Re: Opionion of the Dr. Phil Show

[Guest guest]

Hi Liz,

Have you sent a copy of this to Dr Phil too, it is a very good comment and you

should.....good luck with this, we haven't had this in Australia, will keep an

eye out.

na

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I was really curious as to what others thought about the Dr. Phil show about

Lyme disease that aired on Friday. Please post your thoughts.

>

> My Opinion:

> Although I am happy that the show brought some limited awareness to Lyme

disease in general, I was very disappointed in the overall content and the

honesty of the show.

> Please hear me out...

>

> My biggest complaint is that they did not give full disclosure about who Dr.

Auwaerter actually is. They identified him on the show as being from

" 's Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore " , when in fact he is much more than that.

>

> Dr. Auwaerter is also a member of the IDSA and was actually one of the

editors of the often hotly debated IDSA's Lyme Disease Guidelines! He is also,

from what I can gather in a quick online search, a voting member (His term runs

from 12/16/10 through 11/30/14) for the FDA's, CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation

and Research and it's Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee).

>

> These missing facts about his credentials should have been stated at the

outset due to possible conflicts of interest and it might explain why a real

conversation about the controversy surrounding the IDSA's Guidelines were not

discussed. It appears that Dr. Auwaerter was only in attendance to keep Dr. Phil

and his guests in check and to keep it all on the down low... as usual. I say

this because this doctor did nothing to assist or educate the public in avoiding

or effectively treating Lyme disease. He was simply there in a defensive

modality.

>

> I also feel that Dr. Phil gave Dr. Auwaerter much more outright respect than

he did his other guests. You can tell if you watch and listen carefully that

Dr.Phil was extremely careful and overly polite when it came to addressing Dr.

Auwaerter.

>

> On top of that Dr. Phil didn't ask one intelligent question! Dr. Phil should

have read the book " Cure Unknown " before doing this show, so he could have asked

intelligent and thought provoking questions.

>

> I am further disappointed because if a national show of this magnitude is

going to be done, about an important topic, of epidemic proportions, such as

Lyme Disease and it's co-infections, it should be done in an honest and fair

manner and this definitely was not.

>

> Dr. Phil basically portrayed the young model, as a faker and a drug

addict. He made her look like a neurotic mess. I felt terrible for her. He

never once mentioned that late stage Lyme can and does cause neurologic

problems; he just lead the audience to believe that she was a drugged out nut

case (which I don't think that she is).

>

> On several occasions Dr. Phil made it very clear that he didn't know, nor

could he vouch for the credibility of Dr. B, Landau and the model,

, but he never said that to or about Dr. Auwaerter (giving him more

credibility).

>

> I feel that this show should not have focused so much time on if this " model "

was faking or how she chose to personally medicate herself for unbearable pain

and seizures. They reduced this poor girl's credibility to zero. They had a

much better and more credible Lyme disease patient/victim sitting in their

audience ( Landau).

>

> If Dr. Phil was TRULY trying to bring awareness to the public and to provide

an actual service for the Dr. Phil viewers, then the show should have been about

Lyme Disease and the huge epidemic it has become, which by the way is not

debated by anyone, including the IDSA or the CDC.

>

> And they kept referring to all these people as having " Chronic Lyme Disease "

which as far as I know is the term for people who have been infected with Lyme

and treated with antibiotics and the treatment does not cure them. Well, what

about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ? Which from what I know, is totally different

in that this is when people, like myself, go mis-diagnosed and untreated for

many years and the Lyme disease goes unchecked. These are two very different

things. What does Dr. Auwaerter have to say about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ?

Does he deny that this exists as well? That is a question that I would have

asked him if I was Dr. Phil.

>

> This show should have given real facts and taught people how someone is

supposed to go about being " properly " tested, how to educate their own doctors,

if need be, and how to find already competent doctors to help treat this

devastating illness.

>

> I find it even more upsetting that this show, that had so much potential, did

NOTHING to either slow the spread of this terrible disease or to help those

already infected and it did nothing to tell people how to avoid tick bites, that

you can be infected with Lyme in almost every state in the US, or how to get

properly tested (and if that isn't possible) then they should have at least

instructed people about how to send the tick that actually bit them off to a

credible lab for PCR, DNA testing to definitively prove if the tick had Lyme, or

one of its many co-infections . This is crucial! So that you can start treatment

right away without having to wait until you get a " possible " bulls eye rash or

until you experience medical symptoms of Lyme, in which case it may be too late.

>

> To me, some of the biggest hurdles right now with this disease are to get the

facts into the mainstream media, so that people can avoid this disease in the

first place and that people can be properly medically treated, with the correct

combinations of antibiotics, in the first crucial hours and weeks after a tick

bite.

>

> If our mainstream medical doctors were properly educated (by the IDSA and the

CDC) and people were diagnosed and treated correctly at the outset of a tick

bite, which they are not, then the debate over Chronic Lyme or Late Stage Lyme

would but mute. Why isn't there more attention spent on this topic?

>

> I was hoping that those that watched, that are currently suffering, with or

without a proper diagnoses, could have found through this media attention,

resources for real medical help and testing.

>

> In addition, I had hoped that Dr.Phil would give society a better

understanding of the devastating effects of this terrible disease and that this

is a REAL medical bacterial infection and illness and not a hypochondriacs made

up illness. It saddens me that knowingly or unknowingly, he just further

perpetuated the idea that many of us are malingerers.

