I got Lyme while in the USA in the late 80's. Over a month in hospital until they found out what I had. Jut 7 miles offshore is a US government island for army testing of bio-weapons. The deer got it there... and now the world can thank the government of the USA for yet another plague infecting the world.

By Paul Martin | February 8, 2010 11:58 AM

Many thanks to the Dutch Lyme Disease Association for organising and submitting this petition. Lyme Disease is far more common than most people are aware. I live in the UK, where the health service is lagging far behind in terms of Lyme diagnosis and treatment. I've had Lyme and co-infections for around 30 years, undiagnosed and misdiagnosed by our health service. My quality of life became very poor and in desperation I started to research the symptoms of my 'mystery' illness myself. I then contacted one of the few Lyme literate medical doctors and, despite the chronic level of multisystemic infection that I have, with the right diagnosis and expert treatment my health is already beginning to improve bit by bit. Once again, many thanks for your efforts.

By Lesley | February 8, 2010 3:23 PM

This is such an inspiration for us, many thanks to the Dutch Lyme Disease Association! Please can someone direct me to their web site? It is hard to find by google. I have Lyme, caught in Scotland. There were 12 ticks on my legs. 1 month later I had terrible fevers and illness, but no rash. It took 19 years to find out I had Lyme, and I am still very sick and getting worse. Only people with a lot of money are getting treatment in the UK, and our government claims it is very rare here.
Strange then that we have 300,000 people sick with CFS/ME/Fibromyalgia!
It is a taboo illness, as if the whole of the health service has been told to keep away from Lyme patients because we are all imagining their symptoms.
An American doctor lectured to our disease experts in 2006, and even had a cartoon of a Lyme patient as a giant nut. What is going on? And why do the top expert doctors cover up the facts, and deceive the ordinary doctors from finding out the truth?

By Denise Longman | February 9, 2010 9:54 AM

Unfortunately, the same story can be told for many countries, the US, Netherlands, Belgium, France etc. I agree with Denise, it is impossible to understand why Lyme is being covered up by doctors. I think that there is an urban myth around Lyme that patients are making it up and are inventing the illness and the symptoms, after reading about it on the internet. Whilst the internet is the only place to get good information.
I can recommend the ILADS website www.ilads.org for international information, diagnosis and treatment guidelines. With those in your hand, everyone who suspects Lyme should try to convince their doctor to make a diagnosis on the basis of the clinical symptoms and treat them if necessary according to ILADS guidelines. It is the only way to teach doctors because the few Lyme-literate doctors in the US or in the Netherlands get swamped by desperate patients. Either they try to to do their best to treat as many people as possible, or they get attacked by the medical establishment, or the insurance companies or their employers or employing organisation.

Patient must become their own case manager, read widely and they need to sift the chaff from the corn, and fight for a proper treatment.
It is unfair to ask this of sick people, but it is reality, and reality all over the world because the medical profession is internationally oriented and in Lyme all eyes are on the US. Read about the re-visiting of the treatment guidelines there, thanx to ILADS and others who know about Lyme. Hope this message is helpful to some.

By Agatha | February 10, 2010 2:17 PM

To Denise, the website of the Dutch Lyme Association is: http://www.lymevereniging.nl/ I believe almost everything is in Dutch, however. If you have any specific question please let me know.

By Madelon Grant | February 13, 2010 2:53 PM