Topic: Look who is the expert on the Presidential Lyme disease!!
Ann-OH
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2020
posted
Aw Jeez, look who they got as an expert commentator - the guy who actually wrote the terrible Infectious Diseases Society's guidelines! I hope they gave the president more than the one pill of Doxycycline they recommend for early cases. Ann-OH
Bush Apparently Had Lyme Disease
President Was Treated for Rash in 2006 www.washingtonpost.com By David Brown Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, August 9, 2007; A02
President Bush was treated a year ago for what appears to have been Lyme disease, the White House said yesterday in disclosing the results of his annual physical exam.
A report of the president's recent medical examination said his case had "complete resolution" and was "without recurrence" since being treated last August. The illness, an infection carried by deer ticks that is prevalent in the Northeastern United States, had not been previously revealed.
While untreated Lyme disease can cause arthritis, an abnormal heart rhythm and problems with the nervous system, those complications usually can be prevented by taking antibiotics at an early stage of the infection. The medical record did not describe the details of the president's therapy.
Up to 15 percent of people treated for Lyme disease later complain of symptoms such as fatigue and muscle pain. Whether that is a consequence of the infection is uncertain and a matter of controversy. Chronic pain and tiredness are extremely common in adults; whether people who have had Lyme disease suffer from those problems in higher numbers is unknown.
"I wouldn't expect any problem at all for the president," said Gary Wormser, chief of infectious diseases at New York Medical College and an expert on Lyme disease. "He won't be impacted by this infection in the future."
Lyme disease, named after the town in Connecticut where the first cases were identified in the 1970s, causes a rash that is often its sole manifestation. Classically it is a large reddish oval with a lighter-colored center and is often described as looking like a target.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Bush found a rash on the front of his lower left leg and alerted White House physicians.
While the Lyme organism Borrelia burgdorferi can sometimes be isolated in the skin or bloodstream -- and antibodies to it can also eventually be detected in the blood -- laboratory testing is often not done. That is because a person with a typical rash and a history of outdoor activity will be treated for the disease, regardless of what the tests show.
Without such tests, however, it is impossible to rule out a Lyme disease look-alike called STARI as the cause of the president's illness last summer.
STARI stands for "Southern tick-associated rash illness." It also causes a target-like rash and is associated with a tick bite, but the causative organism has not been found.
STARI is common in Texas. The lone star tick is the species that transmits it. There are no documented cases of Lyme disease in the president's home state, where he spent much of last August on vacation.
"If he got it in Texas, it was undoubtedly STARI," Wormser said.
Stanzel said yesterday that he does not know when Bush's condition was diagnosed. The interval between tick bite and rash appearance in Lyme disease can be as long as 30 days. The president could have been infected with the Lyme organism in the Washington area, with the rash appearing after he left.
STARI seems to be a milder infection than Lyme disease. There is no specific test for it. It is diagnosed primarily if a patient has a Lyme-like rash and a tick bite, but no Lyme organisms or antibodies.
People with STARI almost always take the same antibiotics that are prescribed for Lyme disease. The rash goes away with treatment, as do the flu-like symptoms that sometimes accompany it.
Wormser said it is not known whether treatment of STARI is necessary. There appear to be no long-term consequences of either treated or untreated infection, he added.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
now ya'll just know in your itty bitty little hearts, that there ain't no lyme in this here texas, don't cha???
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
I just posted a comment on the AOL web site news under the story of Bush being treated for Lyme.
Wonder if CNN and others have places we can post and hopefully educate.
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Wormser on Lyme is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.
I just sent an email to ILADS(email is [email protected]) asking if they are planning to rebut the Washington Post article, etc, and put out a general AP release. I sure hope an organizational response is happening!
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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posted
>>>That is because a person with a typical rash and a history of outdoor activity will be treated for the disease, regardless of what the tests show.<<<
Not in my neck of the woods. My BIL's dr. didn't treat him.
Maybe Wormser wants to see Bush succumb to Chronic Lyme. Wormser used to believe it existed & has got to know it still does.
When Ronald Reagan was shot, he quipped with the medical drs. saying, I hope you're Republicans. The medical personnel answered back, "Today, we're all Republicans."
Kayda
Posts: 582 | From midwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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luvs2ride
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Wormser stating definitively that the president will have no future problem may be the best thing that could happen. I hate to wish a rebound on the president but if it happens, Wormser will look the fool.
This may prove to be a blessing!
Luvs
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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Cobweb
Unregistered
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So confident-"complete resolution"-and how did Wormser determine this??????? Autopsy???
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Boomerang
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posted
Wormser is the expert? Sheesh.
Kayda, you're right......they make it sound like it's SO routine to get treatment. We all know that isn't what happens.
Posts: 1366 | From Southeast | Registered: Sep 2005
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
robin, thanks for taking initiative and writing ILADS! good for you; yes, someone needs to be coordinating efforts so our energy of writing can be the most effective it can be.
ann, thx for posting this! now, george will experience what other wormser patients have received!
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david1097
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I have a simple question that I have been unable to resolve.
Are there ANY poeple out there that have been treated by Wormser, Steere, Shapprio etc. or any of the IDSA expert panel that are willing to talk about thier experiences? How about the initial Steere children cases in Lyme Ct?
Somebody must know of someone somewhere.
I have asked this question many times on hte various lyme forums only to find silence. This despite the fact that this type of info would conclusively resolve this issue once and for all.
Anybody?
