The Lyme Wars–Investigating a Public Health Crisis (NBC New York)
NBC New York aired a five-part series about Lyme disease this past week, interviewing patients, doctors and research scientists.
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It’s significant not only for its content, but for the fact that it aired in the largest television market in the US.
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Watch now:
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Part I–Julia’s Story: Teen’s Health Affected in Fight Over Chronic Lyme Oct. 23
Part II — ‘I See a Future for Myself:’ Kyra Overcomes Chronic Lyme Diagnosis Oct. 24
Part III — How Scientists Are Working to Understand Lyme Disease Oct. 25
Part IV — Invasive Plant Could Be Contributing to Tri-State Diagnoses Oct. 26
Part V–Lyme Wars Part V: Doctors Sound the Alarm Oct. 27
Link to additional Lyme coverage from NBC New York
Tags : Lyme disease in New York
This is a wonderful series of videos. Very informative on a simple level. We who have TBIs know this information, but it is eye opening for those who don’t. My friends have been calling me since videos have aired. Do these doctors who spoke accept Medicare, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and other insurance plans? I had to stop my treatments with my TBIs specialist last year because Medicare and my other insurance plans refused to pay or reimburse for my treatments. Have paid out of pocket nearly $30,000. even though I have five health care plans that I have to continue to pay premiums. No longer can afford treatment. I have called Medicare numerous times for referrals, but when I call the doctors for an appointment, they no longer participate. Disgraceful! NBC4NY should investigate the Medicare Medicaid, and other insurance problem. I know how this family feels, My Mother died from TBIs before doctors “figured out” what she had. We have to unite and demand that something be done.
phyllis,
you are on medicare correct? look into HUMANA PPO…it’s a combo medicare & SUPPLEMENT together as ONE package.
i pay $51.00 / month!! you read correctly. when hubby/i joined 5-6 yrs. ago, it was only $ 31.00/month!
they get around $100 from SS who pays humana directly. they have many policyholders so are able to keep their costs low.
it’s MAIL ORDER PHARMACY of 3 months pills/shipment.
2 yrs. ago dec. 2, i have my right knee replaced! it was $42,000 for surgery/drs, etc. i paid ONLY $1200 out of pocket for this. it’s paid very well.
80% plus do NOT take insurance so they don’t have to go by insurance rules of 10 minutes per patient. this way they can take as long as needed giving you 1 on 1 QUALITY of time. hope this helps you/others.
hubby/i were paying $1200/month to BCBS; then they went up $500/MONTH to $ 1700/month!! ridiculous; glad i found humana.
betty gordon, iowa
Thank you Betty! Will be looking into humana ASAP, will also pass on this information to others with insurance problems.
Phyllis, you said you were on five different health plans, may I ask which specific ones and why so many? Not to be nosy thank you. BETTY
I’m glad to see that NBC provided these informative videos but I didn’t find them to be as in depth as FOX5NY’s series called ‘ Lyme and Reason’. Dr. Neil Spector has many lectures on YouTube that address the failures in American medicine- particularly in diagnosing Lyme.
I must confess that as a Virginian, I’m really concerned that these ‘ northern’ network programs, as good as they are, continue to perpetuate the myth that tick born diseases are rare in other territories. My local NPR radio station did a special one day on our local epidemic in Hampton Roads and I couldn’t believe how many sick people called in! Ironically, the talk show guest was a veterinarian, not a human physician and knew more than the first doctor who treated me who said that doctors in this area don’t know about Lyme because it doesn’t exist in this part of VA.
I also wanted to comment about the info on Bartonella. Most veterinarians ( I hope) know that anyone working in the veterinary sciences can easily be exposed to bartonella and yet I wonder how many employees know this and protect themselves? I had a horrible mouse infestation the winter I began to show symptoms and it was later discovered that we also had roof rats living under our house. I was tested for Brucella & bartonella ( from the fleas and feces from the rodents). Rodents are the carriers of the ticks as well. These sudden infestations were due to the destruction of forested habitat across the road from us earlier that year which removed the hawks and owls/predators and thereby increased the rodents. We spent a bloody fortune to have our crawl space, attic and home sterilized and rodent control. So beware of habitat destruction in your county/city and take precautions to prevent infestations around your home.
Dear Liz, I had the same problem with infestations around my PA home. Mostly because I only stayed here part time, so every pest “took over”. Disgusting! I purchased the plug in pest control devices from Amazon with the best ratings. Two for each room, attic, basement. I also bought two sets from two different manufacturers. I changed the sets each month, one month one manufacturers, next month the other. Took a while but now my home is pest free! Don’t have to change every month but I continue to do so. Has to do with the sound emitted. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will continue and that it will work for you. I also put permethrin toilet paper tubes around the outside of the house. Still got bitten, but at least I dont have little critters in the house!
Rodents are on the rise and so is the bubonic plague! The brown attic rat moved north from Georgia so it should be heading your way soon if not there already. I don’t know if those plug in pest control devices work effectively for very long. Rodents catch on and adapt to them. We have squirrel problems big time due to lack of predators. They have chewed through our chain link fence, our grill and anything else they can find. They too carry disease!
That is why one has to purchase a few sets from different manufacturers and change all monthly. The rodents get use to or are born into the sound. Keep changing until you do not see any evidence. They do work but take time. A few rodent life cycles.
I-TEAM, thank you for the 5 part series on the LYME DISEASE WAR. There is so much more to be told about all the 40 tick-borne diseases.
My late husband, Jack Gordon, and OUR lyme disease stories can be found at this site with the top slides show Jack’s brain autopsy slides where his brain made WORLDWIDE history having 2 diseases never found in a brain autopsy before:
LYME & LEWY body dementia causing visual & very violent hallucinations like Robin Williams had!
They also found a filarial nematode parasitic worm that had lyme disease too; another major find!!
https://durayresearch.wordpress.com/our-work/lewy-body-dementia-a-global-theory-of-neurodegenerative-disease/
The last link tells of our having chronic Lyme disease for 82.5 years; each of us was MISDIAGNOSED for 35 years; Jack was NEVER diagnosed correctly.
Brief update: I have been working for 2 yrs. this Dec. to get Jack’s death certificate AMENDED adding the other 2 diseases shown above: Lyme & Lewy body dementia to it as they CONTRIBUTED to his death.
VS. presently it shows only lung cancer. He was diagnosed with LUNG & LIVER cancer 2 nights before he died!! Total surprise to me.
I fought like hell to get him correctly diagnosed; I’m still fighting after his death to get justice done.
I will need to get a COURT ORDER to get his death certificate amended and to get him added to IOWA’S LYME STATE CONFIRMED CASES MAP!!!
Betty Gordon, Iowa lyme activist
Dear Betty, You and your husband are in my prayers. Thank you for all you are doing for us. Let me know how I can help.
Phyllis and all,
Group prayers would be appreciated that I can accomplish what I have set my mind to doing and making history on top of it all. Thank you for your offer. BETTY