anonymous101- The answer to your question is YES, some people on this forum have been completely cured of LD and coinfections.
Some pathogens may not ever be completely eradicated from the body, but that does not necessarily mean that a cure is impossible. I base my opinion on consulting the plethora of medical definitions that are available for both "cure" and "remission".
I have a background of receiving extensive training in word meanings and the "semantic domains" of words. The word remission has a broad semantic domain and actually may have a little overlap with the word cure if certain modifiers are attached such as the word "complete".
Another problem is that people on this forum may use words such as remission and cure differently than a person on a cancer forum for instance. There is often a lack of precision in people's vocabulary.
Every person is quite different, and therefore may respond quite differently to any given treatment than another person receiving the same treatment.
The wide spectrum of treatments that people are receiving are quite different in efficacy. Some treatments are quite narrow in scope, and others treat the entire person to the extent that the state of the science allows it to do so.
I think that it's a big mistake to impose a rigid template upon all lyme patients. If we take the above considerations into account, then a simple solution emerges. Some people may obtain a relative state of remission while others actually obtain a cure. It's as simple as that.
However I will agree with the basic instincts of those that insist that the best that a lyme patient can expect is remission. My opinion is that the vast majority of long term LD patients do not go on to a cure. This is due to 2 reasons. The first is that they have not received the best possible comprehensive treatment approach to take them beyond remission. I definitely had to face this issue when My daughter had achieved remission, but a few months later began to relapse. Where to go? I had already used the best of ILADS and popular alternative protocols that are available. I had to resort to a treatment approach that was completely different and quite comprehensive to cure my daughter. It worked for my daughter, and does for the majority of people.
The second possibility is that the patient is so debilitated and damaged that NO treatment of any type can cure them. Yes, they may obtain remission but will periodically experience the reemergence of the illness. Then treatment must again be given to obtain the next remission. I have seen this with a small percentage of Hansa patients for example that do not respond to treatment. They have already been ILADS treated and used the popular protocols before they went to the Hansa Center. They discover that no treatment is able to cure them. What are they to do? Return to a treatment that is so limited in scope, and has already failed them in the past? I have yet to hear of a patient that has not responded to treatment at the Hansa Center, but later they report that some other treatment approach has cured them. They may go on to ride the remission rollercoaster, but they never report a cure.
In the end, I believe that the word "remission" is the word that is most appropriate to use for the bulk of patients in the broader lyme community, because it more accurately explains the actual experience of MOST chronic lyme patients. Unfortunately "cure" is the exception rather than the rule because of the two factors that I just enumerated. I have to say that I largely agree with Traveler's conclusion, although our reasoning approach is different.
Wherever a person may fall on the remission/cure debate... one thing is certain. The protracted misery of the LD and coinfection experience can be conquered, and a new plane of enjoyable living can be enjoyed for the vast majority.
Don
sPost Edited (Heathersdad) : 6/6/2016 12:21:31 PM (GMT-6)