Dr. Marty Ross wants Lyme sufferers in Nova Scotia to know that there are better treatment options out there and that’s precisely why the U.S. physician is presenting his case in the province Friday.
“My mission in life is to help those people as best I can to get well,” said the physician who combines both herbal and antibiotic medicine to treat the disease. His list of Canadian patients is growing.
“There are people that need help. I have a skill set that I’m able to do that and I’ve seen really good results.”
Ross will be part of a panel of experts in the field of Lyme who will be presenting to both health-care practitioners and the public at Pictou County Wellness Centre in New Glasgow on Friday. While the Nova Scotia Health Authority doesn’t endorse his treatment methods they are accepted by the Washington State Medical Commission. But not without a fight. The commission had launched a review of his treatment methods a year ago. He decided to temporarily close his clinic during the review but was informed three months ago he faced no restrictions. He plans to reopen his Seattle-based practise in the fall.
Ross has been practising since 1991 and believes Lyme disease patients need the option of long-term antibiotic treatment. Typically Lyme patients are given a four-week doxycycline prescription in Nova Scotia and that’s often not nearly enough to make people better, said Ross. Treatment guidelines are set out by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Nova Scotia Health Authority also follows the same guidelines.
“There is a general discussion in society that we’re overusing antibiotics leading to germ resistance, and there is some truth to that,” said Ross. “But that needs to be compared to the risk of not treating these individuals who have terribly debilitating illnesses. If we look at studies that people with chronic Lyme are suffering we see they have worse health conditions than people with end-stage congestive failure.”
Ross also prescribes herbal antibiotics. Cat’s claw and otoba bark extract are among the herbs that he prescribes to treat the disease.
“They have an effective range against Lyme and clinically I find them to work very well, comparable to prescription antibiotics.”
He says often people with Lyme don’t show the trademark symptoms associated with Lyme, such as bulls-eye rash, swollen knees or heart rhythm issues, and instead many suffering from the long-term effects of Lyme disease actually do not fall in easily defined categories. As a result their symptoms are dismissed by many doctors.
“They have more subjective findings that you cannot document with a test or by seeing it with your eyes. In medicine we tend to discount those illnesses. We tend to discount people with chronic fatigue syndrome. We tend to discount people with fibromyalgia and people with Lyme disease unfortunately.”
Jennifer MacLean and Amy Hayne-Desjardins both have Lyme disease and are among a growing list of Nova Scotians who have sought long-term antibiotic treatment in the U.S. with life-altering results, they say. They reached out to Ross in June, looking for him to share his knowledge with the public.
They said the aim of Friday’s Lyme education sessions are to change the conversation around the treatment of Lyme, which has been stagnant for too long, they say.
“We want these Lyme-literate doctors who have chosen to treat outside the mainstream practises of Lyme to share their experiences and we want patients to hear that there are other alternatives,” said Hayne-Desjardins. “Because you don’t get better with the Lyme treatment available in Nova Scotia.”
Included in Friday’s panel is Maine-based doctor Richard Dubocq, who also prescribes long-term antibiotic treatment in some cases. The women have been travelling from Nova Scotia to receive treatment from Dubocq. Vett Lloyd, a Mount Allison University biology professor and tick expert, will also present.
For MacLean, who’s been seeing Dubocq since February, the event serves as a call to action.
“We shouldn’t have to leave our province let alone our country for treatment,” said MacLean. “Not everyone is as fortunate as us to do that. We want people who are sick to get the treatment they need here.”
They say upwards of 400 people are expected to show up for the public session, from 7 to 9 p.m. A session open to medical professionals will also be held earlier from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Six local doctors have signed on as well as nurses, a psychiatrist, optometrist, dental surgeon and pharmacist.
“The fact is doctors in this province are scared to be disciplined if they practise outside the standard protocol,” said Hayne-Desjardins. “Some will treat but they don’t talk about it.”
The women have extended an invitation to Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, but so far have not received a commitment that he’ll be there or have someone there representing public health.
Public health spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn said the department anticipates that a representative from NSHA Public Health will attend.
But she said it’s important to note that Nova Scotia uses peer-reviewed research while making evidence-based decisions on Lyme disease.
“We sympathize with Nova Scotians who may suffer from chronic and sometimes debilitating symptoms that have no explanation,” said Fairbairn. "We encourage them to talk to their primary care provider so they can get the right diagnosis and treatment alternatives. Lyme disease is preventable."
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