Recently diagnosed (7/4/08) with lyme by my primary after a sudden, overwhelming illness. Was referred to a Rheumatologist today because my SED rate was also elevated.
Rheumatologist said that my "positive" Lyme may not have been positive because there were "only 3 out of 5 bands". He is diagnosing early Psoriatic Arthritis.
My primary states that the Western Bot, IgG and IgM were all positive.He says Lyme.
What are they talking about? I am a complete newbie to all of this. All I know is that I continue to feel awful after 3 weeks on Ceftin.
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
It can take a long time to get rid of Lyme. You would get a lot from reading Dr. B's guidelines for diagnosis and treatment on www.ilads.org.
Run from that Rheumy!!
Posted by Avalon (Member # 16387) on :
I guess my questions are more specifically aimed at having those test results explained to me.What are Western Blot, IgG and IgM indicative of? And what does it mean if there are only 3 of 5 positive bands?
Thanks!
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
For tracking purposes ONLY according to the CDC, you must have 5 bands. The CDC never intended for the tracking guidelines to be used for diagnostic purposes.
Most doctors do not know this (even though you can find it on the CDC website) so they use the 5 bands for diagnosis.
You will find many controversies regarding Lyme diagnosis and treatment. The IDSA has to rewrite their guidelines for treatment because they got in trouble for anti-trust violations.