The Chronicles of Yolandia: an Investigation of CLD – Part III: The Current Season and Questioning

The Chronicles of Yolandia

An Investigation of Chronic Lyme Disease

Part III: The Current Season and Questioning

Before continuing, please check out Part I and Part II to get a fuller picture of The Chronicles of Yolandia.

Yolanda has started writing on her Bravo blog, taking on her critics. However, her blog is rife with misuse of scientific literature and support for medical quackery.

From December 22:

After years of aimlessly searching for the right care and a cure, my case is finally in the capable hands of who I believe to be the two greatest Lyme literate doctors in the world: Dr. Richard Horowitz and Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt.

Dr. Richard Horowitz is a self-proclaimed ‘Lyme Literate’ doctor and was actually sanctioned by New York state in relation to unethical activities.  He has also claimed to treat more than 12,00 patients. The website for his practice the Hudson Valley Healing Arts Center looks more like a book advertisement than about his actual healing center or its practices.

Dr. Klinghardt is another doctor who has also faced sanctions. Dr. Klinghardt is full of practicing alternative medicine pseudoscience, even claiming to cure autism and ADHD. Recently, it seems he has been focusing on Chronic Lyme Disease. He also claims there are five healing ‘levels’, with the physical body at the bottom level and the spiritual body at the top. It looks like something out of a Scientology manual. He is a specialist in ADHD, autism, Lyme Disease, Alzheimer’s, flu, neurology, and more? Not buying it. Additionally, he touts unsubstantiated and potentially harmful treatments.

Put simply: these are quack doctors, with questionable motives.

Lyme is a clinical diagnosis and multiple labs and physicians worldwide have confirmed my personal diagnosis.

For starters, a patient should generally not be diagnosing themselves then looking for confirmation. Getting a second opinion is one thing, but multiple labs and physicians raises red flags. Were there doctors that didn’t agree with her self-affirmed diagnosis?

Brain scans show significant inflammation in the frontal lobe of my brain affecting my cognitive function.

Inflammation of the brain, along with her other symptoms sound like encephalitis.  Which is caused by a virus usually, not bacteria. [EDIT: Just to make it more clear, encephalitis can be caused by a bacteria, but it IS rare.]

The three double blind placebo controlled NIH trials on Lyme disease have shown that those with chronic Lyme are as sick as those with chronic congestive heart failure.

I am not sure what Yolanda Foster is referring to- in fact others have mentioned some trouble tracking down exactly what she is referring to. There was one study that ended early due to unlikeliness of benefits and because they couldn’t find evidence of a persistent bacterial infection. Furthermore, it is unlikely that they any researchers would use double blind trials for assessment of patient quality of life.  In fact, it was difficult to even find enough people for enrollment for some Lyme Disease studies because it “appears to reflect the scarcity of persons with well-documented Lyme disease in whom clinically significant problems develop after conventional treatment.” The article links to New England Journal of Medicine.

Lyme has been shown to be a chronic persistent infection. This has been proven in multiple published scientific studies, including recent studies coming out of John’s Hopkin’s University and Northeastern University showing “persister” bacteria.

The research being conducted at John Hopkin’s University is actually for tuberculosis, not Lyme Disease. There is some discussion of it perhaps extending to Lyme Disease treatments as an option, but this not what Yolanda is claiming.

The NIH also sponsored studies on those suffering with PTLD (Post Treatment Lyme disease) last year (Dr Adriana Marques), which showed that some patients like me had positive DNA tests (PCR) despite classical treatment. This again implies persistence of the bacteria, contributing to my long term illness.

This is another case of Yolanda misrepresenting the medical studies. “Two people had indeterminate results, thought to be due to laboratory contamination. ” There was also “insufficient evidence, however, to conclude that viable spirochetes [i.e. bacteria] were present in either patient.”

It seems to Yolanda that if she throws out enough medical terms that people will simply accept what she says. But this is dangerous. On social media, you see comment after comment of “I think I may have this too, how should I get treatments?” and other anti-science statements, like “this could have to do with your vaccines, I really discourage vaccinations now.” It is infuriating and irresponsible because of her status as a visual, public figure.

Furthermore, while cast mates approach her with “maybe Munchausens?” there could be another factual diagnosis she is missing or willfully ignoring because of her persistence (and self-diagnosis) of ‘Chronic Lyme Disease and other co-infections’.

Theories have been put forth that perhaps it is cancer, menopause, or even severe depression– which can cause physical pains.

But what could Yolanda’s motivation be? We don’t really know, but theories are that she needs a story line or maybe she’s trying to build her own health and wellness brand (she does go to galas of organizations that are attended by “Lyme Literate Doctors”). Or maybe Yolanda’s implants were causing her all these problems and she doesn’t want to let go of the Chronic Lyme Disease diagnosis because she is in too deep? We don’t know the full extent about her relationship with the alt. med clinics she goes to, but we know other housewives, like Vicki Gunvalson’s monetary partnership with Club Detox, rife with pseudoscience and used on social media AND the show for treating Brooks’ (later turned out to be faked) cancer.  None of these theories have been proven, but it is food for thought: what does she gain?

Without a doubt, these quacks and alternative clinics are taking advantage of her and many others, which is its own kind of sadness. No one really denies she is hurting somehow– mentally, physically, and emotionally now with a divorce– but that doesn’t excuse parading around questionable medical treatments and giving them legitimacy to take advantage of others.  This is why we question though.

There will be additional entries to the Chronicles of Yolandia as more information comes out. I will be exploring more about specific treatments her and other Housewives and reality shows have shared on the show. I doubt our journey into the wardrobe is done yet.