Blog Post Asking For Help
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Please read: I need your help.
I have been writing this BLOG since 2008. It has been widely read with over 1.2 million page views. I hope it has been helpful.
I have intentionally tried to keep this BLOG non-political. But alas, Lyme is a political disease and this is an inescapable fact.
I am in trouble now and asking for help.
I have been investigated by the medical Board 3 times since 2008. The first two investigations were dropped. I am no longer under investigation; I have been charged by the Medical Board of Maryland with serious violations.
The last investigation was initiated by a complaint from a major insurance company with which I previously participated with, 3 years ago.
A number of patient charts were reviewed and sent to "peer review." My reviewers were IDSA infectious disease doctors. One of the reviewers is a well known Johns Hopkins faculty member -- well known to be on a mission to stamp out doctors such as myself.
I am charged with violating the standard of care for each of 6 patient charts evaluated. In the charges ILADS' views are entirely nullified; the standard of care is solely based on IDSA guidelines.
The charges against me are serious. I face prosecution by the Attorney General's office of the State of Maryland at the behest of the Medical Board. The Board has informed me that the charges are public; the details are available for anyone to read.
The penalties may be wide ranging and may include suspension of my license to practice medicine.
I am asking that current patients and former patients of mine to write me a letter of support describing their experiences with the medical system and their experiences with care I provided for them. For now only send these letters to me, by email or snail mail.
Thank you for your support.
Daniel Jaller, M.D.
15245 Shady Grove Road
Suite 315
Rockville, MD 20850
Paradigmmedicine@ gmail.com
Daniel Jaller, aka Lymemd.
Posted by Lyme report: Montgomery County, MD at9:07 AM
35 comments:
Betty G, IOWA lyme activist said...
dan,
so sorry to read of your most recent investigation; i have posted it on www.mdjunction.com lyme disease boards and also sent to my group lyme email list.
you have my support; i'll email you as a BLOG READER where i/million+ of us have benefited from your helpfulness sharing on your blog helping us on our lyme/all co-infections from ticks.
may god watch over you during this stressful time and provide you the strength, courage, and stamina to withstand these latest charges.
YOU have made a difference in your patients lives and also us readers of your blog who haven't had your HANDS-ON but feel we know you thru your blog.
bettyg, iowa lyme activist
46.5 yrs. chronic lyme
35. yrs. MISDIAGNOSED by 40-50 drs.
UNACCEPTABLE and so is what is happening to you dan and MANY of our ilads llmds nationwide!
MA said...
Dr. Jaller, I am writing you a letter of support, but this doesn't seem enough. Is there anything else we can do? I feel helpless yet I refuse to let this pass me by without significant action.
WLP Romania said...
so sorry to read about it. i am asking on my page for your support. hope this mess will end soon.
WLP Romania said...
and please let us now if there is something else that we can do.
thanks.
HOmi Irani said...
I was a patient of Dr Jaller till he stopped taking my insurance. I did go to the top Lyme specialist at Johns Hopkins and he said there is no such thing as chronic Lyme. He suggested for me to eat and sleep well and I will be fine. I am so confused and still cannot cure my light fiver and severe body pain.
Phoiph said...
Dr. Jaller...
You mention that the charges are public and anyone can read the details.
I would like to write a letter that addresses the charges directly. How does one access this information?
Many thanks for your willingness to put your self on the line for the benefit of your patients...
Vlynx said...
Dr. Jaller,
I have been following your blog for some time and greatly appreciate your measured, intelligent approach to Lyme Disease. I am a physician myself, and was considering seeking you out for treatment, even though I live in Arizona.
I hope that the publication of new ILADS backed review, "Evidence assessments and guideline recommendations in Lyme disease: the clinical management of known tick bites, erythema migrans rashes and persistent disease" is of assistance in your defense. IDSA's "guidelines" do not follow the IOM recommendations for guidelines, and the ILADS guidelines follow the well-respected GRADE process for assessing the reliability of treatment recommendations.
Get a good lawyer! It is beyond me that insurance companies should have the ability to complain to medical boards. What an outrageous conflict of interest.
Best of luck to you!
Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/full/10.1586/14787210.2014.940900
Vlynx said...
