Is it possible to become re-infected from a new tick bite?
I had undiagnosed lyme for many years and finally found lots of help here several years ago. Back then, after much negative testing, and being diagnosed with a slew of auto-immune disorders, I finally had a positive Western Blot from Igenx. I did not use any abx at that time but pursued alternative treatments including raw food diet, heavy metal detox, cleansing, lots of supplements, etc. It took a long time but I got better and regained the lost eyesight in my one eye, among other things. I got off all anti-inflammatory drugs, and became a walking miracle story. I had been symptom free for almost 2 years.
Recently I was camping in the Catskills (should have learned my lesson) and 10 days after returning home I got a fever, stiff neck, headache and rash on my arm. My Primary Care doc said it looked like lyme and put me on doxy. The symptoms cleared up quickly. The PCP did a Western Blot (not from Igenex) and left me a msg saying that it was positive but the titers were not too high. At the time I was heading out of town so never spoke to her in detail.
Now I am wondering -- was the Western Blot positive because of a new infection, or was it positive because once you test positive you always test positive?
What is the liklihood that I contracted lyme again versus I just had a virus with similar symptoms? How accurate are subsequent blood tests?
Many thanks for your knowledge, Nancy in nyc
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
My guess is that you got reinfected. It's just a guess of course, but it sure sounds like you did.