I asked to speak to a tech-no I couldn't do that.

I asked if they could fax their test info-no, only to a doctor's office.

I asked if they test for Bartonella-no, they don't.

Does anyone have their test result from Bowen? Which Babesia species/strain do they test for and which Ehrlichia? Since they are using flourescent antibody, the antibody is specific for only one species so they can't be testing for everything.

Having grown up in the USA I have a suspicious nature when someone wants my money and won't give me straight answers.

Comments, input appreciated??

Janet

Hope this helps somewhat!

Be well-
SAK

------------------
SAK
(formerly ssaakk123--
but it was too long!)
 

They do not take insurance yet, so they ask for a Tax-Deductible Donation of $250.
They will test for Lyme, Babesiosis, & Ehrlichiosis.

I have the impression that they do not have a large staff.

Apparently the person answering the phone is an office worker, & is not familiar with the scientific side of things. I would think that the staff in the lab is too busy to take phone calls.
Especially since they have such a short turn-around time. Test results are Faxed within 24 hours of receiving the blood sample.
Then the full report is Faxed soon after.

They don't deal with individuals.
I don't know the procedure, but drs have to sign up to participate in the program.
All of the info has to be handled by the dr's office.
I presume it's to keep their facts reliable for the research they're doing.

Bartonella -
They only test for Lyme, Babesiosis, & Ehrlichiosis.

They've developed a new test that does not depend on antibodies. They look for the bacteria or protozoa in the blood sample.

Ehrlichiosis - they look for the bacteria
(rickettsiae) in the white blood cells.

For Babesiosis - they look for protozoa in the red blood cells.

If it's there, they take digital pictures & send with the full report. They do not designate which strain (like WA-1 or Microti) because it is not based on antibodies for specific strains.

I think that's why they were the only lab that found I had Babesiosis.
In my case, I was negative for Babesia a couple times before being tested by Bowen.

Conventional tests check only for 2 strains of the Babs protozoa.
We could have a different strain in the South that is not detected by labs using an antibody test.

I was treated for Babs 2 yrs ago, & a recent test did not show it had returned.

But the LD is back with a Serial Dilution of 1:32.
If blood is positive for Lyme, they dilute the sample, test again. If it's positive it's 1:2.
They continue to dilute & test as long as they find Lyme present (1:4, 1:8, 1:16, 1:32, 1:64, & 1:128 which is the highest reading of the 7 categories).

Some LLMDs treat & test again to see if the concentration of bacteria is decreasing.

Do you have their website? www.bowen.org click "Lyme Research"

I hope this explanation helps.
 

That shows all of the babesia in your blood since they look at all of the babesia, not just the WA-1 or microti. They look for HME and the HGE. Of course, they were just patented for their lyme test in Jan. 2005.

Your doctor's office must call and set you up. You will have to fill out a questionnaire and send any of your other test results.

I sent my blood to Bowen in 2001. I have only used this lab since. They found out I had not only the lyme, but HME, HGE and babesia. I now test every 6 months. All of my co-infections are gone but I am left with the cystic type of lyme.
Go to the Pfizer website: www.lymediseaseinformation.com and look at the pictures in the pamphlet. These are the pictures you will see from Bowen for the co-infections.

Best testing around. For a donation of $250 that you take off of your taxes, you will see pictures of what is in your blood. Well worth the money to finally know what you are fighting. This test saved my life.

This is a research lab. You should not contact the lab yourself. Get your doctor to get the answers for you.