Also, perhaps the research that was done at Johns Hopkin's by Zhang et al may help to support your position. Quoting from the Introduction, "The currently used frontline drugs such as doxycycline and amoxicillin while showing good activity for growing spirochetal form of B. burgdorferi have limited activity on variant forms or biofilm or persister forms of B. burgdorferi [6], [7], which may underlie persistent symptoms that occur in some patients after standard treatment."
The important point being the acceptance that persistent symptoms may be due to "persister forms" of Borrelia - "An Optimized SYBR Green I/PI Assay for Rapid Viability Assessment and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing for Borrelia burgdorferi"
Jie Feng, Ting Wang, Shuo Zhang, Wanliang Shi, Ying Zhang
And then, of course there is the Nature article, "Identification of novel activity against Borrelia burgdorferi persisters using an FDA approved drug library" by Auwaerter & Zhang of Johns Hopkin, which ends by saying, "Identification of novel activity against Borrelia burgdorferi persisters using an FDA approved drug library."
I'm sure you are aware of these publications, but I am flabbergasted that persecution of physicians such as yourself who are not practicing "fringe medicine" and have more than adequate support in the literature continues.
Again, best of luck.
Robin123 said...
Why can't a legal fight be made based on science of persistence of these infections? There are so many studies showing that now.
And the ILADS guidelines are included in the National Clearinghouse for guidelines.
This seems ridiculous, what is happening to doctors who treat Lyme disease.
Sebastien Millon said...
I am so sorry to hear this. I've read your posts and they are very informative. Thank you for taking the time to share your process, it breaks my heart to think that you may lose your ability to practice and help your patients.
I wish there wasn't so much politics involved in medicine. Truly frustrating.
Wishing you all the best, I'm sorry for the stress you must be going thru but I have a ton of respect that you have been willing to practice medicine the way you believe is best for your patients even though it has jeopardized your practice. That takes guts.
JRSchultz said...
his review describes known and suspected mechanisms by which spirochetes of the Borrelia genus evade host immune defenses and survive antibiotic challenge. Accumulating evidence indicates that Lyme disease spirochetes are adapted to persist in immune competent hosts, and that they are able to hosts, and that they are able to remain infective despite aggressive http://www.dovepress.com/review-of-evidence-for-immune-evasion-and-persistent-infection-in-lyme-peer-reviewed-article-IJGM
Still Fighting For Mom said...
I am in awe of hearing this! I CANNOT believe this is happening to you...now, in 2015, when it appears that there is increasing awareness of this horrible EPIDEMIC that is grosely regulated by greed. I discovered your blog a week and a half ago and have read it and cross-researched it for countless hours. My mother is dying of Chronic Lyme Disease with multiple co-infections. She has undergone rigorous treatment for over a year. Her's has manifested itself as ALS. I called your office last week , among others, as we are deciding on a new doctor by Monday. IDSA...this is just insanity and has got to stop! Let's all SIGN this PETITION:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/address-epidemic-lyme-disease?fb_action_ids=10206070378586054&fb_action_types=og.shares&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B965726930128901%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.shares%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D
Ken said...
Although I haven't been a patient of yours, I want to thank you deeply for having the courage to treat others like me who come to you with 'chronic Lyme'. Call it whatever IDSA and insurance companies want, this 'syndrome' is *very* real and doesn't go away with rest, a better diet, or psychotherapy. If it wasn't for you and those like you (such as my LLMD), those of us in this struggle would be lost. I'm fortunate to live in MA which has legislated long-term antibiotic use as unfortunately one of the less-than-adequate-but-best-we-have tools in this fight. Please let me (us) know of anything we can do to help you in this legal harassment you're being subjected to. Thank you again.
Kurt said...
These spurious and outrageous charges against Dr. Jaller may be found here:
https://www.mbp.state.md.us/bpqapp/Charges/D3313804.225.PDF
JasonG609 said...
Dr. Jaller ~
I am not a patient either but, 5 years into a Lyme diagnosis, I want you to know that your blog has been an incredibly helpful resource for me.
I can't tell you how many times I've referenced your site and referred other to it.
If there's anything non-patients can do, please let us know.
