my cd57 is below 20. There's no exact number just states below 20.
So, does that mean that treatment isn't working? or does it mean I might have a co infection that needs to be treated? If so, what should I have tested?
I tested positive for only one band, think it was 28
Posted by Nancy L (Member # 42733) on :
My understanding of the CD57 is:
you have had a Bb infection for over a year (approx) so it is long-term Bb.
That at the present time, only Bb is known to depress that HNK1(CD57).
You have a substantial infection at 20, and your symptoms are more severe.
Whatever treatment you are taking has not finished killing the Bb. I read that this CD57 fluctuates a little, but will not significantly improve until after the Bb infection is totally gone, and then it will go up to 120 or 150 (showing this immune cell has recovered and reached normal numbers).
That you should not stop treatment until it recovers up to 120 or higher. That if it is still under 60 when you finish treatment, you are likely to relapse.
A lot of doctors use this test to see if you are well and can stop treatment.
So it appears you still need to treat until you get rid of it all.
An interesting thing I just read from a naturopath doctor's info, is that if your number is quite low, it usually shows Bb with mycoplasm infection.
My CD57 level in Sept 2013 was 33. I just had dark field microscopy done and Bb was still present in the blood and also the ND found mycoplasm!
When symptoms are severe, there are often co-infections, per the literature and feedback from this forum. Many people have more than one co-infection.
My symptoms have mostly been alleviated by herbals, even with Bb and mycoplasm (and maybe more co-infections), so if you are treating the infections, then your symptoms may not be severe at present.
By the way, when your infection is long-term, it is hard to get a positive Bb result, since your system has few antibodies to Bb in the blood.
Taking an antibiotic or herbal "challenge" to kill some Bb before the Igenex test for Bb, will make it more likely for a positive. Igenex for the IgG Western Blot, will test for antibodies AND do a PCR test to find bits of killed Bb in the blood.
Posted by Summer3 (Member # 35286) on :
My positive tests are for Lyme and B. Duncani. My CD57 after years of treating aggressively with oral antibiotics dropped from 19 to 16.
Some people believe it is no longer significant or correlates to how people feel and I agree that people can feel really bad with a higher CD57. In my case, I feel like I'm continuously worsening and my CD57 reflects that.