I was tested through MDL. I only tested postive on IGG band 41.
The Dr said I could try a trial of doxy for 30 days and retest and see if I test positive.
Has this ever worked for anyone or has anyone tried anything similar
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Igenex even has an antibiotic protocol.
They recommend you take 28-30 days of antibiotics to "prime"
Your immune system into posting a response to Bb.
Wait ten days after the last day of antibiotics then have blood drawn again.
Why MDL and not Igenex?
How much (dosage) is your doctor giving you?
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by crystalkk (Member # 17223) on :
Geneal,
The Dr that I saw test through MDL and takes insurance and they covered my labs.
100mg doxy twice a day, which is probably not enough.
He thinks I need aggressive treatment but this is all he can give me because of insurance with a negative test test.
I have alot of nuero symptoms after 2 years of of no answers. I thought I try the Lyme route.
If I don't get anywhere with this then I am going to try Igenex.
What antibotics does Igenex suggest and what dose?
Thanks,
Posted by hurtingramma (Member # 7770) on :
Tell him you need tetracycline to treat your zits. Insurance will pay for that!
That is NOT enough doxy
Posted by DaveNJ (Member # 17362) on :
yes....this protocal does work....i never tested postive until 2 months on abx. MDL is a solid lab and consider #2 behind IGENIX....my doctor uses MDL and yes everything was covered.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I would try to get more doxy too. The more the better.
Doing this trial run helped many more bands show up on my test, though it was still not CDC positive.
If that doesn't work, go with Igenex next time.
PS.. Personally, I would take abx 4 wks and then take 2 wks off before testing.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
It's kind of ironic we want more bands to show up so we all say 'goto Igenix.' Sometimes I feel like they sell confirmation of illness, a priceless piece of information. I pray they are as accurate as others state. Know what I mean?
Posted by crystalkk (Member # 17223) on :
Yes, I do know what you mean....
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
I know what you mean. It just sounds strange to me that to get extra bands, just use Igenex.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
Yeah, it really is a problem. It's accepted too easily on here I think. From what others stated, Igenix tests for TWO strains, not one. OK, there are supposedly 300+ strains of Bb. You're telling me 99% of the population here just 'happens' to have the second strain Quest, LabCorp, etc. don't use on their slides? Sometimes, you really have to step back and just think....
There's certainly potential for major abuse with ill people. It concerns me. I want to think everything is done in our best interests all the time, but at $200 a pop and test requests coming in endlessly as a captive market, the owners can't be hurting too much financially!!
We can smell the IDSA scandal issues from a mile away. How do you think non-Lymies smell the Igenix stuff? Posted by heatherliveswithlyme (Member # 14890) on :
Yes tested positive while on antibiotics
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
Seek - so then what about all the people who test through IGeneX and get negatives? I hardly got ANY bands from IGeneX. Actually, I only got ONE. And then all the co-infections I've ever had through them have been negative too...
I think more people have Lyme than we care to realize and that's why so many people come back positive through IGeneX. I am just one of the very unlucky people who don't make antibodies to anything it seems....
That, or I have one of the strains that cannot be tested for at all...
Posted by crystalkk (Member # 17223) on :
Thanks for the replies, I am going to try it.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
Seek, Igenex was investigated out of state and in-state by at least 8 independent entities. Their accuracy was superb, about 98% most years.
These independent investigations sent infected and uninfected blood samples -- as regular patients -- to Igenex to arrange a control and of course the experimental.
Borrelia Burdorgferi is one of 12 species that are known to cause Lyme disease or borreliosis and are transmitted by ticks. The major Borrelia species causing Lyme disease are Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii and Borrelia valaisiana.
Many of these are not found in the United Stages. Currently it is clear we do not understand all the individual strains, but we know that most of them cross react at that level with B31. Some do not however, and this is why there are multiple bands used and two strains at this time.
I'd say about 35% (observation from this board) of people are negative through Igenex, for a variety of reasons, including poor immune response, a different strain that doesn't cross react with Bb, or even a different species causing Lyme-Like illness, which can be nearly impossible to distinguish. It also explains why slight deviations are needed for different patients. The Cycline family seems quite effective for a broad range of borrelia, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Then you have the co-infections, which are poorly understood and just beginning to emerge as contender.
To handle weakened immunity and "hiding" bacteria, the antibiotic stress test is given to patients after a course of antibiotics. With a short course of antibiotics the bacteria are killed and they break apart, easily identified quickly by the immune system -- even when compromised, to produce antibiodies to the individual pieces of remaining antigens (pieces of the bacteria in this case), and thus the antibody levels rise, which then show up on the Western Blot.
Suffice to say, Igenex is credible, the state of California feels they are credible, New York agrees, PA agree,s MD agree, Florida Agree. Medicare and NY just independently investigated them in late 2007, both renewed the license with Igenex. Basically, as a result, they are CLIA certified through every state, in the United States, with that federal stamp of approval.
Hope that helps.
Posted by crystalkk (Member # 17223) on :
blue,
Thanks for the info on Ingenex, I didn't know that NY renewed there license with them.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Why is it a "Problem" to get more bands from Igenex... a lab that tests for ALL the possible bands and more strains than other labs??
That's not a PROBLEM, it's a solution.
My test at Igenex was NOT positive, but that doesn't mean I don't have Lyme.
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
I never said it's a problem. I wasn't looking at the more bands issue as much as the more strains issue.
My point was testing for 2 instead of 1 of 300+ Bb strains doesn't seem likely to yield so many more positives as they do. I am not saying all test positive with Igenix. I didn't, but I had some positive bands.
I'm looking at it from a ccmmon sense / play the odds perspective. I am aware they were deemed credible as Metallic Blue said. THe issue is most conventional docs just don't buy into their testing. That said, a positive from them means little in regards to access to improved care for your disease. It's not fair, but reality.
If they'd separate themselves from LLMDs, I think their credibility may increase. Conflict of interest is a huge issue to me whether the affiliation is helping/hurting me when it comes to lab testing. I don't like it one bit.
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