You are an incredibly courageous man and physician. I can't thank you enough for all your efforts on behalf of Lyme sufferers everywhere.
Keep your head up and good luck.
Thank you for EVERYTHING.
Jason George
Brooklyn, NY
xemoterp said...
Dr. Jaller - I am a patient of yours and feel like I am close to winning the battle of Lyme Disease and Co-infections under your care. I was bitten in April 2014 (yes I removed two embedded ticks that were in my back and neck for at least 16+ hours). It was about 2 weeks later I noticed severe pain in my left ankle (I am an avid runner, had sprained that ankle a year ago ... was fully recovered according to my sports medicine doctor). It was another 3 weeks until I had flu-like symptoms (while camping at Asseteague) and travelling aches/pains. Went to my doctor - told him to check me for Lyme, but was negative.
Symtoms continued (ankle, travelling aches, headaches, low energy, etc.) Saw several doctors (sports medicine doctor about ankle (ruled out injury and did mention Lyme Disease). Pleaded with my Primary Care Doctor to give me antibiotics in case I had Lyme. Was told I was negative so no treatment.
By August 2014 I was having some sleeping issues (I am an athlete in very good condition so this was odd). I was also having more aches/pains (travelling) and saw a 20-30% decrease in my training (distance, speed) with much longer recovery times. I knew I was getting worse.
Fast forward to September where a coworker introduced me to ILADS and the whole Lyme Disease mistreatment by many doctors. This is when I found out about Dr. Jaller. My PCP wanted me to see either an IDSA doctor or a Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor. Neither would give me an appointment earlier than 1.5 months out. I was not sleeping at all and having trouble driving. Furthermore I was suffering from cognitive issues. Both very uncharactistic for me and very concerning.
Dr. Jaller agreed to see me right away. Under Dr. Jaller's care over the past 7-8 months I have regained my life back. I am still being treated for some co-infection symptoms that are maybe 90% gone. I am back to 95% running/cycling capacity and back to sleeping the way I should. After starting treatment my aches and pains went away and my cognitive abilities recovered.
It has taken a long time for some of my symptoms to disappear. If I were to stop Dr. Jaller's treatment before being 100% recovered I fear I would potentially have some relapse of symptoms. Had I not been able to be treated by Dr. Jaller, I truly believe I would have ended up in the hospital or worse.
Since starting treatment from Dr. Jaller I am back to being a productive worker, father to my daughters and husband. I have my athletic training evidence, sleep tracking evidence and my Primary Care Doctor's thumbs up showing that Dr. Jaller's treatment of my Lyme Disease and co-infections has been highly successful.
My wife was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease (has been to many doctors without success and has been to the ER twice). She is now a patient of Dr. Jallers' and since starting treatment 3 weeks ago her symptoms are subsiding. We think she has had Lyme disease for at least a year and a half based on the start of her symptoms.
We live in a tick-infested area of Maryland and have two dogs that bring ticks into the house. We have dear that roam through our yard and we camp and hike. I have run into several other neighbors with similar symptoms. I have recommended they meet with Dr. Jaller to have him test for and diagnose their condition.
Without Dr. Jaller's treatment my wife and I would be very sick based on how we were progressing before treatment. Not very many doctors in our area understand Lyme Disease and almost none of them know how to treat co-infections such as Bartenella and Babesia.
Sincerely,
Mark (and Julie)
Ingrid said...
Here they are: https://www.mbp.state.md.us/bpqapp/Charges/D3313804.225.PDF
BJ Gburg said...
OMG Dr J!
If not for your help, I would have been trapped in Lyme hell for the rest of my life.
No other doctors would treat me for chronic Lyme. They said there was nothing they could do.
YOU were my only salvation and so many others who were "untreatable". I sent you a testimonial and I encourage everyone else to do the same and to also sign the online petition in the comment by Still fighting for Mom. We cannot put it off any longer. We have to make our voices heard now, not tomorrow... It may be too late
Beth Novick said...
This is the very reason why he and other LLMDs had to stop taking insurance!
Tabitha said...
