The first test that my pcp did came back negative.
I have had a swollen knee for 5 months and the pcp told me I had osteoarthritis and referred me to a sports medicine doc.
When I saw the sports guy he said that I only had a slight case of arthritis (I'm 32 and was in good shape)and was worried about Lyme
He took synovial fluid from my swollen knee and is having a PCR test done.
My question is how accurate is this test because he told me that a negative result would put the lyme concern to bed.
Posted by n.northernlights (Member # 17934) on :
It is like finding the proverbial needle in the hey stack. A positive is definite.
But many do need a lot of PCR tests before they get a positive result. this is because lyme hides inside cells or cartilage and is usually not in blood or fluids, at least it is hard to find.
Interestingly, someone posted about a PCR test in Poland, and several patients did get a positive test after they took some grapefruit seed extract before the test. (to bust cysts) That was a blood test.
Posted by Alces_alces (Member # 24029) on :
It figures that the day I had the fluid drawn my knee had been feeling pretty good for a couple of days. Will probably be back to square one again.