8 August 2007 - 4:32pm
Why did the Bush Administration keep his lyme disease secret?
So it turns out Bush was treated for lyme disease:
WASHINGTON - President Bush was treated for Lyme disease last August, the White House announced Wednesday after failing to disclose the problem for nearly a year.
The treatment was revealed only when the White House made public all the results of Bush's annual physical exam on Wednesday. It showed up in the "past medical history" section and in the summary along with other skin conditions....
...Symptoms can include lethargy, joint pain, fever, limping and loss of appetite. A bacterial disease, it can be eradicated with antibiotic treatment in the early stages, but can become more complicated to treat if not caught early.
That doesn't quite catch it. Some Googling will reveal that lyme disease has neurological effects, too. Is that why it was kept secret?
Symptoms—Second Stage
The second stage of Lyme disease is known as early disseminated Lyme disease, which means that the infection of bacteria is beginning to spread and is affecting certain body functions. This stage occurs weeks to months after the bite of an infected tick. Problems can include:
* Numbness and pain in arms or legs
* Paralysis of facial muscles (usually on one side of the face)
* Meningitis—fever, stiff neck, and severe headaches
* Abnormal heart beat (rare)Symptoms—Third Stage
The third stage of Lyme disease is called late (or chronic) Lyme disease. This stage can occur weeks, months, or even years after infection in patients who either never received antibiotic treatment for early Lyme disease or whose treatment did not kill all of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Patients with late Lyme disease may get:
* Chronic Lyme arthritis—brief bouts of pain and swelling usually occurring in one or more of the large joints, especially the knees
* Nervous system problems, including memory loss and difficulty concentrating
* Chronic pain in muscles and/or unrestful sleep
So they say they caught it early. So why all the secrecy?
Just wondering.
media girl also blogs at other places.
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Comments
Bush’s treatment was based on a clinical diagnosis from his practioners, as it should be – NOT his blood test results. The rest of us would have had to rely on blood test results produced by junk labs that routinely miss obvious and active lyme.
Health insurance providers and others continue to support and mandate diagnostic tools that don’t accurately detect lyme – even though more accurate and sensitive tools are available. They cover useless treatment plans such as 2 weeks of antibiotics and discriminate against and harass those practioners who know how to improve the health of consumers suffering from lyme such as lyme-literate and alternative care practioners.
I was sorry to hear President Bush has lyme. As we know, lyme causes thinking problems – even for presidents. I think all consumers should have access to prompt, safe and effective treatment – just like Bush. Too bad greed, ignorance and profit gets in the way of health in ‘American health care’.
It’s curious to note that most coverage on Bush’s lyme disease limits their discussion to just one treatment option - antibiotics. They never mention that he is under regular chiropractic care – one of many safe and effective treatment plans used by lyme victims to improve their immune systems and recover from the ravages caused by this bacterial infection.
Think this is due to the media’s reporting being filtered and overly influenced by their number one advertiser – pharmaceutical companies?
Also many consumers:
Can’t get prescription for antibiotics – especially those who are being treated by non lyme-literate practioners and those who deny the existence of chronic lyme disease.
Can’t afford the long- term or IV antibiotics they need to recover from this debilitating disease.
Don’t improve with antibiotics – they need to use other forms of treatment
Consumers can contract lyme disease from many sources – not just ticks. They can get it from other insects, lyme vaccines (that is why it was pulled from the market), organs or blood purchased in the marketplace, breast milk, in-utero, intercourse and so on.
It doesn’t matter if the disease was purchase in the marketplace or if it came from a tick bite – it can be quite debilitating. In some cases, if left without a prompt and effective treatment, (as is often the case) it can cause permanent disability and even death.
www.sickfromatick.com
That might explain a lot of what may have been going on in the White House for the past 8 years...