>

> This Dr. Phil show was a frigging joke and a disgrace to all those that are

suffering. It makes my blood boil that the producers of the show were not honest

and forth coming about who Dr. Auwaerter actually is and that tells me an

incredible amount about the true intention of the Dr. Phil show overall.

>

> I urge you all to comment on Dr. Phil's Comment page and tell him how you feel

about his recent show on Lyme disease.

>

> http://community.drphil.com/

>

> I am sorry that this was so long but I am so disappointed,

> Lizz

>

[Guest guest]

I totally hear you and sort of agree with everything you say, but we are talking

about Dr Phil, not an indepth reporting show. If an indepth show did this i

would be angry. But we are talking about Dr Phil. What could we possibly

expect?

Dr. Auwaerter probably had an attorney or publicist handle pre-show negotiations

of what could be discussed, etc and that is why Dr Phil handled him carefully

and respectfully. That is how TV works.

I think you should write your comments to the show. They should hear your

thoughts.

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I was really curious as to what others thought about the Dr. Phil show about

Lyme disease that aired on Friday. Please post your thoughts.

>

> My Opinion:

> Although I am happy that the show brought some limited awareness to Lyme

disease in general, I was very disappointed in the overall content and the

honesty of the show.

> Please hear me out...

>

> My biggest complaint is that they did not give full disclosure about who Dr.

Auwaerter actually is. They identified him on the show as being from

" 's Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore " , when in fact he is much more than that.

>

> Dr. Auwaerter is also a member of the IDSA and was actually one of the

editors of the often hotly debated IDSA's Lyme Disease Guidelines! He is also,

from what I can gather in a quick online search, a voting member (His term runs

from 12/16/10 through 11/30/14) for the FDA's, CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation

and Research and it's Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee).

>

> These missing facts about his credentials should have been stated at the

outset due to possible conflicts of interest and it might explain why a real

conversation about the controversy surrounding the IDSA's Guidelines were not

discussed. It appears that Dr. Auwaerter was only in attendance to keep Dr. Phil

and his guests in check and to keep it all on the down low... as usual. I say

this because this doctor did nothing to assist or educate the public in avoiding

or effectively treating Lyme disease. He was simply there in a defensive

modality.

>

> I also feel that Dr. Phil gave Dr. Auwaerter much more outright respect than

he did his other guests. You can tell if you watch and listen carefully that

Dr.Phil was extremely careful and overly polite when it came to addressing Dr.

Auwaerter.

>

> On top of that Dr. Phil didn't ask one intelligent question! Dr. Phil should

have read the book " Cure Unknown " before doing this show, so he could have asked

intelligent and thought provoking questions.

>

> I am further disappointed because if a national show of this magnitude is

going to be done, about an important topic, of epidemic proportions, such as

Lyme Disease and it's co-infections, it should be done in an honest and fair

manner and this definitely was not.

>

> Dr. Phil basically portrayed the young model, as a faker and a drug

addict. He made her look like a neurotic mess. I felt terrible for her. He

never once mentioned that late stage Lyme can and does cause neurologic

problems; he just lead the audience to believe that she was a drugged out nut

case (which I don't think that she is).

>

> On several occasions Dr. Phil made it very clear that he didn't know, nor

could he vouch for the credibility of Dr. B, Landau and the model,

, but he never said that to or about Dr. Auwaerter (giving him more

credibility).

>

> I feel that this show should not have focused so much time on if this " model "

was faking or how she chose to personally medicate herself for unbearable pain

and seizures. They reduced this poor girl's credibility to zero. They had a

much better and more credible Lyme disease patient/victim sitting in their

audience ( Landau).

>

> If Dr. Phil was TRULY trying to bring awareness to the public and to provide

an actual service for the Dr. Phil viewers, then the show should have been about

Lyme Disease and the huge epidemic it has become, which by the way is not

debated by anyone, including the IDSA or the CDC.

>

> And they kept referring to all these people as having " Chronic Lyme Disease "

which as far as I know is the term for people who have been infected with Lyme

and treated with antibiotics and the treatment does not cure them. Well, what

about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ? Which from what I know, is totally different

in that this is when people, like myself, go mis-diagnosed and untreated for

many years and the Lyme disease goes unchecked. These are two very different

things. What does Dr. Auwaerter have to say about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ?

Does he deny that this exists as well? That is a question that I would have

asked him if I was Dr. Phil.

>

> This show should have given real facts and taught people how someone is

supposed to go about being " properly " tested, how to educate their own doctors,

if need be, and how to find already competent doctors to help treat this

devastating illness.

>

> I find it even more upsetting that this show, that had so much potential, did

NOTHING to either slow the spread of this terrible disease or to help those

already infected and it did nothing to tell people how to avoid tick bites, that

you can be infected with Lyme in almost every state in the US, or how to get

properly tested (and if that isn't possible) then they should have at least

instructed people about how to send the tick that actually bit them off to a

credible lab for PCR, DNA testing to definitively prove if the tick had Lyme, or

one of its many co-infections . This is crucial! So that you can start treatment

right away without having to wait until you get a " possible " bulls eye rash or

until you experience medical symptoms of Lyme, in which case it may be too late.

>

> To me, some of the biggest hurdles right now with this disease are to get the

facts into the mainstream media, so that people can avoid this disease in the

first place and that people can be properly medically treated, with the correct

combinations of antibiotics, in the first crucial hours and weeks after a tick

bite.