I am so sorry to read this. I am not one of your patients (we cannot afford to go completely out of pocket), but I have found your blog to be most informative. My husband and I have both been undergoing treatment for Lyme and coinfections for almost a year now, through an infectious disease doctor who accepts our insurance, and he has had no trouble following treatment guidelines very similar to yours. Neither of us ever tested CDC positive through mainstream labs.
My question is this: regarding the six contested patients' records--they all seem to be satisfied patients? The complaint originated not with them, but with the insurance company?
I would like to write a letter of support, and if possible, I would like to emphasize the fact that your patients have gotten better, and the issue arises not from them, but from insurance providers with a conflict of interest.
I will be following this situation closely from Virginia. Do not be discouraged--this may become your greatest triumph, as awareness is raised and standards are altered.
Blessings,
Tabitha
Manassas, VA
Andrew Pickles said...
So Sorry this is happening to you but thanks for your blog and support to the lyme community! The part that gets me very angry is that the rest of the world is suffering from Lyme diesase because the rest of the world follows the IDSA guidelines! I think Germany is the only country that stood up and made their own guidelines as they are more focused on what the disease really is.
To me suffering from lyme disease... To be honest I'm just puzzled why ILADs treatment is not the standard treatment. The way I see it... if this is the way the disease is, then that's the way the disease should be treated.
This might sound cruel, but sometimes I wish everyone that wrote the IDSA guidelines caught lyme disease with all the coinfections themself, have them all wait for 1 month before beginning antibiotic treatment. Haha, we'll see if 1 month of doxy cures them.... Then they will think, oh Chronic Lyme Disease does exist. Then they will re-write the guidelines.
Roxie said...
Im sorry this is happening to you. I have added your request to my fb page to raise awareness to your situation. I've read your blog periodically over the past few years and helped me fight on. 11 years sick, just dx last year. May God protect you and help you win against the mecical board and IDSA.
Rosanne
Illinois
T.L. Merrybard said...
Dear Dr Jaller, I am not your patient but I wish I had been so lucky as to find a Lyme Doc like you. Where we are there were no LLMDs at all when we first discovered Lyme. We had to Skype a Doctor overseas to get tested, and then treat ourselves with herbals and so on. We are getting better but it has been a hard journey without support from the local medical community. My very best wishes to you and hoping this bogus attack is thrown out. Lymies all over the world desperately need supportive doctors just like you!
Mariam said...
I am Mariam used every single spell worker on the internet, spent untold amounts of money and discovered they are all fakes...i was the fool though; doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In the end, I decided that I wanted a tarot reading to know what my future held for me; I contacted a woman who lives locally to me and she told me about a man named (priests olalude abija); he does not advertise on the internet, has another job for income, has no set prices, makes no false promises and refuses to help anyone that cannot be helped and even helps for free sometimes, he will give you proof before taking money. He is a wonderful man and he was the only person who actually gave me real results. I really hope he doesn't mind me advertising his contact on the internet but I'm sure any help/ extra work will benefit him.contact him as spirituallighthealing101@live.com He travel sometimes.love marriage,finance, job promotion ,lottery Voodoo,poker voodoo,gambling voodoo,golf Voodoo,Law & Court case Spells,money voodoo,weigh loss voodoo,any sicknesses voodoo,cancer voodoo,Trouble in marriage,it's all he does Hope this helps everyone that is in a desperate situation as I once was; I know how it feels to hold onto something and never have a chance to move on because of the false promises and then to feel trapped in wanting something
more.
Betty G, IOWA lyme activist said...
sorry MARIAM/troll hit your site dan!
hopefully, you can delete their comments.
bettyg, iowa lyme activist
Burt Bees said...
Dr. Jaller,
Thanks for your information sharing, you seem to genuinely believe in what your doing and like religion or faith...if it help just one person then who am I to disagree as long as you don't expect or force me to believe...by the comments it looks like your helping people!
A little background on me before i grind my axe, I have a MS in Computer Science which means I'm educated, well read, and understand complex systems...though not a Doctor...and I lean heavily toward libertarian. I read your post on Doctors as the problem, I couldn't agree more...Medical Science in this country is superior while the Healthcare System is a pathetic mess and nowhere in that argument have I ever heard blame placed on Doctors...I haven't seen to many homeless, working poor, or even middle-class Doctors lately, have you? I'm sure even the HMO doctors easily earn twice what i do and four times the national average...I have two nurses in my family and nothing in the past 25 years has convinced me they aren't capable of the same if not better outcomes as "the doctors".
Back to Lyme, I care about this because my wife might have Lyme and while I agree with you that mainstream medicine is paint by Dr. Grandpa's numbers...the root of the doubt and opposition (politics) comes from the following themes:
#1 - Those guys you know and have been around for years...they don't know "Lyme", but we do!
#2 - How long is treatment? We don't know could be 1 month, could be 9 months, could be years...
#3 - You don't take insurance and how much is treatment per month? Hundreds or Thousands of dollars!
So I get that insurance companies don't want to pay for it and they have doctors willing to support their position. But I don't see too many "Pro Bono", "Doctors without Borders" type Lyme Literate Doctors, quite the opposite I see alot of books, and speaking tours, herbal product sponsorships, and monetization all without dealing with insurance company billing departments.
We live in a fraudulent society, it's hard not to think "Snake Oil Salesmen"!
Back to the beginning...so the results of our fantastic healthcare system are I...we are forced to choose between the possibility of an improvement to my wife's quality of health, spending lots of money, and/or being scammed.
Thoughts? Why isn't ILADS more grassroots, charitable, fundraising, and austere?
WLP Romania said...
how things are going on? hope this investigation stops soon.
Thewinoandi said...
I am just disillusioned that part of my tax dollars are being utilized to victimize a physician who really cares about people. Dr. J was transparent with his view to help as many people as possible by writing a blog on the Internet. He was not trying to hide nor offer his viewpoints in an sneaky type of way.
I do feel that allowing an insurance company initiate these type of charges that can ruin a man, take away his living, or tarnish a man's reputation forever, all over an issue that the insurance company has a monetary stake versus Dr. Jaller trying very hard to bring people back into a state of good health. This case should not see the light of day. The charges brought are very, very serious and were brought forth by the Maryland District Attorney's office despite having a very strong odor of 'conflict of interest'. It makes one want to lose faith in the District Attorney's office.
Regarding insurance companies, does anyone else feel that over time we have made an error and given them way too much power with health care decisions. My doctor will prescribe one medication but it ends up getting denied by my insurance company but, they will cover the medication xxxxxxxx. Am I supposed to feel good about that? Should I just have my physician's appointment at the insurance company's office? Believe me, I would rather my MD making the choices as opposed to some unknown person at the insurance company.
I am proud of Dr. Jaller for trying so hard to help people with this disease that nearly all medical specialists will tell you directly to your face that Lyme Disease in your body over six weeks "doesn't exist."
I retrieved this quote from the CDC website right at this moment: "Preliminary results from three different evaluation methods suggest that the number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the United States is around 300,000 (CDC.gov, Internet). Obviously, some people need help with this awful disease.
I just feel the need to say that I certainly wish there was not conflict about treating this disease like our current system IDSA vs. ILADS. If these organizations pooled their money and time, think of the suffering we would then have the ability to stop.
If society has a really big health problem, if you caught the disease, wouldn't you rather the non-profit group, in this case ILADS, with the more compassionate, reasonable, and a ready set of recommended interventions to initiate right away or would you rather one group that has only one criteria to join? In this case, the IDSA, is the Infectious Disease Society, is the group throwing up impediments to quick and necessary care. Believe me when I say that I would have a hard time sleeping knowing that I could have helped at least one person but stood my ground because all of the other members of our "IDSA - "Society" are doing so. The facts are even worse than one person though. Remember, the CDC believes roughly 300,000 people per year are contracting Lyme disease. Therefore, this would make Lyme the second fastest growing disease in the country behind HIV.
Doesn't this sound serious enough to take action and certainly not to bring spurious charges against one of the most willing to help with this growing problem?
Lastly, most physicians that have gathered enough medical information on Lyme Disease do not advertise their services for the very reason of the government trying to ruin their lives. What a very sad state of affairs. I wish the District Attorney of Maryland would apologize to Dr. Jaller, drop the charges, and we can all move on.
Dr. Jaller isn't trying to become famous, get rich, nor any other giant benefits. As far as I know, he just simply wants to help people in their greatest time of need.
Perhaps you can send Dr. Jaller a letter of support or perhaps contact your Senators and Congressmen to please help with this insane injustice against Dr. Jaller.
Thank you for your time and warm regards,
F.
Lyme and Company said...
Dr. Jaller
The only reason I am not a patient of yours is because I am on the opposite coast. I have been a huge follower of your blog for as long as it has been accessible from the convenience of my computer. But I have watched your personal transformation as a dubious, curious and frustrated MD into an invaluable resource for those of us who have been left behind, abandoned or even threatened by our the medical industry. Rare, brave and highly informed specialists like Dr. Jaller are changing AND SAVING lives.
Whomever is making a record of these posts, please note:
You are COWARDS in this conspiratorial ambush on a service provider who is healing lives. You do not care what physicians like Dr Jaller are actually doing for patients. You include NO perspective of the successfully treated patient in your inexcusable, archaic witch hunt. Your ONLY objective is to save some corporation money. It's inhumane, it's unAmerican, and eventually, it will be deemed illegal. Several other states have recently implemented legislation that prohibits this disgusting practice of ruining not only the lives of these heroic practitioners, but the lives of the patient only they are brave and educated enough to properly treat and the future patients who will never know these MD's generosity and will never benefit from their knowledge, and whose lives will continue to deteriorate while NO ONE CARES.
ShAME ON YOU and these practices of collusion. Get with the 21st century and instead, focus resources on better research, testing and treatment. Anything else is criminal.
P.
girlie said...
Dr. Jaller -
I am writing this in support of the hard work you do - helping lyme disease victims get their health back.
I am so sorry you are being investigated.
Although I am in Canada, I am very concerned with what happens in the U.S. as we often follow in your country's tracks.
Lyme Girl said...
Is anyone else interested in joining me for a protest at his hearing on June 24th? I've called the attorney general, the medical subdivision of the attorney general, and the Maryland medical board to ask why my own patient experience has not been questioned and will not be used during this hearing. Let's do something about this.
Stacie Underwood said...
If it was Paul Auwaerter that you saw at Hopkins run fast and far!
lefty said...
Dr Jaller,
This is exactly what happened to my LLMD, who is now being monitored by the fascists (no other word adequately describes them) with her files scrutinized by peer review. That means, of course, that her patients have no expectation of privacy. I can't stand the idea of these ignorant stuffed shirts going over my chart, trying to find some way to nail my wonderful doctor. They don't care one bit about the welfare of the patients, it's simply a witch hunt. So now they've got you, too. My heart goes out to you. As I'm not a patient of yours, I don't know what I can do to help. What my doctor has had to learn to do, sadly, is not chart certain things which might be flagged in a review. I hope you don't have to go down that road to keep your practice. It would require that your patients be on board with this and that you can trust them not to talk about it to anyone who might report it. I won't sign my name here because I need to protect my LLMD.
I greatly admire your work and am sorry for your troubles. One would think that in 2015, the persecution of people for having a different point of view than the mainstream would not be tolerated. I wonder if there are any lawyers who would be prepared to take on a class action suit by LLMDs.
-anonymous lyme patient
Joe Sindoni said...
Dr. Jaller,
Your hard work does not go unnoticed. I cannot convey this through words; only if you were in my shoes before I started treatment would you be able to understand how greatfull I am. I dropped off my letter of appreciation to your secretary a few days ago. I feel so strongly about your stellar treatment methods that I felt I should publicize this letter on the web. This is the link to the letter. I encourage everyone to read/distribute it so that Dr. Jaller can be rightfully accredited for his work.
Joe Sindoni
Gpopuk said...
If Dr Jaller wants my help he can contact me,.Kathleen Dickson
Lyme is not about persisting spirochetes,
See more at http://www.actionlyme.org
BOYCOTT AMERICA - Abusers of their Own Sick and Disabled.
Good News, peeps. The CDC just admitted Chronic...
ACTIONLYME.ORG
Link here- http://lymemd.blogspot.com/2015/05/please-read-i-need-your-help.html
