I know next to nothing about toxo except that it has the potential to cross react (with what?) and that the IgM can persists for months... According to this site that I found while searching the forum, it says: In patients with recently acquired infection, IgM T. gondii antibodies are detected initially and, in most cases, these titers become negative within a few months. However, in some patients, positive IgM T.gondii -specific titers can be observed during the chronic stage of the infection. IgM antibodies have been reported to persist as long as 12 years after the acute infection. Persistence of these IgM antibodies does not appear to have any clinical relevance, and these patients should be considered chronically infected.
My IgM is "negative" according to this result, but is this like a Lyme negative where even if it says negative, it could still be there causing problems? Or like a bartonella negative where the test can be negative, but it still be there?
The way I see it, if I've never had exposure, that number should be absolute zero!
I'm really scared about this, because I have an underlying condition that creates immune dysfunction, in addition to the Lyme disease; could someone please help, if you know more about toxoplasmosis? I got exposure to toxo and bartonella and m. pneumoniae all within a couple months of each other; the m. pneumoniae has already come back positive and I know I have bart even though my tests are negative, I find it extremely hard to believe that my immune system would be able to keep THIS terrible infection under control while these other two (possibly not as severe) infections run wild?
Thank you so, so much
~ A frightened Elizabeth
Posted by D Bergy (Member # 9984) on :
The exposure would have been from a tick bite. It is something they routinely check around my neck of the woods, with a tick bite and symptoms.
As far as I am concerned, none of these tests are 100% accurate. They can prove infection, but not lack of it.
Dan
Posted by nspiker (Member # 22824) on :
Here is my experience with Toxoplasma Gondii.
Vipdx (lab that Dr. Nicholson recommends, and the lab that now does XMRV testing) tested me for toxo, which came back positive for whole blood by nested PCR. They ran the test twice and got a positive both times.
At the time, I had not been diagnosed with lyme. So, my regular PCP wanted to verify the results before treating, and ran a Quest toxoplasmosis screening blood test, which was negative. He deduced that I did not have toxoplasmosis.
Ultimately, my LLMD started by treating toxoplasmosis with Daraprim and Zithromax (along with folinic acid). I definitely reacted to the toxoplasma protocol and began to improve. I felt stuff going on in my head with treatment and my leg tightness was reduced.
I have never been around cats. For that matter, have never had a tick bite. I have no idea how I got exposed, but the treatment started my recovery.
Posted by dsiebenh (Member # 5353) on :
I don't know about cross reactions or toxoplasma and Lyme. However you can find a very interesting article at www.nytimes.com from several years ago.
In the article it states that toxoplasma is a feline disease transmitted thru their feces to humans. A large percentage of humans have the disease (50%?) but the disease is benign to humans and only affects felines. Humans are used as a host.
The scary thing about the article is that the researchers discovered that toxoplasma hijacks human dendrite cells in the gut and uses them to cross the blood-brain barrier. There are photos of pig carcasses showing how fast the disease spreads once it is inside a host.
This article made quite an impression on me as an illustration of the stealthy nature of some bacteria when interacting with our immune system.
Posted by Elizabeth S. (Member # 22405) on :
Thank you all for your insights, and I gladly welcome any more knowledge you can provide on the subject. I'm very very sick (as many of us are), and I have all the symptoms of it......but we have symptoms of everything! So that alone can't be a good predictor when you have other systemic diseases. Not like the Lyme which comes in flares every 2-4 weeks, or the bartonella which gives me flares every five days... I have no idea how to decide if I should go forward with pursuing it (talk to my LLMD?) or just leave it alone (like anyone else would do, I'm sure)...
I know I got this from a cat, though. Summer 2008. The same one that gave me bartonellosis, most likely. Around that time I got deathly ill, from gradually worsening from Lyme (and a relapsing other condition) to completely bedbound in a matter of months. Now I'm wondering if this is another piece of the puzzle.
Going to read the NYT article now
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
Elizabeth~ Have your doctor call the site you posted (the toxoplasmosis lab) and ask them what they think of your results, and if you should be tested further at that lab. They do not take calls from patients.
That is a very good lab. They can help you figure out if toxo is a problem for you or not.
Best, Timaca
Posted by NorthernLyme1 (Member # 8992) on :
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I got exposure to toxo and bartonella and m. pneumoniae all within a couple months of each other; the m. pneumoniae has already come back positive and I know I have bart even though my tests are negative, I find it extremely hard to believe that my immune system would be able to keep THIS terrible infection under control while these other two (possibly not as severe) infections run wild? ![[shake]](graemlins/shake.gif)