Strange sickness: Mystery disease horror story

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http://www.canlyme.com/doctor_with_morgellons_2006.html

 

 

Strange sickness: Mystery disease horror story

 

 

Thursday, May 18, 2006

By LAURAL PORTER, KGW Staff www.kgw.com

 

What sounds like science fiction was real life for Portland's Dr.

Beverly Drottar.

 

Her story is enough to make your skin crawl. Her horror story is

repeated across the country and is grabbing the attention of at least

one senator and The Centers for Disease Control.

 

The disabled family practice doctor felt like bugs were crawling under

her skin.

 

" If I fully tell people what has gone on with me medically, they think

they're in the twilight zone, " said Drottar.

 

She woke up with the feeling that fluid was flowing just below her

skin. Often black or blue hair like fibers protruded from her skin,

she said.

 

Morgellons Research Foundation

 

" I thought I had been exposed to asbestos. I thought I was having

asbestos fibers come out of my skin. I was pulling long, thin, small

hair-like fibers that were extremely sharp that could literally pierce

through my finger nails, " Drottar said.

 

In addition to the feeling of bugs and the fibers, Drottar also

suffered from severe depression, chronic fatigue and a weakened immune

system. As a result, she had to give up her family practice, Drottar said.

 

The worst part, she said, was that doctors didn't believe her symptoms

were real.

 

" I was practically bedridden and my physicians thought it was

depression and treated me with psychotropic drugs. I was absolutely

terrified that I was going to be admitted to an insane asylum, " she said.

 

Drottar saw countless doctors and dermatologists who diagnosed her

with delusional parasitosis, but she's convinced what she had is real.

She said she was diagnosed with Lyme disease and believes her symptoms

are the result of Lyme and another illness she learned about on the

internet -- Morgellons disease.

 

Patients all over the country are reporting symptoms similar to those

Drottar described, according to the Morgellons Research Foundation Web

site. The organization is privately funded and was founded by Mary

Leitao, a biologist, whose young son has the same symptoms. The

organization reports more than 1,300 cases of people with Morgellons

disease nationwide.

 

Twenty-three-year-old Travis Wilson, of Shelton, Wash. also thought he

had Morgellons disease. His mother, Lisa Wilson, said he suffered from

the feeling of parasites living in his body for years.

 

" He would take Epsom salt baths. He bought every type of cream and

anti-parasitic product. We spent thousands on products he'd order from

all over the world, " Wilson said.

 

Nothing worked. Like Beverly Drottar, Travis saw numerous doctors. His

suffering was excruciating, according to his mother.

 

" He would stomp up and down to try to get rid of these. He would take

shower after shower, " she said.

 

Lisa Wilson took her son to the emergency room in Shelton. She said

she saw the fibers coming out of his skin.

 

" They were so large, I could see them with my own eyes, white and

black fibers coming out of his fingers. I told the doctor, 'come look

at these fibers. You can see the Morgellons,' " Wilson said. " The

doctors totally ignored us. "

 

She said her son was also diagnosed with Delusional Parasitosis.

 

Travis found what he thought was his only escape from the pests that

plagued him. In April, Travis Wilson killed himself.

 

" There was no way to ease his suffering. People didn't believe him. He

had no hope, " his mother said.

 

At least one physician does believe the disease is real.

 

" I feel terrible for them, because they are not crazy. They're sick

and we need to figure out what's going on, " said Dr. Randy Wymore, a

microbiologist at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, Okla. He is also

the volunteer research director for the Morgellons organization.

 

Wymore said he's seen the fibers.

 

" It's very easy to see theses fibers, " he said. " Back in February, we

had a number of patients who came in. Every one of those patients, it

was very easy to visualize the fibers microscopically, " said Wymore.

 

According to Wymore, the fibers are visible with a low-level

microscope available at hardware stores.

 

" The problem is doctors don't look, " Wymore said -- the first thing

that comes to mind for most physicians is that the person is delusional.

 

Dr. James Hancy heads the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic at

Portland's Oregon Health & Science University. He said he's seen

patients with similar symptoms and believes they suffer from a

compulsive disorder much like people who repeatedly wash their hands

to get rid of germs.

 

" The phenomenon here is very similar, except that we are dealing with

bigger critters, " said Hancy. " Rather than bacteria, there is this

excessive concern, almost to a delusional standpoint of bugs or

parasites. "

 

He conceded there could be something else going on with some of the

patients who believe they have Morgellons disease. However, Morgellons

is only a working name given to the illness by the Morgellons

organization and is not an accepted term by the medical community.

 

Hancy said doctors would be more willing to consider a different

diagnosis if there were peer-reviewed studies and published papers on

research into the fibers.

 

That's something Wymore said he's working on. His department is going

through an institutional review process so that human subjects can

participate in research. He also said his office is working with the

Washington county in which Travis Wilson committed suicide, to obtain

samples taken during an autopsy.

 

Wymore hopes his work for the Morgellons organization will help

prevent future suicides by people suffering from the feeling they're

under attack by bugs.

 

" I am very sad this happened. I hope we can try to make it so this

never happens again, " he said.

 

Wymore said the medical community should take another look at the illness.

 

" Don't simply assume a person is making something up, even if by

chance they are a bit anxious, or their behavior is a bit odd, " he

said. " They deserve to be treated like humans with dignity and respect

and get a microscope and actually look at their skin. "

 

Travis Wilson's mother hopes by going public with her son's story she

can help encourage more research.

 

" If you don't call it Morgellons, call it something. There is

something there. People are killing themselves. I don't want Travis'

death to be in vain. I want something good to come of this, if it just

saves one person's life, " she said.

 

Meanwhile Drottar is battling her illness by trying to lead as normal

a life as possible. Unable to work, her volunteer work as a Girl Scout

leader gives her reason to get up in the morning, she said.

 

" The little girls love me no matter what. They're a joy, " said Drottar.

 

She believes the cases of Morgellons being reported across the country

are just the tip of the iceberg.

 

" We are like ostriches sticking our heads in the sand. The medical

community is not prepared to deal with this issue yet, " Drottar said.

 

Wymore agrees with Drottar.

 

" There is a lot of mystery involved with this and we really need to

get to the bottom of this, " he said. Wymore is concerned Morgellons

disease could possibly be contagious. He said there are cases in the

country of multiple family members with what he calls Morgellons symptoms.

 

" It does suggest it could be contagious, " he said, " but again, we

don't have any hard science to answer that question as anything other

than a guess, and my guess is no better than anyone else's. "

 

The medical mystery has grabbed the attention of California Senator

Dianne Feinstein. According to the Morgellons Web site, California is

one of the states reporting the most cases of Morgellons.

 

In a letter to the Centers For Disease Control, Feinstein wrote, " I

have received numerous letters and phone calls from constituents

regarding Morgellons disease. " Feinstein asked the CDC what actions

the agency is taking to work with state and local agencies regarding

Morgellons.

 

Three weeks after Feinstein's letter, the CDC replied to a citizen

also inquiring about Morgellons.

 

CDC Director Julie Louis Gerberding said the center is currently

looking into an appropriate course of action to address the nationwide

concern about Morgellons.

 

The move is too late for Washington's Travis Wilson, but Drottar hopes

one day more is known about Morgellons.

 

" I would like it if my primary doctor didn't raise her eyebrows when I

tell her I have Morgellons disease, " she said.

 

Drottar's hope is echoed by hundreds of other Americans who say they

have Morgellons and just want a way to rid themselves of the pests

that plague them.

 

© 2006, KGW-TV

 

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