>

> If our mainstream medical doctors were properly educated (by the IDSA and the

CDC) and people were diagnosed and treated correctly at the outset of a tick

bite, which they are not, then the debate over Chronic Lyme or Late Stage Lyme

would but mute. Why isn't there more attention spent on this topic?

>

> I was hoping that those that watched, that are currently suffering, with or

without a proper diagnoses, could have found through this media attention,

resources for real medical help and testing.

>

> In addition, I had hoped that Dr.Phil would give society a better

understanding of the devastating effects of this terrible disease and that this

is a REAL medical bacterial infection and illness and not a hypochondriacs made

up illness. It saddens me that knowingly or unknowingly, he just further

perpetuated the idea that many of us are malingerers.

>

> This Dr. Phil show was a frigging joke and a disgrace to all those that are

suffering. It makes my blood boil that the producers of the show were not honest

and forth coming about who Dr. Auwaerter actually is and that tells me an

incredible amount about the true intention of the Dr. Phil show overall.

>

> I urge you all to comment on Dr. Phil's Comment page and tell him how you feel

about his recent show on Lyme disease.

>

> http://community.drphil.com/

>

> I am sorry that this was so long but I am so disappointed,

> Lizz

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, it was apparent that Dr. Phil was not Lyme-literate.

Psychologists and counselors are taught to diagnose people as

hyperchondriacs and such. The first time I joined the Lyme forums,

I was thinking how some of the people had anxiety and were

over-doing their symptoms. But, of course, reality set in, and I

learned that they were truly ill and needed medical help. Anyhow,

just saying, he doesn't understand, and you pretty much have to be

ill yourself or have a loved one ill to understand, sadly. Anyhow,

I like what you said here, and hope many others make similar

comments. They do follow up shows when they learn more information,

and if they get a lot of comments. On a positive note, the current

trend is that nearly all disease is on the rise. What we are

learning will help us until we die, and we can relay all this to

help our many descendants for they will need to know how to maintain

their health as well. Plus, the road to recovery opens up our eyes

to so many things, we would have never known or believed if we never

had to go down this road.

Love and prayers,

Heidi N

Hi Everyone,

I was really curious as to what others thought about the Dr. Phil

show about Lyme disease that aired on Friday. Please post your

thoughts.

My Opinion:

Although I am happy that the show brought some limited awareness to

Lyme disease in general, I was very disappointed in the overall

content and the honesty of the show.

Please hear me out...

My biggest complaint is that they did not give full disclosure about

who Dr. Auwaerter actually is. They identified him on the show

as being from "'s Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore", when in fact

he is much more than that.

Dr. Auwaerter is also a member of the IDSA and was actually one

of the editors of the often hotly debated IDSA's Lyme Disease

Guidelines! He is also, from what I can gather in a quick online

search, a voting member (His term runs from 12/16/10 through

11/30/14) for the FDA's, CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation and

Research and it's Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee).

These missing facts about his credentials should have been stated at

the outset due to possible conflicts of interest and it might

explain why a real conversation about the controversy surrounding

the IDSA's Guidelines were not discussed. It appears that Dr.

Auwaerter was only in attendance to keep Dr. Phil and his guests in

check and to keep it all on the down low... as usual. I say this

because this doctor did nothing to assist or educate the public in

avoiding or effectively treating Lyme disease. He was simply there

in a defensive modality.

I also feel that Dr. Phil gave Dr. Auwaerter much more outright

respect than he did his other guests. You can tell if you watch and

listen carefully that Dr.Phil was extremely careful and overly

polite when it came to addressing Dr. Auwaerter.

On top of that Dr. Phil didn't ask one intelligent question! Dr.

Phil should have read the book "Cure Unknown" before doing this

show, so he could have asked intelligent and thought provoking

questions.

I am further disappointed because if a national show of this

magnitude is going to be done, about an important topic, of epidemic

proportions, such as Lyme Disease and it's co-infections, it should

be done in an honest and fair manner and this definitely was not.

Dr. Phil basically portrayed the young model, as a faker

and a drug addict. He made her look like a neurotic mess. I felt

terrible for her. He never once mentioned that late stage Lyme can

and does cause neurologic problems; he just lead the audience to

believe that she was a drugged out nut case (which I don't think

that she is).

On several occasions Dr. Phil made it very clear that he didn't

know, nor could he vouch for the credibility of Dr. B, Landau

and the model, , but he never said that to or about Dr.

Auwaerter (giving him more credibility)

..

I feel that this show should not have focused so much time on if

this "model" was faking or how she chose to personally medicate

herself for unbearable pain and seizures. They reduced this poor

girl's credibility to zero. They had a much better and more

credible Lyme disease patient/victim sitting in their audience

( Landau).

If Dr. Phil was TRULY trying to bring awareness to the public and

to provide an actual service for the Dr. Phil viewers, then the

show should have been about Lyme Disease and the huge epidemic it

has become, which by the way is not debated by anyone, including

the IDSA or the CDC.

And they kept referring to all these people as having "Chronic

Lyme Disease" which as far as I know is the term for people who

have been infected with Lyme and treated with antibiotics and the

treatment does not cure them. Well, what about "Late Stage Lyme

Disease"? Which from what I know, is totally different in that

this is when people, like myself, go mis-diagnosed and untreated

for many years and the Lyme disease goes unchecked. These are two

very different things. What does Dr. Auwaerter have to say about

"Late Stage Lyme Disease"? Does he deny that this exists as well?

