Who treat Lyme patients according to ILADS guidelines
Commentary: Vermont’s governor recently signed into law a bill protecting doctors who treat Lyme patients according to ILADS guidelines. Rachel Nevitt, married to Senator David Zucherman from Vermont (who initially introduced the bill), discusses in a 30 minute television interview her experience with Lyme disease. She covers a broad range of topics including Lyme’s pleomorphic symptoms, its effects on her family, how it is spreading in epidemic proportion throughout the state of Vermont, the politics of Lyme disease, and the level of denial among the medical community resulting in so much unnecessary suffering. I am shown briefly in this interview when I was testifying several years ago before the Vermont Congress on the science of Lyme disease, and Dr Steven Phillips is highlighted in this film discussing the research supporting the ILADS perspective on the unreliability of testing and persistence. There is a one minute pause in the middle of the video, so please be patient as the video is worth watching in its entirety.
Rachel compares the Lyme disease epidemic to the AIDS epidemic, and puts out a call to action before history repeats itself once again. She discusses the IDSA/ILADS controversy in detail and how doctors need to take patients seriously, and look at the scientific research for themselves, so they can see what the science really says. Her humor, wisdom, and strength to rise up and deal with the challenge of a chronic illness will resonate with many who have had this debilitating disease.