H 35°, L 21° | Tomorrow: 
H 22°, L 8°Advocates for Wisconsin Lyme disease groups canvassed the Wisconsin State Capitol Tuesday and Wednesday to meet with legislators and promote their cause.
Marina Andrews, Michele Feltz, Tory Gensichen and Sara Brenner said they were visiting Assembly and Senate members to inform them of state health statistics and promote a Lyme disease documentary, “Under Our Skin,” which will be showing at Sundance Cinemas Oct. 9 to 15.
“What we are trying to convey today is the seriousness of Lyme disease; what an issue it is in Wisconsin and how many people are suffering,” Andrews said.
According to Andrews, the health care costs associated with Lyme disease are a financial burden for many Wisconsin families, and some residents have to go out of state to receive treatment because there are only two specialists in Wisconsin.
Feltz said Lyme disease has been called the “hidden epidemic” because so many people either have undiagnosed Lyme disease or their case has not been reported to the Centers for Disease Control by a doctor. She said the state has had 2,028 confirmed cases of Lyme disease, but the CDC said the cases are underreported.
“Wisconsin is the seventh-highest state in the country for Lyme disease, and we are the second most concentrated area in the Midwest,” Feltz said.
Feltz also said her daughter was born with Lyme disease because it is hereditary. She added few people are aware it can cause stillbirth and other complications during pregnancy, which makes the need for education that much greater.
Gensichen said treating Lyme disease is a very complex process because the spirochete, the bacteria that causes the illness, is very resilient and can form a cyst to protect itself from antibiotics.
“In a nutshell, Lyme disease treatment is a multidimensional process which involves many types of medications to penetrate the spirochete,” Gensichen said.
Brenner and Gensichen, who live in the Madison area, said they are trying to get a grassroots movement in the area to promote their cause.
Assembly Committee on Fish and Wildlife Chair Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, said Lyme disease has been an important issue for her during her tenure in the Legislature because so many people in her district are infected with the disease.
“I have been working with Marina Andrews basically ever since I took office to promote public education of Lyme disease and the importance of prevention,” Hraychuck said.
Hraychuck also said she has spoken to many members of the Assembly Public Health Committee and thinks there will be a public hearing on the matter.
Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said the four ladies who visited the Capitol Wednesday are performing a useful service by educating people about Lyme disease.
“As member of Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry, and Natural Resources, I deal with outdoors people a lot, and they are in the most danger of getting Lyme disease,” Grothman said
Grothman added education about Lyme disease is important because it is a very preventable disease.
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what a weird headline… why would anyone be an advocate FOR lyme disease?
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I believe saying it is hereditary is not correct. It is believed that it can be passed to a fetus but is not a genetic trait.
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At no time did I or anyone in our group state that Lyme disease is “heredtary”. It was stated that it can be passed on from mother to child during pregnancy if the mother was unaware that she was infected at the time of her pregnancy, which was the case for me. I will ask the editor to make this correction to an error in their interpretation of what was actually stated.
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Your right lyme disease is not inherited but can be passed from other to child in utero as well as through sexual contact. It is an epidemic in the United States. In Texas, we are told its not a problem here. I wish someone would look at the website that shows lyme in dogs in United States. Texas is one of the states considered to be epidemic. South Texas has 300,000 acres that have been quarantined due to Texas Tick Fever, BUT ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS ITS NOT A PROBLEM HERE. The deception is quite amazing. Good job to the advocates - sometimes one voice can make a big change.
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Lyme disease prevention is key. Get rid of tall grass, leaves and other debris because that’s where ticks hide. Deer ticks aren’t born with disease and they don’t get it from deer. They have to get it from rodents and you can avoid the risk of becoming infected in your own yard by using Damminix Tick Tubes.
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Yes, we do indeed have Lyme disease here in Texas, but most folks are not aware of that fact. It is only those of us who actually HAVE Lyme disease,as well as the few docs that treat us, that know the extent of the huge problem, and the severity of the illness. The Texas Lyme Disease Association is organized to provide public education. Check out www.txlda.org for accurate information about Lyme in Texas. Don’t miss the blockbuster documentary “Under Our Skin” when it comes to your local theater. It explains why this epidemic is being covered up thoughout the nation.
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Lyme disease is a horrible bacteria that infects many people who do not even know it, as they are often diagnosed with other maladies such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and even Alzheimer’s and autoimmune diseases. Those who went to the Capitol as ambassadors to help those with Lyme are to be applauded!!! Many people are so sick and bedridden with Lyme that not only are they too sick to work, manage their homes, or participate in life activities healthy people can…it is so beyond them physically to be able to advocate for themselves and others on a political scale. Most affected individuals, including small children, were once healthy and prospering people who were brought to their knees by this disease, seemingly in an instant. With diagnosis being overlooked due to inaccurate testing and a wide range of symptoms for doctors to decipher, the bacteria is left to litter a body everywhere and affect so many major systems. Although this disease was “found” many decades ago, those with either untreated or late diagnosed Lyme Disease will continue to struggle and will be “lost” until our country’s leaders take notice and find help for this sure epidemic. It is out there and will undoubtedly get YOU or someone you love soon enough. Protection and education is so necessary, but with so many affected falling through the cracks, we need a push for REAL effective treatment and better testing. And we need those voices out their to shout it from the rooftops. “Lyme disease is NOT hard to get and easy to treat, but easy to get and hard to treat!! It can “fester” in your body for years…decades, and completely demolish your life and living. And in some cases, Lyme disease can be fatal. How can our country ignore this and try to simplify it??? One message in the documentary UNDER OUR SKIN answers this. It is
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Just learning about Lyme, and how I may have had it for over 40 years very slow continual feeling loss,struggle walking, great fatique,mind fog. Eyes hurt all the time, and have seen many eye doctors - is this a symptom of lyme?
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SHAMELESS!!!!