That is a question that I would have asked him if I was Dr. Phil.

This show should have given real facts and taught people how

someone is supposed to go about being "properly" tested, how to

educate their own doctors, if need be, and how to find already

competent doctors to help treat this devastating illness.

I find it even more upsetting that this show, that had so much

potential, did NOTHING to either slow the spread of this terrible

disease or to help those already infected and it did nothing to

tell people how to avoid tick bites, that you can be infected with

Lyme in almost every state in the US, or how to get properly

tested (and if that isn't possible) then they should have at least

instructed people about how to send the tick that actually bit

them off to a credible lab for PCR, DNA testing to definitively

prove if the tick had Lyme, or one of its many co-infections .

This is crucial! So that you can start treatment right away

without having to wait until you get a "possible" bulls eye rash

or until you experience medical symptoms of Lyme, in which case it

may be too late.

To me, some of the biggest hurdles right now with this disease are

to get the facts into the mainstream media, so that people can

avoid this disease in the first place and that people can be

properly medically treated, with the correct combinations of

antibiotics, in the first crucial hours and weeks after a tick

bite.

If our mainstream medical doctors were properly educated (by the

IDSA and the CDC) and people were diagnosed and treated correctly

at the outset of a tick bite, which they are not, then the debate

over Chronic Lyme or Late Stage Lyme would but mute. Why isn't

there more attention spent on this topic?

I was hoping that those that watched, that are currently

suffering, with or without a proper diagnoses, could have found

through this media attention, resources for real medical help and

testing.

In addition, I had hoped that Dr.Phil would give society a better

understanding of the devastating effects of this terrible disease

and that this is a REAL medical bacterial infection and illness

and not a hypochondriacs made up illness. It saddens me that

knowingly or unknowingly, he just further perpetuated the idea

that many of us are malingerers.

This Dr. Phil show was a frigging joke and a disgrace to all those

that are suffering. It makes my blood boil that the producers of

the show were not honest and forth coming about who Dr.

Auwaerter actually is and that tells me an incredible amount about

the true intention of the Dr. Phil show overall.

I urge you all to comment on Dr. Phil's Comment page and tell him

how you feel about his recent show on Lyme disease.

http://community.drphil.com/

I am sorry that this was so long but I am so disappointed,

Lizz

[Guest guest]

Agree with much of what has already been said.

I also what to point out, the fact " DR Phil " &

DR Auwaerter - both being DR's.

And Auwaerter having the medical school status, DR Phil has to show excessive

respect.

FYI~ I have never heard another DR bash another DR in all my life, even if one

is a horrible DR. They will stick together even in some bad situations ( except

when they are being paid to testify in Ct against one another. )

Regarding TV shows that only have an hour to discuss something like this, and

then they

only allowed maybe 20-30 min's, minus commericals. Plus had another guest

issues

aired at the same day.

I would have liked to seen a panel of guest who have/ had lyme, parents treating

children,

Adults of all ages and all walks of life.

But bottom line, for the people in the General Public, it was an eye opener, and

may get some people wondering if they need treatment. I wished there had been a

list of at least general symptoms, and some web sites for people to reference. I

don't think there was anything mentioned?

And I recall the Lyme community trying and trying to get Opra to do a show, and

she never would. And thats history now...

On a personal note regarding DR Auwaerter - although we never did meet him. I am

totally disgusted with s Hopkins team of DR's after spending literally 6

months there with my son every day, to test everything under the sun on him, and

observe his behavior. All the DR's came up with was a bunch of drug trials that

failed, and no DR was intelligent enough to write a letter to the insurance co.

I had to write every letter to justify continual

payment.

Has anyone seen the movie, Lorenzo's Oil? His parents also sat with these same

DR's, at 's Hopkins trying to come up with what was wrong with their son, in

the end it was the parents who figured it out.

And of course the rest is history, they made a way for other boys who would have

the same disorder called, Adrenoleukodystrophy to have a normal life.

This is supposed to be the finest hospital and finest DR's in the country.

Sorry I just don't look up to these DR's, they are just human, but they need to

be listening to what the parents are telling them about their children, when

something is a miss.

Its the parents who are the researchers and doing the real work.

sorry, if I went on too long, but " parents you are the real hero's " .

Allie

>

> Yes, it was apparent that Dr. Phil was not Lyme-literate. Psychologists

> and counselors are taught to diagnose people as hyperchondriacs and

> such. The first time I joined the Lyme forums, I was thinking how some

> of the people had anxiety and were over-doing their symptoms. But, of

> course, reality set in, and I learned that they were truly ill and

> needed medical help. Anyhow, just saying, he doesn't understand, and

> you pretty much have to be ill yourself or have a loved one ill to

> understand, sadly. Anyhow, I like what you said here, and hope many

> others make similar comments. They do follow up shows when they learn

> more information, and if they get a lot of comments. On a positive

> note, the current trend is that nearly all disease is on the rise.

> What we are learning will help us until we die, and we can relay all

> this to help our many descendants for they will need to know how to

> maintain their health as well. Plus, the road to recovery opens up our

> eyes to so many things, we would have never known or believed if we

> never had to go down this road.

>

> Love and prayers,

>

> Heidi N

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I was really curious as to what others thought about the Dr. Phil show

> about Lyme disease that aired on Friday. Please post your thoughts.

