HadLyme

Lymees Hard to Kill Harder to Comprehend

Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:39:03 +0100

January 23, 2008

Lymees: Hard to Kill, Harder to Comprehend

Well, the online Lymees continue to bear up under the kinds of microbial assaults that quickly would kill a horse. Literally. What’s remarkable about the adamant assertions below is that these people really seem to believe they have all of these concurrent infections. Clearly none of them have ever had a real infection of any kind.

The Internet Lyme disease groups and websites seem to be populated largely by people who have no understanding of infectious agents, their associated symptoms, or how antibiotics work. Yet, they insist that they’re infected, often with numerous agents; that th ey know more about medicine and infectious disease research than anyone else; and that if they can just swallow or inject enough antibiotics for long enough they’ll be just fine again.

One suspects, however, that this population of online patients was never really fine to begin with. Rejecting the reality of idiopathic pain or emotional and psychology problems, they instead have latched onto a minor infectious agent, turned it into a personal micro-demon and set off in search of an antimicrobial holy grail that will make them whole and happy again.

• I'm a life-long (nearly) Lymie. I've had it since I was three years old- over twenty years. I also tested positive twice for RMSF prior to the return of my symptoms.

• I am co-infected with Bart, possibly also still RMSF, and maybe Babs. I am IgeneX positive for an old but active Lyme infection.

• When my wife got sick in the summer of this year, she had her blood tested and it came back positive for Ehrlicia, Babesia, Bartonella, and Lyme!

• …tested positive for babesiosis, bartonella, and lyme the one and only time I was tested for co-infections,

• I also had Lyme, bart, ehrlicia, babs, rickettsia, EBV for over a year before any treatment.

• I was diagnosed with mycoplasma, bartonella, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis as well as Lyme - in Maryland.

• i tested pos for lyme, erlich and babs...but later was pretty sure i had bart also.

• In spite of testing positive for Babs WA-1, EBV, Q Fever, H.Pylori and tapeworms, I quickly bounced back and currently am living a normal life. I'm still in treatment.

• i was dx'ed with bb, babesia microti, bartonella hensalae and mycoplasma fermentans in 2002. then i had three or four strains of candida, yipee.

• As someone who had lyme, bartonella and babesia (babesia went undiagnosed through five tests), I know exactly what it all feels like.

• It turned out to be a Mycoplasma coinfection! This also fits with the 19-21 day cycle of the supposed Herx reactions, because mycoplasma has a 21 day life cycle.

On that quest for a cure, these “chronic” Lymees can always depend on plenty of online drug pushers ready to offer therapeutic advice. Below is one such genius suggesting the use of aquarium antibiotics.

Maybe these are not on the list of drugs you want, but if you google "fish antibiotics" you will find doxy, tetra, amoxocillin, flagyl, and others inexpensive and without a script. They are safe and effective….

Well, maybe they’d be safe for Aquaman, but probably not for the average middle-aged woman tired of doctor-shopping and looking for a quick fix.

And then there’s some barnyard advice from another long-time Lyme nut:

It is what I would do if I didn't have a doctor!

* feed stores- tell them you have a goat that weighs as much as you do!!!

* animal abx from online

I wonder what kind of doctor this poor wrecked creature has these days? Some quack LLMD or perhaps a New Age California guru?

From her own tedious online confessions one learns that she attempted suicide several years ago after her parents threatened to take away her car and access to the Internet. (“When I was in the hospital after the suicide attempt I was in the psych ward. [F]or any who don't know, it is a locked wing of the hospital.…” Thanks. We might have guessed as much.)

Despite—as she claims—watching her parents reduced to tears over her and having doctors tell her to her face that she was nuts, she seems to have abandoned a credible diagnosis of bipolar disorder in favor of a self-diagnosis of a permanent tick-borne infection, and abandoned useful neuropsychiatric medications for all the antibiotics she can get her hands on. Probably that includes goat antibiotics.

By herself, this person would be just one more tragic tale of one more misguided fool avoiding reality and a chance at a relatively normal and healthy life.

But the greater tragedy is her relentless presence on the Internet, giving unsought advice to equally confused and ignorant people; and providing blithe, pseudo-intellectual interpretations of medical and scientific findings, of which she has absolutely no understanding.

The depth of her ignorance and the scope of her mindless commentary are breathtaking. If only her parents had managed to cut off her access to the Internet!

Posted by HadLyme at 13:38