will keep track of the attention that each article receives through their rating system and by the number of blogs, and the interest in it.
If my blog has any factual errors, please email me and let me know. BUT if you would - PLEASE please leave some kind of comment at the bottom of the blog entry, in the off chance that any one from Newsweek or other journalists take the time to read my garbage.
I just think that when a blog has comments at the bottom, even if brief, it indicates reader interest. Just an idea.
And in fact - you don't even have to like me or my writing style. You can openly disagree with me if you like - I don't care. Just want to get the numbers & comments up to show interest in subject matter!
Thanks in advance for spreading the word!
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Tu-tu -- I know I got a little carried away with my dog stories -- but it was part of my analogies; comparing the difficulty of training my new dog with the difficulty of the media learning the old trick of 'getting all the facts' before presenting an article.
But you're right -- some non-Lymies may not stick around for the explanation.
However, I suspect if anyone from Newsweek or MSNBC cared enough (which is highly unlikely UNLESS MANY people NAVIGATE away from that artcle page TO my blog)- they'd scroll to get to the pertinent parts.
Hope more people might be willing to do that - NAVIGATE away from the article page thru the link TO my blog so their software stat program will pick it up -- to show INTEREST in the subject matter.
People don't actually have to even read the blog -- just keep NAVIGATING! (Does that make sense?)
OK, well thanks again.
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Up for more navigating! Please rate the cra**y article!!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Carol B
Unregistered
posted
Here's a copy of the email I sent in response:
To: Subject: Re: Health:Bitten by the BUg Date: Thursday, June 22, 2006 8:14 AM
Sadly you're right-when someone is bitten by the bug (tick) they often are given two weeks of antibiotics following the woefully inadequate guidlines of the IDSA.
I, myself, felt fortunate that my doctor gave me three weeks of antibioitic treatment-but I was naive and misguided-as was my doctor.
Two years later I still tested positive for active Lyme-and have become unable to work at this time until I receive the proper and effective treatment for Lyme which involves a much longer and stronger course of antibiotics.
The saddest part of my story is that it all could have been avoided except for the fact my doctor followed the inadequate protocol prescribed by the IDSA.
I can't imagine how many more people are going to suffer needlessly because of the one bite /one pill experiment.
For the sake of ALL the staff and their families who work for Newsweek I strongly suggest you research more thoroughly into the dibilitating illness of Lyme Disease.
Has anyone that has written the editors received any kind of response - even just an automated response?
Just wondering.
Keep NAVIGATING through their article link to any blog entries posted there - because their computer system will count it.
I'm going to try to figure out how to post on Lymeblog.com and see if others might be interested in refering to the article in their blogs as well -- so be on the lookout for those, too!
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Thanks so much for organizing this writing campaign. The new IDSA guidelines are coming out in a few weeks, so we are going to need to keep writing and writing and writing.
I'm sure they will continue to put out press releases and lazy reporters will just copy them. So our biggest hope is in making a lot of noise.
Here's one of my letters to the editor. I couldn't help the snotty tone, because I'm so mad. I am writing another one, hoping to sound less snotty and cancel out the one I just sent. But here's what I sent now:
Re: Health: Bitten By The Bug - June 14th
To The Editor: I am one of many thousands of patients whose lives have been devastated by chronic Lyme disease..
We have had the 2 to 4 week antibiotic treatment recommended by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) only to be told that nothing could be done for us when we remained ill.
When we finally found doctors willing to treat us with more antibiotics, for many of us the illness had disseminated through the body to the point where we could expect periodic remissions, but not a cure.
Others have had the one or two doses of antibiotics immediately following a tick bite. This is probably the most pernicious instruction to come from the IDSA.
The single dose is sufficient to suppress an early immune reaction, but does not eradicate the Lyme bacterium which can remain dormant for months or years before making itself known in chronic, often incurable, Lyme disease. Yet, there has been no long term follow up study to determine the health of those treated with a single dose.
As thousands more patients have their lives destroyed each year by chronic Lyme disease, and as our society pays the price in billions of dollars annually for losses due to ths illness, we desperately need reporting that does more than just rewrite the press releases of a single. biased organization like the IDSA.
Please contact the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society and the Lyme Disease Association for more accurate information about this extremely complicated illness. Thank you, Ellen Lubarsky
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Posts: 819 | From New York, NY | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
BTW, most periodicals want you to include your name and snail mail address and phone number at the end. I'm guessing Newsweek is the same, though I haven't checked. Too busy writing my next letter adn trying to be nice. Ellen
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Posts: 819 | From New York, NY | Registered: Oct 2001
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Carol B
Unregistered
posted
Didn't sound snotty to me-sounded RIGHT ON !
I did receive an automated response from Newsweek.
Carol Ps after a nap I may send another email from a different address and a legal alias.
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I thought your letter sounded just fine -- nice even, especially compared to the tone in my blog.
Incidentally - as of the last time I checked, Lymeblog.com was down due to some hackers.
If there are any others out there who have blogs - it would be nice if you could include reference & a link to the Newsweek article. If you need assistance with how to get it to link to Newsweek - let me know. I'll be glad to try to help with that.
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
Just a special note of thanks for your item on Lyme disease ("Bitten by the Bug," TIP SHEET, June 19).
Awareness and education are the best defense against a tick bite. On behalf of the public, as well as the tireless efforts of the Tick Borne Disease Advocates, we truly appreciate this wonderful article.
Lisa Messner DHS Lyme Disease Advisory Committee Member Sacramento, Calif.
====
While it was great of you to mention Lyme disease, the small amount of space allocated to the topic left a lot to be desired.
Lyme disease is truly a debilitating and complex illness when left undiagnosed and untreated.
Perhaps it was not the writer's intention, but the article could leave readers with the impression that if they don't have a rash at least the size of a half dollar, they don't have Lyme disease.
Figures vary, depending on the source, but many experts believe that up to 40 percent of those infected with Lyme never had a rash.
My daughter never did, nor did my niece--both of whom became ill with atypical (and very different) symptoms, more than one year (and 80 miles) apart.
My niece was not diagnosed for more than a year, and my daughter for two and a half years, despite their combined visits to a dozen different doctors for myriad symptoms.
Because of the delay in treatment, it is taking a lot longer than two weeks for a complete recovery for both girls.
In the meantime, my daughter has missed out on a huge portion of the last three and a half years of her 14-year-old life.
That's time she can never recoup--and all because too many people were clueless about Lyme disease.
Susan Fairbank-Pitzer Danvers, Mass.
Posts: 6947 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Carol, thanks for the new postings of ONE lyme member here getting her letter published ... good deal! Bettyg
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What's that saying: "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step"?? or something like that!
Kudos to all those that took the time to write a letter. It was probably the VOLUME of attention to the matter that persuaded the editors to at least ACKNOWLEDGE the matter.
Keep up the good work y'all!
Hugs &
-------------------- DR. Wiseass NOT a real doc - just a real wise Posts: 792 | From USA | Registered: Jan 2005
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