Lyme disease and the fight for recognition | DW Documentary

Years of pain, paralysis and fear - without a diagnosis. For a long time, medicine seemed to ignore Lyme disease. The film accompanies several patients as they fight for an accurate diagnosis — and the right treatment. Many Lyme disease patients suffer for a long time before receiving a diagnosis. Their symptoms, including pain and paralysis, often seem to indicate other diseases, like MS. The fact that they have been bitten by a tick that carried Lyme disease often only emerges after many examinations. This is exactly what happened to two of the film’s subjects: a girl from Brooklyn, NY and a researcher at Duke University. Both decided to take matters into their own hands and began carrying out independent research into their symptoms. Both ended up in the middle of a controversial medical debate and found themselves having to fight hard for adequate treatment.