What I Wish My PCP Knew RE: Lyme Disease
(Updated April 2016) Growing up in Wisconsin, I was familiar with ticks. I remember being told to check yourself and if one was embedded on you that antibiotics would probably be needed—just in case. What I wish my primary care physician knew about Lyme disease was that all cases are not easily cured, as I was led to believe.
I wish I knew the view that doctors took towards the treatment of Lyme disease and the other associated diseases. I also wish I knew the difference between a physician of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). I wish they knew of the two standards of care for the infectious disease, Lyme disease.
If I had known more about the differences of opinion on the treatment and that the current CDC guidelines were insufficient, I would have never become bedridden and lost my job.