CDC Tick News
Ticks are everywhere and Lyme disease is no joke. From experience, not only is it hard to diagnose but symptoms can last for a long time if it is untreated. Once you get it, getting back to full strength takes some time.
If you do get bitten by a tick, do yourself a favor and get a Lyme disease test to try and screen for Lyme disease. With proper clothing and some tick repellent, most people should be able to avoid getting bitten in the first place.
This is good advice. The spring after my hike I started having pain in my shoulder. Doctor gave me a cortisone shot and told me I had bursitis. A few weeks later, my hip started hurting. Went back and asked to have a Lyme's test. My doctor (and the entire clinic) had never encountered this disease before and if I had not specifically asked for the test, it would not have been diagnosed until (possibly) too late. And the doctor is someone I respect and trust. Lyme's does not (apparently) show up in routine blood and lab work. As much as hikers and doctors on the AT corridor are aware of Lyme's, it is not a safe assumption to think that doctors. hospitals, clinics, etc. elsewhere know the symptoms and how/when to test for it.Originally Posted by maindigs
nasty, nasty stuff!!!!!! be very careful-I know a guy with Lyme Disease (he got it in northern Wisconsin).
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
yup...and now there is a new strain out west, where it makes one allergic to meat.....don't get bit by that tick!
Let's head for the roundhouse; they can't corner us there!
My son has now spent north of $30,000 battling Lyme disease. Obama’s healthcare does not cover Lyme, and refuses to acknowledge that it even exist!
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Just as fact, the ACA provided the "floor" of what insurance policies needed to cover, for example insurers were required to provide an annual physical as a policy inclusion. Insurers decide what to cover beyond the policy requirements of basic care the ACA established. These policies range from minimal to optimal coverage and are priced accordingly.
Lyme disease has long been acknowledged in the medical community, however insurers are not required to cover all illnesses in policies. In areas of the US that do not have a high incidence rate of Lyme disease for example, testing for Lyme disease may not be common and if the patient requests one, it may be considered a test outside the insurance policy list of benefits, typically determined by the cost of the policy itself. The issue you may be having is with the insurer, not a President.
Last edited by Traveler; 05-05-2018 at 07:17.
I don't doubt that he spent $30K, but an insurer, but "refuses to acknowledge that it even exist" needs to be clarified. What may not be recognized is "chronic" Lyme disease - and that's because the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines don't recognize chronic Lyme due to their position that no scientifically accepted case definition exists for chronic Lyme disease. The insurance companies use these guidelines when determining whether to cover a therapy or not. This is not a shortcoming of ACA ("Obamacare") - you'd see it in Medicare, provate plans, and employer-sponsored plans. Never forget for one moment that medical insurance is a zero-sum game and the position of an insurer (whether acting as an actual insurer or as a plan administrator for a self-insured employer plan) is to pay as little as possible. Your son's issue is not with a particular policy but would be the same no matter where or how he obtained his insurance.
It serves as a great reminder to treat clothing with permethrin and ask your doctor to prescribe 200 mg of doxycycline to keep in your first aid kit. Peer-reviewed studies show that taking this after a bite reduces that expected infection rate by 90%. Also, remember to take tick precautions when outdoors - not just hiking. My doctor told me that the vast majority of Lyme cases he's treating were from people doing yard work or participating in outdoor recreation other than hiking. He said that his patients that are hikers seem to know better. Some of what I read here on WB and see on the trail belies that, though.
I have heard this is nearly impossible to get as a preventive prescription, and that the only ones who carry it in their first aids kits while hiking are doctors.
Can others confirm/deny? I would love to get it if possible.
It is what it is.
It shouldn't be too tough since its not a Schedule II drug that carries a high risk of abuse. In my case, it may have helped that I live in a Lyme hot spot and my internist is a younger doctor that keeps up with the literature and treats Lyme cases. I think I paid under $2.00 for the script and get a new one with each annual physical. I never had to use it. I wear long sleeves/long pants treated with permethrin.I have heard this is nearly impossible to get as a preventive prescription, and that the only ones who carry it in their first aids kits while hiking are doctors.
Can others confirm/deny? I would love to get it if possible.
The literature showing the efficacy of a prophylactic 200 mg doxycycline dose has been around for almost 20 years. Here's a early paper from NEJM https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.105...00107123450201 If your physician is hesitant, pull some abstracts from Pubmed. If they still refuse, consider getting a better doctor.
Great, early research on Lyme Disease, thank you for sharing it!!!! good to know information.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Before my 100 mile section hike in mid-April (I was planning a thru-hike), my doctor actually brought it up and suggested Doxycycline (100 mg) for me. He would have prescribed 10, 20, or 30 tablets. I opted for 10 (enough for 5 tick bites). He said if I got a tick bite, to take two of the 100 mg tablets that day, as a preventive measure. Since he was the one who brought it up, I know that when I return to the trail, he will allow a preventive prescription. Just sharing the good information because other people may not know that this is an option.I have heard this is nearly impossible to get as a preventive prescription, and that the only ones who carry it in their first aids kits while hiking are doctors.
Can others confirm/deny? I would love to get it if possible.
Whatever the argument, before the ACA, every physical malady was covered.
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That statement has no basis in fact. Limbaugh/Hannity/Trump/Ryan are not always right.
Which statement?
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By my insurance.
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So you are saying that you were treated for a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease and that it was all covered under your insurance? By all means, redact your personal information and post the EOBs.
Out here in the fact-based world, the ACA set minimum standards for insurance policies. The reason so many pre-ACA policies got so expensive or went away all together is that they didn't originally didn't meet the minimum coverage requirements. Most people that had these crappy policies never read what they did - or more importantly, did not - cover. The one sure thing is that insurance may have covered treatment of symptoms associated with "chronic" Lyme, but wouldn't cover a diagnosis of it for reasons given in my prior post.
Given your stated age of 72, you are presumably on Medicare. The ACA was enacted in 2010 and took full effect in 2015. ACA increased benefits under Medicare by fully covering preventive care and included provisions for closing the prescription drug "doughnut hole". At the time of enactment of ACA in 2010 you would have been just become eligible for medicare, so may have been on a private or employer policy pre-ACA and Medicare post-ACA, so you are comparing two different policies, which is meaningless. If you were on Medicare pre- and post-ACA enactment, you may feel the Medicare coverage got worse, but you would be demonstrably wrong.
No, forget Medicare. I’m referring to my insurance during my working years.
When I started with Ford years ago my insurance paid everything 100%. Then before 2010, the deductible was $600. After that, my insurance paid EVERYTHING.
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Implementation of (or an increase in) a deductible for a covered procedure and whether or not a procedure is covered (regardless of deductible) are two separate things and shouldn't be conflated. You're also now saying that after 2010 you went from a $600 deductible to a $0 deductible, so passage of the ACA didn't do anything to hurt - and may have improved - your coverage. So other than ideology, what exactly is the basis of your complaint?
While symptoms may be covered, many insurers don't cover "chronic" Lyme disease because there is no consensus that it even exists or if it does, how to treat it. Here's a good summary: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5102277/
Whoa, I never said that. When I started at Ford in 1988, I had 0 deductible, $30/month Premiums.
At retirement in 2010, the deduct was $600, $110/month premiums.
My son with ACA pays $10,000/year in premiums alone, and coverage is iffy.
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