>

> My Opinion:

> Although I am happy that the show brought some limited awareness to Lyme

> disease in general, I was very disappointed in the overall content and

> the honesty of the show.

> Please hear me out...

>

> My biggest complaint is that they did not give full disclosure about who

> Dr. Auwaerter actually is. They identified him on the show as being

> from " 's Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore " , when in fact he is much

> more than that.

>

> Dr. Auwaerter is also a member of the IDSA and was actually one of

> the editors of the often hotly debated IDSA's Lyme Disease Guidelines!

> He is also, from what I can gather in a quick online search, a voting

> member (His term runs from 12/16/10 through 11/30/14) for the FDA's,

> CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and it's Anti-Infective

> Drugs Advisory Committee).

>

> These missing facts about his credentials should have been stated at the

> outset due to possible conflicts of interest and it might explain why a

> real conversation about the controversy surrounding the IDSA's

> Guidelines were not discussed. It appears that Dr. Auwaerter was only in

> attendance to keep Dr. Phil and his guests in check and to keep it all

> on the down low... as usual. I say this because this doctor did nothing

> to assist or educate the public in avoiding or effectively treating Lyme

> disease. He was simply there in a defensive modality.

>

> I also feel that Dr. Phil gave Dr. Auwaerter much more outright respect

> than he did his other guests. You can tell if you watch and listen

> carefully that Dr.Phil was extremely careful and overly polite when it

> came to addressing Dr. Auwaerter.

>

> On top of that Dr. Phil didn't ask one intelligent question! Dr. Phil

> should have read the book " Cure Unknown " before doing this show, so he

> could have asked intelligent and thought provoking questions.

>

> I am further disappointed because if a national show of this magnitude

> is going to be done, about an important topic, of epidemic proportions,

> such as Lyme Disease and it's co-infections, it should be done in an

> honest and fair manner and this definitely was not.

>

> Dr. Phil basically portrayed the young model, as a faker and a

> drug addict. He made her look like a neurotic mess. I felt terrible for

> her. He never once mentioned that late stage Lyme can and does cause

> neurologic problems; he just lead the audience to believe that she was a

> drugged out nut case (which I don't think that she is).

>

> On several occasions Dr. Phil made it very clear that he didn't know,

> nor could he vouch for the credibility of Dr. B, Landau and the

> model, , but he never said that to or about Dr. Auwaerter

> (giving him more credibility)

> .

>

> I feel that this show should not have focused so much time on if this

> " model " was faking or how she chose to personally medicate herself for

> unbearable pain and seizures. They reduced this poor girl's credibility

> to zero. They had a much better and more credible Lyme disease

> patient/victim sitting in their audience ( Landau).

>

> If Dr. Phil was TRULY trying to bring awareness to the public and to

> provide an actual service for the Dr. Phil viewers, then the show should

> have been about Lyme Disease and the huge epidemic it has become, which

> by the way is not debated by anyone, including the IDSA or the CDC.

>

> And they kept referring to all these people as having " Chronic Lyme

> Disease " which as far as I know is the term for people who have been

> infected with Lyme and treated with antibiotics and the treatment does

> not cure them. Well, what about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ? Which from

> what I know, is totally different in that this is when people, like

> myself, go mis-diagnosed and untreated for many years and the Lyme

> disease goes unchecked. These are two very different things. What does

> Dr. Auwaerter have to say about " Late Stage Lyme Disease " ? Does he deny

> that this exists as well? That is a question that I would have asked him

> if I was Dr. Phil.

>

> This show should have given real facts and taught people how someone is

> supposed to go about being " properly " tested, how to educate their own

> doctors, if need be, and how to find already competent doctors to help

> treat this devastating illness.

>

> I find it even more upsetting that this show, that had so much

> potential, did NOTHING to either slow the spread of this terrible

> disease or to help those already infected and it did nothing to tell

> people how to avoid tick bites, that you can be infected with Lyme in

> almost every state in the US, or how to get properly tested (and if that

> isn't possible) then they should have at least instructed people about

> how to send the tick that actually bit them off to a credible lab for

> PCR, DNA testing to definitively prove if the tick had Lyme, or one of

> its many co-infections . This is crucial! So that you can start

> treatment right away without having to wait until you get a " possible "

> bulls eye rash or until you experience medical symptoms of Lyme, in

> which case it may be too late.

>

> To me, some of the biggest hurdles right now with this disease are to

> get the facts into the mainstream media, so that people can avoid this

> disease in the first place and that people can be properly medically

> treated, with the correct combinations of antibiotics, in the first

> crucial hours and weeks after a tick bite.

>

> If our mainstream medical doctors were properly educated (by the IDSA

> and the CDC) and people were diagnosed and treated correctly at the

> outset of a tick bite, which they are not, then the debate over Chronic

> Lyme or Late Stage Lyme would but mute. Why isn't there more attention

> spent on this topic?

>

> I was hoping that those that watched, that are currently suffering, with

> or without a proper diagnoses, could have found through this media

> attention, resources for real medical help and testing.

>

> In addition, I had hoped that Dr.Phil would give society a better

> understanding of the devastating effects of this terrible disease and

> that this is a REAL medical bacterial infection and illness and not a

> hypochondriacs made up illness. It saddens me that knowingly or

> unknowingly, he just further perpetuated the idea that many of us are

> malingerers.

