Any worthwhile alternative test should still be able to hod up under blinded conditions though.
Ummm - I think some of my posts in this thread been deleted, as there was a section of this discussion I can't find anymore.
Re some of the discussion above, I think that some confusion can occur because of the different terminologies being used, post-lyme, chronic-lyme, post-treatment Lyme, etc, etc. To me, it does seem that there has been a recognition that Lyme disease can cause serious long-term problems, and that these patients have been mistreated, but the 'mainstream' approach has been very political, and driven by a desire to detach these problems from the alternative testing being used by some, and to brush aside problems with past treatment.
I really dislike the way in which people in power try to maintain their authority, but these problems don't do anything to validate 'alternative' approaches, or testing which has not been shown to be reliable under blinded conditions. A lot of people with what some now describe as PTLDS have been really badly treated, and I'd like to see more acknowledgement of this, and ideally some level of accountability... but I'm not expecting much.
Actually, a common theme that I've noticed in medicine is that often there is genuine mistreatment and quackery from those with power at the origins of most patient 'militancy', 'unreasonableness', etc. When one looks at the history of those patient groups that now have a bit of a dodgy reputation amongst doctors, it often leads back to treatment that was clearly morally unjustifiable. Maybe this isn't significant though - it could well be that for all patient groups, you will find that they were treated badly in the recent past. Sickness and disability do not seem to be things people are good at dealing with!
- sorry for ramble, a bit groggy at the mo.