I have had Lyme Disease for 32 years (undiagnosed) until last May, and finally received treatment at the end of July… just before it took my life.
I am appalled by how I have been treated ever since. I have been told by doctors not to mention that word (Lyme Disease) in their office. I have been told “I know what you need, but my hands are tied. I will not lose my license to treat you!”
No patient should be treated this way. But those with Chronic Lyme hear it every day. We are the AIDS patients of the 21 century and things need to change. I will not die in vain! Please help us and those doctors that DO help us. They should be able to treat us without fear of losing their licenses, due to special interest group like the insurance companies and those looking to create a vaccine. Shapiro, Wormser and Steere,Shapiro-IDSA Board are ignoring surmounting evidence of long term antibiotic therapy being helpful and they need to be removed.

Sincerely,
Allison Caruana

Lyme & many other tick-borne illnesses are recorded in every single state of the USA.Ticks are everywhere, including our back yards. The only things that can help stop the spread of TBDs are proper education about ticks and other vectors carrying these diseases and protection of doctors who know how to treat Lyme Borreliosis properly.More accurate detection is needed and 25+ year-old serology testing does not fit the bill anymore.When those of us do have a positive test then our doctors are persecuted for treating us for more than a month. orrelia is an extremely stealth-like pathogen and cannot be eradicated with such a short course. What is happening to our Lyme-literate physicians is criminal and what is happening to we, the victims of Lyme, is at the very least negligent and in the cases of those who have died of complications from Lyme, it is murder. This disease is not going away and ignoring it thus far has proven to be a grave mistake. Please do not let this ignorance continue.