"Fake" diseases blog

I usually only post links to new items or writings that support chronic Lyme.  But as Sun Tzu states in "The Art of War:"

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

So, here is a blog (with a lot of comments on both sides) about chronic Lyme as a "fake disease:"

http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2008/05/fake_diseases_part_deuxchronic.php

[PlateletGal]

Remember when Rush Limbaugh claimed that Michael J. Fox was a "faker"... suggesting that he didn't have Parkinson's disease ? And then a pair of talk show hosts (as I recall) said that Magic Johnson did not have AIDS. Where is this anger towards chronically ill people coming from ? I guess these hateful, judgmental people are bored. I mean who would come up with such insane statements ? And CFS isn't real either... LOL ! That's right... millions of CFS and even lyme patients are faking their illness. Although I wouldn't imagine why... we don't get hardly any support and we end up paying a fortune trying to get well !

[PlateletGal]

P.S. ~ I recall them doing this to MS patients (MS wasn't real either) and post polio syndrome wasn't real either.

How dumb.

[Amyloo]

Thanks Wonko.  I'm going to check it out.

[margypops]

Made me mad reading it why would we get the same symptoms, are we all supposed to be unintelligent nuts!

[wonko]

It makes me mad, too.  But note that an MD wrote this, and I think several of the comments are also made my MD's.  

I think it's important for us to be aware of how this topic is viewed by the people who we trust to help us.

Personally, I'm not convinced by the "other side."  To me, saying that there is no proof is a poor argument.  Research is lacking, and testing methods are still capable of evolving.  

All knowledge goes through stages before it becomes accepted, and denial is often the first stage.

The 2005 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to Robin Warren for the discovery that peptic ulcers are caused by bacteria, an idea that was originally laughed at.

Of course there are countless other examples.  That example is relatively recent, and also shows how bacteria are underestimated.  The hypothesis was laughed at because the mainstream didn't believe that bacteria could survive the conditions of the human stomach.  So now, we're told there is no chronic Lyme because bacteria supposedly can't survive 4 weeks of antibiotics.

I'm neither that doubtful of mother nature nor that pessimistic that better proof won't become available through advances in testing over time.

Whoa, look at me go!  Putting away my soapbox, and taking a chill pill.

[PlateletGal]

"Robin Warren"

You mean Barry Marshall, correct ? I think he was the physician who actually swallowed bacteria in order to prove his theory ! And as we all know now, he was successful !

Its funny because if you read the old medical textbooks, they are quite clear on what causes diseases. I remember fungus, parasites and pathogens were listed... possible one or two more.

[wonko]

They shared the award, sorry for the omission!

As for your old books...And what, you don't accept that some diseases onset due to unknown causes as the the bottom line?  You think that effect requires cause?  LOL.  OK, I gotta stop...

[PlateletGal]

If you would have told me even 15 years ago about the role in politics in some illnesses, I would not have believed you. But now after experiencing this firsthand, I realize now how politics has played a significant role in our illnesses.

This is recent testimony submitted to the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC). The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services via the Assistant Secretary for Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

Check it out and see what CFS patients have been through:

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/91344

How many more lives will be lost as a result ?

[PlateletGal]

oops ---  I meant to write 5 years, not 15 years. I'll use my free pass again, thank you ! ; ^)

[cindy903]

How arrogant these young docs are! It's easy to be mean like that, but among doctors? That's the real joke. It's on them, not the patients.