When Lyme disease is caught, it’s typically treated with a 3-4 week round of antibiotics. For many patients, this is enough to eliminate the symptoms of the disease and bring their lives back to normal. However, for many others, the symptoms continue. The duration, severity, and range of symptoms may vary, but the lives of these patients continue to be life with Lyme.
This phenomenon is referred to as Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. Regardless of what it is referred to, this aspect of Lyme disease has sparked much disagreement among the medical community. Doctors such as John Halperin, from Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey, argue that antibiotics are enough to cure everyone infected with the Lyme bacteria.
In an open letter to the NGA, the Infectious Disease Society of America called the refutal of Chronic Lyme disease the "widespread consensus within the medical and scientific community." However, even after a superficial sweep of the medical community's information on Lyme disease, its obvious that no "widespread consensus" exists.
Other Doctors argue that Lyme disease has various methods of affecting our bodies long after the antibiotics have cured the initial infection. The patient with chronic, subjective symptoms, such as fatigue, musculoskeletal aches, and neurocognitive symptoms, have ever-present infection with B. burgdorferi that requires treatment, with months to years of antibiotics. Doctors such as Dr. Garth Ehrlich even says that the Lyme bacteria has the capacity to form a defensive “biofilm” that is resistant to antibiotics.
All of this disagreement makes it extremely difficult to know which doctors to trust, as its likely to receive conflicting advice and treatment.
This phenomenon is referred to as Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome. Regardless of what it is referred to, this aspect of Lyme disease has sparked much disagreement among the medical community. Doctors such as John Halperin, from Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey, argue that antibiotics are enough to cure everyone infected with the Lyme bacteria.
In an open letter to the NGA, the Infectious Disease Society of America called the refutal of Chronic Lyme disease the "widespread consensus within the medical and scientific community." However, even after a superficial sweep of the medical community's information on Lyme disease, its obvious that no "widespread consensus" exists.
Other Doctors argue that Lyme disease has various methods of affecting our bodies long after the antibiotics have cured the initial infection. The patient with chronic, subjective symptoms, such as fatigue, musculoskeletal aches, and neurocognitive symptoms, have ever-present infection with B. burgdorferi that requires treatment, with months to years of antibiotics. Doctors such as Dr. Garth Ehrlich even says that the Lyme bacteria has the capacity to form a defensive “biofilm” that is resistant to antibiotics.
All of this disagreement makes it extremely difficult to know which doctors to trust, as its likely to receive conflicting advice and treatment.
This page was created for Marc Bousquet's English 363 course at Emory University as part of the Domain of One's Own Initiative.