Treatment of doctors, patients gets under our skin
Posted: 02/19/2009 10:00:00 AM EST

As a society, what we don't know about Lyme disease is astonishing. Yet what little our medical professionals have done with the knowledge they do have is even more astonishing.
For more than 20 years, a quiet schism has been forming in the medical community over diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. As more and more proof emerges that Lyme is the actual cause behind a lot of misdiagnosed illnesses, our doctors and insurance companies should be embracing this new information to better diagnose and treat people suffering from this debilitating disease.

Instead, many doctors either don't believe the emerging data and continue to treat patients ineffectively, or have been able to use the information for private personal gain -- like denying that certain treatment options exist while the doctor waits for the patent for his or her own Lyme treatment to be approved.

Insurance companies are happy to stick with the old method of treating Lyme disease with antibiotics for just two weeks, despite evidence that the disease usually takes much longer to treat -- often it takes years.

The 2008 documentary Under Our Skin explores this exact issue in sometimes brutal, but always thought-provoking detail. And for people in


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Fairfield County, the film should be required watching -- even for those who think they have not been affected by Lyme disease. Though Lyme disease is reaching more of the national population, we continue to see more cases in this area each year.
Under Our Skin is an eye-opener to the at-times arcane world of diagnosis and treatment and shows how easily disagreements can arise.

More importantly, the film demonstrates to viewers how truly destructive this cunning disease can be. Filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson shows the heartbreaking struggle that people with Lyme disease have to face day after day, year after year.

Some local parents have organized a screening of the film, which will take place next Thursday, Feb. 27, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Fairfield Public Library, 1080 Old Post Road.

But since there are only a limited number of seats available, and response has already been overwhelming, we urge the residents of this area where Lyme disease is endemic, to take it upon themselves to become familiar with this disease that affects so many of our friends and neighbors.

Right now preview versions of the DVD are available for purchase at www.under ourskin.com, and soon the official DVD will be released. The Web site also offers links to other informational sites, and provides the names of some of the key players in the controversy over Lyme disease diagnosis and its treatment options.

Attributed to changes in our ecology, scientists are seeing an increase in the tick population. Where Lyme disease once used to affect mainly certain swaths of the country, its reach now extends to all 50 states and around the world.

Here in Connecticut, where the disease got its name, we should support progresses made in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease and its co-infections.

In areas of this state, entire neighborhoods have tested positive for Lyme disease and the numbers of those infected continue to rise. Yet according to Under Our Skin, there are even more cases that go unreported or misdiagnosed each year.

Those who know someone with Lyme disease have seen what a frustrating and baffling disease it can be. Masking itself, Lyme is often mistaken for other ailments -- sometimes even psychological. And for the many who go untreated for too long, it can be a lifelong battle.

State Rep. Kim Fawcett (D-Westport, Fairfield) proposed legislation (House Bill 5625, An Act Concerning the Use of Long-Term Antibiotics for the Treatment of Lyme Disease) to protect doctors who treat Lyme disease.

All of Fairfield's legislators are supporting Fawcett's legislation, including Republican Minority Leader Sen. John McKinney (R-Easton, Fairfield, Newtown and Weston) and Rep. Tom Drew (D-Fairfield). Other legislators supporting the legislation are Rep. Chris Lyddy, Rep. Peggy Reeves and Rep. Tony Hwang and representatives from Danbury, Westport, Norwalk, Ridgefield, and Stamford.

Contact your legislators to let them know how you feel. State Sen. Bob Duff (D-Darien, Norwalk) can be reached at (800) 842-1420 or by e-mailing Duff@

senatedems.ct.gov; State Sen. Andrew McDonald (D-Darien, Stamford) can be reached at McDonald@senatedems.ct.gov or by calling (800) 842-1420; and state Rep. Terrie Wood can be reached at her office at (800) 842-1423, or through her Web site, http://repterriewood.com/, by clicking the "Contact Me" link.

But as Wilson said in an interview with this paper, before legislators can make a difference, the public must be aware of the problem. Don't forget to educate yourself, first.

We applaud the work of Wilson and the follow-through of Fawcett, and we also thank the members of our community who organized the screening and have donated their time to educate and inform the rest of us about an issue that has potential to affect us all.