Normie doctor

Yo, Mauritius! Leave a comment. I'm curious about you.

At 3:21 AM I woke to the sound of my lovely wife already tending to my daughter, who had apparently just vomited. We hadn't known she was sick. It's my son who has the unexplained, harsh cough. For someone who had just thrown up, my daughter was remarkably cheerful. My lovely wife cleaned everything up and changed the girl's bed while dealing with a happy, chattering almost-three-year-old and a happy chattering almost-six-year-old. I don't know how many times she said "Don't step in it!" She fixed it all while I posted this and slathered my hands with Purell.

4:12 AM -- She just threw up again. Still very cheerful. I think I'll stay at the computer until things get quiet up there. Let us now praise my lovely wife.

So I went to the supposed Lyme-aware doctor that my chiropractor recommended, and he turned out to be a total normie. Mind you, he was pleasant and polite, kind and able to listen. But he wasn't able to understand. He kept saying that IgeneX (which I refer to in this blog as Quack Lab), has a bad reputation and their results should not be trusted, while those of Quest and LabCorp (which analyze the results using different criteria) should. This is as knee-jerk as the first Lyme doctor, who told me that the IgeneX results were the only ones worth looking at, and that Quest was useless. (But that first doctor, unfortunately, wanted another spinal tap, as a CYA manuever for himself).

Normie doctor was unimpressed when I said that my results from Quest were indeterminate (neither negative nor positive) in 2003 and 2004, and that IgeneX's analysis method, while different from the accepted one, is based on published medical literature. He was also unimpressed when I mentioned that I am now MORE seropositive than before the Flagyl, which is evidence that my body may be manufacturing more antibodies against the weakened organisms. I got the impression that this doctor goes with What Everyone Says, rather than thinking for himself. That's why I call him Normie doctor.

Like many doctors, he's probably just afraid of being sued. But I want a doctor who is interested in treating me, rather than one who just wants to protect himself. He did do one useful thing, which was to provide referrals to two infectious disease specialists. I've made an appointment with one, and left a voicemail with the other.

For someone who thinks IgeneX is worthless, he showed a lot of interest in getting copies of my lab results, mentioning it twice and requesting it again just before I left. I think he wants the results as a hedge against possible litigation. I politely said no.

Scott points out that IgeneX has been recertified by the state and the feds. The IgeneX CEO says:

A Letter from IGeneX Labs CEO, Nick Harris (CA)

I am pleased to announce that IGeneX, Inc. recently passed two inspections on September 7 and 8, 2005, for its biannual recertification from the State of California. A federal inspector also arrived simultaneously, indicating she was present due to the NY Times article August 23 which had made allegations against IGeneX laboratories. The inspection was intense, with a focus on the Western Blots which had been cited in the NY Times article.

The lab has been fully recertified, and the inspectors clearly saw the allegations were without merit.

Despite a volume of letters to the Times after the article by patients, groups, and doctors in support of IGeneX, nothing was printed by the Times.

IGenex thanks all the Lyme community for your support. Perhaps the Times will relent and print another piece on this issue.

Sincerely,
Nick Harris
CEO, IGeneX Labs
Palo Alto, California

I'm mailing a copy of this to Dr. Normie. There's no signature, and the return address is the doctor's office. At the bottom of the letter, I wrote "To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail."