FOCUS DRUG PROBE ON ADDICTS, NOT DOCTORS

In response to the Jan. 25 article on the investigation of an Eastham
psychiatrist for questionable OxyContin prescriptions, addicts, not Lyme
disease victims or their doctors, are at fault for abuse of any painkiller.

Neuroborreliosis (infection of the central nervous system with Lyme
bacteria) is extremely painful. Lyme spirochetes will invade the body at
any site, causing, among other things, debilitating arthritis and
neurological problems. I know of general practitioners who prescribe
vicoden, methadone, OxyContin and a wide array of psychiatric drugs for
their Lyme patients, some of whom are bedridden.

Several of the leading practitioners in the field of Lyme treatment and
research are psychiatrists. We should be looking more intensely at the
activities of drug addicts instead of doctors who are trying to help their
patients deal with the physical and emotional aspects of painful,
debilitating diseases.

TERRI REISER

East Dennis