>

> This Dr. Phil show was a frigging joke and a disgrace to all those that

> are suffering. It makes my blood boil that the producers of the show

> were not honest and forth coming about who Dr. Auwaerter actually

> is and that tells me an incredible amount about the true intention of

> the Dr. Phil show overall.

>

> I urge you all to comment on Dr. Phil's Comment page and tell him how

> you feel about his recent show on Lyme disease.

>

> http://community.drphil.com/ <http://community.drphil.com/>

>

> I am sorry that this was so long but I am so disappointed,

> Lizz

>

[Guest guest]

Here is my take on the episode. I agree with everything that was said about Dr. Auwaerter. I am sure the struck a deal with the Dr. Phil show that the only way he was coming on was if he got to say his piece and no hard questions from Dr. Phil. You could tell he was irate from the comment made by the news reporter with Lyme from San Diego. Dr. Phil probably don't know much about Lyme disease and in his world you listen to the "experts." Unfortunately the people at Hopkins and others like Wormser and the other crooks at the IDSA and considered experts. Now, people like us who's entire life revolves around Lyme disease saw all the flaws and have a right to be angry, but we have to remember we are not the target audience. The target audience is people who are ignorant about Lyme. I thought Dr. Phil did a good job showing some key clips from Under Our Skin, mentioning that it was an award winning documentary, and giving the model, the news reporter from San Diego, and the LLMD lots of air time to explain why Chronic Lyme elitists. I had all my family and friends watch it and one of my friends, who doesn't know anything about Lyme, told me "How could a doctor watch that, hear those people's stories and not believe in Chronic Lyme." So in my mind I felt the show did a decent job educating Lyme illiterate people about chronic lyme while trying to stay neutral on the issue. Here is my BIG issue with the episode: Why didn't the LLMD call out Auwaeter about the FACT that there has never been an appropriate study on using long term antibiotics? It makes my blood boil when I hear anyone from the IDSA, CDC, Mayo Clinic, or anywhere else claim that "Double Blind placebo controlled trials have been conducted and long term antibiotics have not shown to be any more beneficial than a placebo." The FACT is that to the best of my knowledge there has only been 4 studies on long term antibiotic therapy for Lyme treatment and the longest that any of those studies had the patients on antibiotics was 3 months! 3 months!!!!! I LOVED that the news reporter from San Diego called Auwaerter out and said "taking a sugar pill for years wouldn't have helped me." I just wish the LLMD would have stepped up and pointed out that you can't close the book on long term antibiotic therapy unless real research is done on patients who have been on antibiotics for an extended period of time. My wife was on orals for a year, and a pic line for 2 before she finally started to feel better, and every time she stopped taking antibiotics she regressed. Anyway, I still thought the episode wasn't perfect but it still did some good. We have to start somewhere and the the fact that someone in the mainstream media is actually talking about chronic Lyme disease is a good thing.

To: BorreliaMultipleInfectionsAndAutism From: blessingsx10@...Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:12:48 +0000Subject: Re: Opionion of the Dr. Phil Show

Agree with much of what has already been said.

I also what to point out, the fact "DR Phil" &

DR Auwaerter - both being DR's.

And Auwaerter having the medical school status, DR Phil has to show excessive respect.

FYI~ I have never heard another DR bash another DR in all my life, even if one is a horrible DR. They will stick together even in some bad situations ( except when they are being paid to testify in Ct against one another. )

Regarding TV shows that only have an hour to discuss something like this, and then they

only allowed maybe 20-30 min's, minus commericals. Plus had another guest issues

aired at the same day.

I would have liked to seen a panel of guest who have/ had lyme, parents treating children,

Adults of all ages and all walks of life.

But bottom line, for the people in the General Public, it was an eye opener, and may get some people wondering if they need treatment. I wished there had been a list of at least general symptoms, and some web sites for people to reference. I don't think there was anything mentioned?

And I recall the Lyme community trying and trying to get Opra to do a show, and she never would. And thats history now...

On a personal note regarding DR Auwaerter - although we never did meet him. I am totally disgusted with s Hopkins team of DR's after spending literally 6 months there with my son every day, to test everything under the sun on him, and observe his behavior. All the DR's came up with was a bunch of drug trials that failed, and no DR was intelligent enough to write a letter to the insurance co. I had to write every letter to justify continual

payment.

Has anyone seen the movie, Lorenzo's Oil? His parents also sat with these same DR's, at 's Hopkins trying to come up with what was wrong with their son, in the end it was the parents who figured it out.

And of course the rest is history, they made a way for other boys who would have the same disorder called, Adrenoleukodystrophy to have a normal life.

This is supposed to be the finest hospital and finest DR's in the country.

Sorry I just don't look up to these DR's, they are just human, but they need to be listening to what the parents are telling them about their children, when something is a miss.

Its the parents who are the researchers and doing the real work.

sorry, if I went on too long, but" parents you are the real hero's".

Allie

>

> Yes, it was apparent that Dr. Phil was not Lyme-literate. Psychologists

> and counselors are taught to diagnose people as hyperchondriacs and

> such. The first time I joined the Lyme forums, I was thinking how some

> of the people had anxiety and were over-doing their symptoms. But, of

> course, reality set in, and I learned that they were truly ill and

> needed medical help. Anyhow, just saying, he doesn't understand, and

> you pretty much have to be ill yourself or have a loved one ill to

> understand, sadly. Anyhow, I like what you said here, and hope many

> others make similar comments. They do follow up shows when they learn

> more information, and if they get a lot of comments. On a positive

> note, the current trend is that nearly all disease is on the rise.

