(OT) The Dr. Phil Show TODAY was............

[Guest guest]

Hey guys, not sure if anyone commented on this show yet, but I got this forward about it and wanted to pass it along if you haven't seen it. I DVR'd the episode and look forward to watching it, especially after these comments below!

Blessings,

FWD:

..........FABULOUS!

http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1826

It opened with a clip from UNDER OUR SKIN.

It then started with a model, , who has Lyme disease.

It continued with Landau.

It then moved to his Senior Supervising Producer to the show, Kathy Giaconnia (spelling?). She has been with DR. PHIL since the beginning of the show (meaning in time, not today).

She was fabulous. All three women were fabulous.

THEN they had Dr. Auwater from s Hopkins Medical School, who pooh-poohed medication being helpful for Chronic Lyme disease according to studies,.

For balance, they had the West Coast "Dr. B" - Dr. Chitra Bakhta, from OC Integrative Medical Center in Southern California.

She was FABULOUS.

For a change, the show ended up with the "Good Guy" getting the last word, "West Coastie" Dr. B.

Dr. Phil was fabulous in his fairness in moderating. Perhaps more knowledgeable with his exposure of his Senior Supervising Producer..........

At the conclusion of the show, he said he would NOW be getting off the show and IMMEDIATELY going to the message board; he expected it would light up, and he was going to be reading who wrote in VERY CAREFULLY.

Please weigh in on this if you think it is appropriate.

FYI the excerpt from the show, and the place to post your comments, may be found at http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1826

Two comments -

a) when asked by Dr. Phil WHY, focused her tiny spot on stating that this was happening because testing was up to 60% inaccurate.

b)It was about CHRONIC Lyme - CHRONIC!!!!!

I may be wrong, but somehow Dr. Phil Show treatment of CHRONIC Lyme disease, in a weird way, may legitimze the concept of CHRONIC to the American public who has been undecided.

I do know someone who was similarly influenced by one of the Lyme authors speaking out. If someone famous was claiming it, it must be true!

He started listing questions, ending with "Is Lyme Disease the next epidemic after AIDS."

Then he stated "we're going to try and answer all of these questions......."

Well, he never got to them.

I believe if the comments boards lights up, he may get to the rest of his questions in a future show, 1 or more.

EXCERPTS:

DR. PHIL:

"Well, the medical community seems to be split by The Great Lyme Disease Debate.

How is Lyme disease defined?

Is Lyme Disease CHRONIC?

Do Long Term antibiotics work?

Is it congenital, passed from mother to child?

Is it sexually transmitted?

Is Lyme Disease the next epidemic after AIDS?"

(all questions never answered by the end of the show!)

Â…Â…Â….

(More)

DR. PHIL: (to Dr. Auwater) ............"who believes that CHRONIC Lyme Disease Does NOT Exist."

"You believe that Lyme disease is a real syndrome, you're talking about Chronic Lyme disease, which you question."

Dr. AUWATER (shortened a few sentences to start) – "It's really about the LABEL of Chronic Lyme Disease, which means that there's an infection that persists despite antibiotics, and requires LONG TERM antibiotics for cure.

But many of the patients that come into my office, and I see many of them that have the similar difficult stories, they're angry, they're frustrated. And I think many are looking for an answer, and what has happened is - Chronic Lyme disease has become a label to help explain these chronic problems.

But what we know from clinical studies, at least four trials that have found that antibiotics have worked no better than placebo for helping many of these symptoms."

DR. PHIL:

"Dr. Chitra Bahkta, does this chronic syndrome exist or does it not?"

DR. BAHKTA:

"It does exist."

DR. PHIL:

"OK, You have many that say it don't, and even doctors are losing their license for treating this disease with long term antibiotics."

DR. BAHKTA:

"But just to allude to where he says the NIH showed that long term antibiotics did NOT help,Â…Â….

There was the monkey trial, and they actually autopsied monkeys after treating them with 90 days of antibiotics and they found that in 70% of these monkeys the Lyme spirokete was still persisting. So THERE IS CHRONIC LYME."

DR PHIL:

"Dr. Auwater, I'll ask you to respond to that.

Is it something that IS organically based, or are you suggesting that these patients are showing psychosomatic or somatoform symptoms?"

Dr. Auwater:

"The label here is Chronic Lyme disease, but what's important is people have looked very hard, many researchers in humans, and can not find evidence of infection.

And the key other point again is –

There is no durable benefit with long term antibiotics, it's been tried.

I, as a physician, only want to give what's best for my patients

Why would I give treatment that doesn't work."

DR. PHIL:

", what did you want to say, you are shaking your head?"

BROOKE LANDAU:

"Oh, where do I begin?

I am walking evidence that long term antibiotics - - it brought me my hearing back, it brought me my sight back, my heart arrhythmia stopped, Â…Â…palpitations. I was thirty pounds less than I am now and I am already too thin. I had short term memory problems where I couldn't remember the names of my family and my friends.

And a placebo, I am very sorry, but a 'sugar pill' would not have helped me. And long term antibiotics from a doctor who is a Lyme literate doctor, and specializes in this disease, was able to systematically knock back this disease."

(clapping, more testimony from Kathy, producer)

then –

KATHY: "My blood pressure was 60 over 20, I thought I was going to die that day.

When I asked them in the hospital if I was going to make it through the day, they said, "Well, We'll see."

"Listen, I am better now, I am thirty pounds lighter, I have my energy back, how do you explain that?

I am on long-term antibiotics."

Kathy identifies that Dr. B. IS her doctor.

West Coastie Dr. B interrupts to clarify:

"Could I just interject, I don't do all this "VooDoo medicine" with hyperbaricsÂ…Â….

or anything of that sort".

"I am basically a mainstream doctor who has a patient coming in and saying,

'LOOK, those TREATMENT GUIDELINES that you treated me with are not working,'

and then I have to make a decision where I need to help these patients."

-------

Dr. PHIL interrupts to end show, praise Dr. B., offers the model the pro bono services of Dr. B. to help her with her case.

After commercial, Dr. Phil says he expects the Message board will "blow up" and that he will immediately be getting off the show to see the Messages coming in on the message board, Also Twitter and Facebook.

Let's not disappoint him and do let's encourage others who may want to watch the segment or wish to comment to go to:

http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/1826

Remember his list of questions, which were not answered since the show took off in a different direction.

If we comment enough, I believe there MUST be another show to finish the material he obviously had anticipated that would ANSWER the list of questions he started out with.

Please encourage all to comment on the Message board, Twitter, or Facebook as they see fit.

For those who wish a copy of the show, the number given was:

1-866-4-DR PHIL