Commentary: Patiens Caveo
Cortesy of L. Berardi
We are all too familiar with the Latin expression Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware). But when it comes to seeking medical assistance Patiens Caveo, or Patients Beware, generally gets oversimplified to “get a 2nd opinion”. In the medical realm of Lyme Disease (LD) or more specifically Tick-Borne Infections (TBI) ,this does not suffice.
As many LD patients have had to learn the hard way:
- The medical community is in the early stages of recognizing and treating TBI;
- Political influences pressure doctors and hospitals from administering costly treatments; and
- Laboratories are having difficulty accurately testing for TBI.
This makes getting properly treated a crap-shoot.
By the time a patient begins feeling the many potential TBI symptoms, they are in a poor position, both mentally and physically, to properly research LD/TBI care. That is why I get concerned when the NY Medical College (Valhalla, NY) in the heart of TBI country, goes on a marketing blitzkrieg to promote their walk-in Lyme Center (N.Y Medical College clinic leads in Lyme disease study, treatment – http://www.lohud.com/article/20110709/NEWS01/107090349/N-Y-Medical-College-clinic-leads-Lyme-disease-study-treatment?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Westchester%20County,%20New%20York).
Claiming to receive about 60 patients a day, this center boasts some of the more recognizable doctors in the LD world. Director of the center, Dr Wormser, was profiled in the film “Under Our Skin”. For years, He has been a strong disbeliever in chronic lyme and a big supporter of the dubious IDSA LD guidelines. This in itself should raise concern for any patient seeking this center’s expertise. After all, if you poison the well even slightly, then all the well is poisoned.
Then how does a vulnerable LD patient quickly come up to speed on complicated LD issues. Essentially the same way we buy merchandise, by sharing information and doing your homework. This certainly reduces the probability of being railroaded.
So no matter what medical situation you might be faced with, Patiens Caveo.
All the best,
Rob
Lyme Handbook 
I think your post is very important. For those of us that do our home work we should start paying more attention to the FDA. The FDA has released new “guidance” which, when put into practice will drastically alter the supplement industry. As a person that has beaten Lyme and then been re-infected I can not stress how important it is to fight for our rights to self treat. Tell your politicians and the FDA that we will not stand for these ridiculous regulations that could ban all supplements that are effective.
Diana
Diana,
I am not all too familiar with this ban. Does it go much beyond dietary supplements?
Rob