In response to: Lyme sufferer continues to battle for diagnosis, Apr. 27, 2011, Sooke News Mirror.
I got Lyme disease in Sechelt, in September 1997.
I was crippled with fatigue, joint pain and shortness of breath so bad I was on two different puffers for the last six years. I was doing a weekly injection for rheumatoid arthritis for the last three years. I just kept getting sicker.
Last year I sent my blood to IGENEX labs in the U.S.A. it came back positive for Lyme disease . I began treatment in the United States last August. Two weeks after I began treatment I woke up and could breath again. I haven’t used the puffers since. My joint pain improved to about 10 per cent of what it used to be. I stopped the weekly injections and Tylenol 3’s last fall.
I can’t find anyone in Canada who can answer my three questions. I contacted my MP John Duncan, Health Canada and Centre for Disease Control in B.C.. Here are my three questions .
1. Why do I have to go to the United States to get diagnosed and treatment for Lyme disease? (At my own cost.)
2. Why can’t we train Canadian Doctors to diagnose and treat chronic Lyme disease ?
3. Why can’t we get a proper test for Lyme disease in Canada? (The ELISA test is a joke.)
Do you know anyone in Canada who can answer these questions? Thank you .
Bill Dixon
Campbell River