IMPORTANT NOTE
IF YOU SUSPECT THAT YOU HAVE A TICK-BORNE INFECTION, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU FIND A PHYSICIAN WHO IS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF LYME DISEASE AND CO-INFECTIONS.
MISSING THE DIAGNOSIS OF LYME DISEASE IS COMMON WITH PHYSICIANS WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCED IN TREATING THESE VIRULENT INFECTIONS. MANY LYME DISEASE PATIENTS HAVE SPENT YEARS OF SUFFERING DUE TO A MISDIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, CHRONIC FATIGUE IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME, FIBROMYALGIA, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, LUPUS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, PARKINSON'S AND AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS (LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE), AMONG OTHERS.
INTERESTINGLY, DR. ALAN MACDONALD, A RESEARCH
PATHOLOGIST, HAS STUDIED THE BRAIN TISSUE OF DECEASED ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS AND
FOUND BORRELIA, THE BACTERIA THAT CAUSES LYME DISEASE, IN THE BRAIN TISSUE OF
THESE DECEASED ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS.
http://www.leaparizona.com/physiciansinfo.htm
IN ADDITION, THE MAJORITY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
PHYSICIANS UTILIZE GUIDELINES AUTHORED BY THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF
AMERICA (IDSA).
CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL RICHARD BLUMENTHAL CONDUCTED A YEAR-AND-A-HALF
ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION OF THE IDSA AND ITS LYME DISEASE PRACTICE GUIDELINE
AUTHORS. AG BLUMENTHAL REVEALED THE FOLLOWING IN HIS MAY 1, 2008 PRESS
RELEASE:
"The IDSA guidelines have sweeping and
significant impacts on Lyme disease medical
care. They are commonly applied by insurance
companies in restricting coverage for long-term
antibiotic treatment or other medical care and
also strongly influence physician treatment
decisions.
Insurance companies have denied coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment relying on these guidelines as justification. The guidelines are also widely cited for conclusions that chronic Lyme disease is nonexistent. "
"This agreement vindicates my investigation -- finding undisclosed financial interests and forcing a reassessment of IDSA guidelines," Blumenthal said. "My office uncovered undisclosed financial interests held by several of the most powerful IDSA panelists. The IDSA's guideline panel improperly ignored or minimized consideration of alternative medical opinion and evidence regarding chronic Lyme disease, potentially raising serious questions about whether the recommendations reflected all relevant science."
Blumenthal added, "The IDSA's 2006 Lyme
disease guideline panel undercut its credibility
by allowing individuals with financial interests
-- in drug companies, Lyme disease diagnostic
tests, patents and consulting arrangements with
insurance companies -- to exclude divergent
medical evidence and opinion. In today's
healthcare system, clinical practice guidelines
have tremendous influence on the marketing of
medical services and products, insurance
reimbursements and treatment decisions. As a
result, medical societies that publish such
guidelines have a legal and moral duty to use
exacting safeguards and scientific standards."
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE PRESS RELEASE
L.E.A.P. ARIZONA'S FOUNDERS HAVE HAD
DIRECT NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE WITH THE IDSA TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME DISEASE.
ALTHOUGH WE PROVIDE THESE GUIDELINES BELOW, L.E.A.P. ARIZONA DOES NOT ENDORSE
THE IDSA TREATMENT GUIDELINES FOR LYME DISEASE.
WE POST ALL THE GUIDELINES BELOW ONLY TO PROVIDE INFORMED CONSENT TO PATIENTS AND PHYSICIANS.