Posts: 1184 | From north america | Registered: Feb 2003
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Sue vG
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Member # 3143
posted
I got my lyme in TX and it sure did produce lyme antibodies....CDC positive.
Posts: 1307 | From TX | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by david1097: I have a simple question that I have been unable to resolve.
Are there ANY poeple out there that have been treated by Wormser, Steere, Shapprio etc. or any of the IDSA expert panel that are willing to talk about thier experiences? How about the initial Steere children cases in Lyme Ct?
Somebody must know of someone somewhere.
Good question!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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TEXANS SAY GIVE DR WORMSER THE BOOT (NY PROTEST NOV 2006. IN FRONT OF WORMSER'S PLACE OF EMLOYMENT)
Posts: 258 | From Washington State | Registered: Nov 2005
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RoadRunner
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 380
posted
quote:Originally posted by david1097: I have a simple question that I have been unable to resolve.
Are there ANY poeple out there that have been treated by Wormser, Steere, Shapprio etc. or any of the IDSA expert panel that are willing to talk about thier experiences? How about the initial Steere children cases in Lyme Ct?
Somebody must know of someone somewhere.
I have asked this question many times on hte various lyme forums only to find silence. This despite the fact that this type of info would conclusively resolve this issue once and for all.
Anybody?
YES I DO!!!!
Big Losers all three of them
Wouldn't know it is lyme if it hit them in face!!
RR
-------------------- "Beep Beep" Posts: 2630 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2000
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AliG
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Member # 9734
posted
I've read that he's been bit before. Do we know if he actually saw a tick or just the rash? Perhaps he's previously been improperly treated.
Maybe if he begins having memory problems, attention problems, confusion and COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS (you know, like using the wrong words & having things come out differently from how you mean them ) we'll actually get some serious interest in resolving the Great Lyme Divide!
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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AliG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9734
posted
If someone would just get him to an LLMD, EVERYONE will be able to see the difference proper treatment makes!
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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david1097
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Member # 3662
posted
Road runner..
Were these people treated for lyme or just sent on their way?. If they were treaed, how long and did they relapse and is relapse occured did they re start the treatment?
If they were just sent on their way was there conclusive evidence of lyme infection through lab testing at any time after start of treatment by someone else? Many people will go strong elisa and WB positive after treatments starts yet steere et.al. do not acknowledge such a posibiity????? If this happened with one or more of steeres patients a case report should be written and submitted to one of the many medical journals (as well as contact someone involved in the CT anti trust investigation) and some of the senior people at the IDSA.
Posts: 1184 | From north america | Registered: Feb 2003
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If you read Polly Murray's book--The Widening Circle--it's not hard to see that she was originally frustrated by the lack of attention to Lyme AND you can see that she was frustrated with the treatment her family had received from Steere et al.
Polly Murray, her husband, and her kids were always getting bitten, getting treatment, and getting worse again. Does anyone know how many of her family members are actually well today?
I've been posting before about "no Lyme in Texas." Love stirring up you yellow roses! And love the name Stand Up for Lyme.
Since when is STARI associated with a milder illness? Where did I miss this?
I agree with fox guarding the henhouse! Good one.
Posts: 422 | From Luck home | Registered: Sep 2005
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lymednva
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posted
quote:So confident-"complete resolution"-and how did Wormser determine this??????? Autopsy???
Cobby, you crack me up!
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Well, if Bush goes out in the street in his underwear and proclaims himself to be god, like the FL football player with lyme, then maybe they will rethink the idea that he is in perfect health now....except for this and that and the other symptom that is NOT LYME. Won't it be interesting to see the spin this would get? Too bad the subsequent symptoms will not be so colorful.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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quote:If you read Polly Murray's book--The Widening Circle--it's not hard to see that she was originally frustrated by the lack of attention to Lyme AND you can see that she was frustrated with the treatment her family had received from Steere et al.
Polly Murray, her husband, and her kids were always getting bitten, getting treatment, and getting worse again. Does anyone know how many of her family members are actually well today?
David, Seems like you could write Polly a letter. She is very articulate. I loved her book. It helped me really understand what I was up against. She kept very good records of everything her family went through. Have you read the book?
-------------------- When I lost my grip on Faith in the maze of illness, Hope gently clasped my hand and led on.
RuthRuth Posts: 478 | From California | Registered: Jan 2007
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RoadRunner
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Member # 380
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quote:Originally posted by david1097: Road runner..
Were these people treated for lyme or just sent on their way?. If they were treaed, how long and did they relapse and is relapse occured did they re start the treatment?
If they were just sent on their way was there conclusive evidence of lyme infection through lab testing at any time after start of treatment by someone else? Many people will go strong elisa and WB positive after treatments starts yet steere et.al. do not acknowledge such a posibiity????? If this happened with one or more of steeres patients a case report should be written and submitted to one of the many medical journals (as well as contact someone involved in the CT anti trust investigation) and some of the senior people at the IDSA.
david some were treated and some sent away.
just crazy stuff!!
RR
-------------------- "Beep Beep" Posts: 2630 | From ct | Registered: Nov 2000
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David, there was a retrospective article published by Steere about his lyme cases. Concluded that they all did well, except for.........which was evidently not important. You can find it at pubmed by searching for Steere articles published in 2001.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Boomerang
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I've read Polly's book. It really details the frustrations she and her family lived with for so long.
Posts: 1366 | From Southeast | Registered: Sep 2005
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Greatcod
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"STARI,STARI NIGHTS" by Gary and the Worms..One of my all time favorites.
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