> What we are learning will help us until we die, and we can relay all

> this to help our many descendants for they will need to know how to

> maintain their health as well. Plus, the road to recovery opens up our

> eyes to so many things, we would have never known or believed if we

> never had to go down this road.

>

> Love and prayers,

>

> Heidi N

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> I was really curious as to what others thought about the Dr. Phil show

> about Lyme disease that aired on Friday. Please post your thoughts.

>

> My Opinion:

> Although I am happy that the show brought some limited awareness to Lyme

> disease in general, I was very disappointed in the overall content and

> the honesty of the show.

> Please hear me out...

>

> My biggest complaint is that they did not give full disclosure about who

> Dr. Auwaerter actually is. They identified him on the show as being

> from "'s Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore", when in fact he is much

> more than that.

>

> Dr. Auwaerter is also a member of the IDSA and was actually one of

> the editors of the often hotly debated IDSA's Lyme Disease Guidelines!

> He is also, from what I can gather in a quick online search, a voting

> member (His term runs from 12/16/10 through 11/30/14) for the FDA's,

> CDER (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and it's Anti-Infective

> Drugs Advisory Committee).

>

> These missing facts about his credentials should have been stated at the

> outset due to possible conflicts of interest and it might explain why a

> real conversation about the controversy surrounding the IDSA's

> Guidelines were not discussed. It appears that Dr. Auwaerter was only in

> attendance to keep Dr. Phil and his guests in check and to keep it all

> on the down low... as usual. I say this because this doctor did nothing

> to assist or educate the public in avoiding or effectively treating Lyme

> disease. He was simply there in a defensive modality.

>

> I also feel that Dr. Phil gave Dr. Auwaerter much more outright respect

> than he did his other guests. You can tell if you watch and listen

> carefully that Dr.Phil was extremely careful and overly polite when it

> came to addressing Dr. Auwaerter.

>

> On top of that Dr. Phil didn't ask one intelligent question! Dr. Phil

> should have read the book "Cure Unknown" before doing this show, so he

> could have asked intelligent and thought provoking questions.

>

> I am further disappointed because if a national show of this magnitude

> is going to be done, about an important topic, of epidemic proportions,

> such as Lyme Disease and it's co-infections, it should be done in an

> honest and fair manner and this definitely was not.

>

> Dr. Phil basically portrayed the young model, as a faker and a

> drug addict. He made her look like a neurotic mess. I felt terrible for

> her. He never once mentioned that late stage Lyme can and does cause

> neurologic problems; he just lead the audience to believe that she was a

> drugged out nut case (which I don't think that she is).

>

> On several occasions Dr. Phil made it very clear that he didn't know,

> nor could he vouch for the credibility of Dr. B, Landau and the

> model, , but he never said that to or about Dr. Auwaerter

> (giving him more credibility)

> .

>

> I feel that this show should not have focused so much time on if this

> "model" was faking or how she chose to personally medicate herself for

> unbearable pain and seizures. They reduced this poor girl's credibility

> to zero. They had a much better and more credible Lyme disease

> patient/victim sitting in their audience ( Landau).

>

> If Dr. Phil was TRULY trying to bring awareness to the public and to

> provide an actual service for the Dr. Phil viewers, then the show should

> have been about Lyme Disease and the huge epidemic it has become, which

> by the way is not debated by anyone, including the IDSA or the CDC.

>

> And they kept referring to all these people as having "Chronic Lyme

> Disease" which as far as I know is the term for people who have been

> infected with Lyme and treated with antibiotics and the treatment does

> not cure them. Well, what about "Late Stage Lyme Disease"? Which from

> what I know, is totally different in that this is when people, like

> myself, go mis-diagnosed and untreated for many years and the Lyme

> disease goes unchecked. These are two very different things. What does

> Dr. Auwaerter have to say about "Late Stage Lyme Disease"? Does he deny

> that this exists as well? That is a question that I would have asked him

> if I was Dr. Phil.

>

> This show should have given real facts and taught people how someone is

> supposed to go about being "properly" tested, how to educate their own

> doctors, if need be, and how to find already competent doctors to help

> treat this devastating illness.

>

> I find it even more upsetting that this show, that had so much

> potential, did NOTHING to either slow the spread of this terrible

> disease or to help those already infected and it did nothing to tell

> people how to avoid tick bites, that you can be infected with Lyme in

> almost every state in the US, or how to get properly tested (and if that

> isn't possible) then they should have at least instructed people about

> how to send the tick that actually bit them off to a credible lab for

> PCR, DNA testing to definitively prove if the tick had Lyme, or one of

> its many co-infections . This is crucial! So that you can start

> treatment right away without having to wait until you get a "possible"

> bulls eye rash or until you experience medical symptoms of Lyme, in

> which case it may be too late.

>

> To me, some of the biggest hurdles right now with this disease are to

> get the facts into the mainstream media, so that people can avoid this

> disease in the first place and that people can be properly medically

> treated, with the correct combinations of antibiotics, in the first

> crucial hours and weeks after a tick bite.

>

> If our mainstream medical doctors were properly educated (by the IDSA

> and the CDC) and people were diagnosed and treated correctly at the

> outset of a tick bite, which they are not, then the debate over Chronic

> Lyme or Late Stage Lyme would but mute. Why isn't there more attention

> spent on this topic?

