I'm on doxy (400 mg/day) and Levaquin (500mg/day).
I've read Dr. C's explanation of the Western Blot, and he says that I must be off abx when the blood is drawn for the Igenex test.
Is this absolutely necessary? I do NOT want to stop abx at this point, as I feel I'm making a little headway. And I've already had a couple of stops and restarts on abx.
I had a prior (non-Igenex) test while off abx that was positive just on band 41 for the IgG, but absent on the IgM. Also tested positive for Ehrlichiosis. After stopping abx, Lyme symptoms returned and were much worse.
I'm going to get the Lyme and full co-infection test thru Igenex. (About $1,300 worth of tests). Can I be on abx when the blood is drawn?
Thanks.
Posted by Beautiful Disaster (Member # 21882) on :
Yeah, why do they tell you to stop? I've had tests done while doing both methods.
Posted by CLR (Member # 22128) on :
And did you feel like the results were affected by the antibiotics? What did your doctor say about being on versus being off abx prior to testing?
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
I think the best chance is go off after treating.
But it would be most helpful if we had lab studies
on this proving the antibody load in various
stages. Then we would know. I have not seen this in
research. Even though one of the latest reports
says it is rare to find a antibody response earlier than 3 weeks.
Posted by springshowers (Member # 19863) on :
I would like to know this answer as well. I did recent blood draw and my doctor said it did not matter if you were on abx or not?
So who knows.
Posted by TerryK (Member # 8552) on :
Call IgeneX and ask. My LLMD told me to stay on and he is very knowlegable with testing issues.