Thank you for your informative article, “Living with Lyme Disease,” (Malibu Times, 8/21/02). Since many doctors do not recognize Lyme disease and place excessive reliance on inaccurate tests, Lyme disease patients often share the sad experience related by Malibu resident Barbara Barsocchini, who was treated like she was crazy. Because of lack of information and unwarranted skepticism on the part of physicians, patients often go undiagnosed for years. If they finally are treated, they may find they need months or years of antibiotics, and some are permanently disabled.
While the bull’s-eye Lyme rash is diagnostic, perhaps only 50 percent of people develop any rash at all when they are infected. According to a recently published research study, most of these develop a homogeneous red rash with no central clearing. The most common associated symptoms are low-grade fever, headache, neck stiffness, aching muscles and joints, or fatigue-easily misdiagnosed as a viral illness. If untreated, the early symptoms often go away, only to return later with a vengeance.
Other studies estimate that over half of infected people do not even recall a tick bite. It’s not too surprising when you realize that the nymphal tick that infects most people is the size of a poppy seed.
Phyllis Mervine
President, Lyme Disease Resource Center
Affiliate, Lyme Disease Association, Inc.