>

> I was hoping that those that watched, that are currently suffering, with

> or without a proper diagnoses, could have found through this media

> attention, resources for real medical help and testing.

>

> In addition, I had hoped that Dr.Phil would give society a better

> understanding of the devastating effects of this terrible disease and

> that this is a REAL medical bacterial infection and illness and not a

> hypochondriacs made up illness. It saddens me that knowingly or

> unknowingly, he just further perpetuated the idea that many of us are

> malingerers.

>

> This Dr. Phil show was a frigging joke and a disgrace to all those that

> are suffering. It makes my blood boil that the producers of the show

> were not honest and forth coming about who Dr. Auwaerter actually

> is and that tells me an incredible amount about the true intention of

> the Dr. Phil show overall.

>

> I urge you all to comment on Dr. Phil's Comment page and tell him how

> you feel about his recent show on Lyme disease.

>

> http://community.drphil.com/ <http://community.drphil.com/>

>

> I am sorry that this was so long but I am so disappointed,

> Lizz

>

[Guest guest]

I kinda got the sense that Dr. Phil got frustrated/disgusted when he felt his "establishment" was in question but it was gross when he attacked the model about hypocondria. I don't think it was 's intention, but not knowing Dr. Phil personally, her candor/delivery might have been threatening....it also seemed obvious that he got totally disgusted when the model confessed to her laughing gas use--not much phases me but consuming 4 cases of that stuff did and I don't think her website soliciting donations was his cup of tea either....but she's young, 25, still a kid without parents and those siezures are frightening....at least she still had the where with all to come up the site--our kids can't do that! Heartbreaking and disgusting any way you slice it.

Did Dr. Phil get uncomfortable? He did witness the disease first hand with his staff member who took a hit, and she was able to hold it together better than some folks and continue to work. I thought Dr. B got the short end of the stick for pro bono treatment and then shivered that could be a big medical board cha ching.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, will the gestational transmission get attention? Can we communicate this calmly (that's a tough one), bullet point by bullet point highlighting the various dx's, ultimate pathology, the treatments that brought about improvements and then sneak in there the genetics, set backs, inappropriate treatments and maybe the out of pocket costs? The narration has to be void of any emotion to reach these kinda folks. We all know, getting better is miles away from traditional ivy league treatments....I think that many of these guys would end up in a cardiac unit if we told them half our stories!

[Guest guest]

-- Re: Opionion of the Dr. Phil Show

I kinda got the sense that Dr. Phil got frustrated/disgusted when he felt his "establishment" was in question but it was gross when he attacked the model about hypocondria. I don't think it was 's intention, but not knowing Dr. Phil personally, her candor/delivery might have been threatening....it also seemed obvious that he got totally disgusted when the model confessed to her laughing gas use--not much phases me but consuming 4 cases of that stuff did and I don't think her website soliciting donations was his cup of tea either....but she's young, 25, still a kid without parents and those siezures are frightening....at least she still had the where with all to come up the site--our kids can't do that! Heartbreaking and disgusting any way you slice it.

Did Dr. Phil get uncomfortable? He did witness the disease first hand with his staff member who took a hit, and she was able to hold it together better than some folks and continue to work. I thought Dr. B got the short end of the stick for pro bono treatment and then shivered that could be a big medical board cha ching.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, will the gestational transmission get attention? Can we communicate this calmly (that's a tough one), bullet point by bullet point highlighting the various dx's, ultimate pathology, the treatments that brought about improvements and then sneak in there the genetics, set backs, inappropriate treatments and maybe the out of pocket costs? The narration has to be void of any emotion to reach these kinda folks. We all know, getting better is miles away from traditional ivy league treatments....I think that many of these guys would end up in a cardiac unit if we told them half our stories!

[Guest guest]

It does look like Dr. B got the short end with the pro bono case but not really if you think about it. That model looking much better in a few months would make a great follow up show and don't worry, her office is being slammed with phone calls and new appointments....I called this morning and made sure that my next 3 appointments we're secured. She's my son's Dr. Debbie

-- Re: Opionion of the Dr. Phil Show

I kinda got the sense that Dr. Phil got frustrated/disgusted when he felt his "establishment" was in question but it was gross when he attacked the model about hypocondria. I don't think it was 's intention, but not knowing Dr. Phil personally, her candor/delivery might have been threatening....it also seemed obvious that he got totally disgusted when the model confessed to her laughing gas use--not much phases me but consuming 4 cases of that stuff did and I don't think her website soliciting donations was his cup of tea either....but she's young, 25, still a kid without parents and those siezures are frightening....at least she still had the where with all to come up the site--our kids can't do that! Heartbreaking and disgusting any way you slice it.

Did Dr. Phil get uncomfortable? He did witness the disease first hand with his staff member who took a hit, and she was able to hold it together better than some folks and continue to work. I thought Dr. B got the short end of the stick for pro bono treatment and then shivered that could be a big medical board cha ching.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, will the gestational transmission get attention? Can we communicate this calmly (that's a tough one), bullet point by bullet point highlighting the various dx's, ultimate pathology, the treatments that brought about improvements and then sneak in there the genetics, set backs, inappropriate treatments and maybe the out of pocket costs? The narration has to be void of any emotion to reach these kinda folks. We all know, getting better is miles away from traditional ivy league treatments....I think that many of these guys would end up in a cardiac unit if we told them half our stories!