I have some more questions and searching through this site is pretty overwhelming. so if any of you can help me to answer these, it would save me some time and will not aggravate this migraine I have any further.
so i was pretty sure that i had lyme after I was tested at quest the other day but im not so sure now. just because i have heard that a western blot for lyme can mimic other diseases? i am nto sure this is true. if so, please clarify.
the results of my test do not show any + or -, just tells me if the band that showed up was reactive or non reactive. here are the bands I have:
first, the IGG bands...
18 KD band- non reactive
23 kd band- non-reactive
28 kd band- non reactive
30 kd band- reactive
39 kd band- non reactive
41 kd band- reactive
45 kd band- non-reactive
58 kd band- non-reactive
66 kd band- non reactive
93 kd band- non reactive
now for the IGM bands...
23 kd band- reactive
39 kd band- non-reactive
41 kd band- non-reactive
so waht do these results mean? does this test for a number fo different bands, and the ones that show up "reactive" mean "positive"? and non reactive means i never had these bands?
is there a possibility that another illness could cause these results and I am being misdiagnosed with lyme? i have symptoms that resemble lyme, and affect different systems of my body so are not related.
and one more question..
since lyme lowers your immune system, should i get vaccines to protect myself from other things i could catch? or will this be bad for me? thanks
Posted by fflutterby (Member # 28081) on :
I had two...treat it !!!
Posted by fflutterby (Member # 28081) on :
I had two...treat it !!! NO Vaccines, they are very bad for you.
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
I would also test for other tick borne pathogens, and viruses and treat what looks most obviously wrong. Here's a link to help you: http://chronicfatigue.stanford.edu/ (Look under infections).
Best, Timaca
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
You have Lyme-specific bands that are reactive. Does Quest test bands 31 and 34? These are Lyme specific bands that most labs do not test. IgeneX WB includes these bands--you may want to get tested there.
Posted by donjoe341 (Member # 28634) on :
Here are what the bands stand for. This is what a lyme specialist wrote. I found it here on the forum. The following is a brief explanation of the test results. Again, each band is an antigen complexed (bound together) with an antibody made by the immune system, specifically for that antigen (part) of Borrelia burgdorferi.
18: An outer surface protein.
22: Possibly a variant of outer surface protein C.
23-25: Outer surface protein C (osp C).
28: An outer surface protein.
30: Possibly a variant of outer surface protein A.
31: Outer surface protein A (osp A). 34: Outer surface protein B (osp B).
37: Unknown, but it is in the medical literature that it is a borrelia-associated antibody. Other labs consider it significant.
39: Unknown what this antigen is, but based on research at the National Institute of Health (NIH), other Borrelia (such as Borrelia recurrentis that causes relapsing fever), do not even have the genetics to code for the 39 kDa antigen, much less produce it. It is the most specific antibody for borreliosis of all.
41: Flagella or tail. This is how Borrelia burgdorferi moves around, by moving the flagella. Many bacteria have flagella. This is the most common borreliosis antibody.
45: Heat shock protein. This helps the bacteria survive fever. The only bacteria in the world that does not have heat shock proteins is Treponema pallidum, the cause of syphilis.
58: Heat shock protein.
66: Heat shock protein. This is the second most common borrelia antibody.
73: Heat shock protein.
83: This is the DNA or genetic material of Borrelia burgdorferi. It is the same thing as the 93, based upon the medical literature. But laboratories vary in assigning significance to the 83 versus the 93.
93: The DNA or genetic material of Borrelia burgdorferi.
In my clinical experience, if a patient has symptoms suspicious for borreliosis, and has one or more of the following bands, there is a very high probability the patient has borreliosis.
These bands are 18, 22, 23-25, 28, 30, 31, 34, 37, 39, 41, 83, and 93.
My first test came back with one positive (41) I was put on doxy for a few months and then retested. My test came back with markers 18, 41, 58, 66 on IgG as positive. I also had marker 39 almost positive. Markers on IgM were 69,41,31,and 23 but they weren't high enough to be positive.
I went from one marker with every symptom you could think of to taking antibiotics for a few months and then coming up with many markers. You shouldn't have any markers if you didn't have lyme.
Posted by karenl (Member # 17753) on :
I would do a spiro stat test PCR, with PCR you can identify the bug.
Posted by brandilb (Member # 25231) on :
This is what my test looked liked too. I was wondering why everyone was talking about a + and -. Do you have column that says flag at the top with letters in it? I can't find what they mean!
Posted by brandilb (Member # 25231) on :
This was my test.
WBL18KDA REACTIVE/H
WBL23KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL28KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL30KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL39KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL41KDA REACTIVE/H
WBL45KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL58KDA NON-REACTIVE
WBL66KDA NON-REACTIVE
WEST BLOT IGG NEGATIVE
WBL23KDAM REACTIVE/H
WBL39KDAIGM NON-REACTIVE
WBL41KDAIGM REACTIVE/H
WEST BLOT IGM POSITIVE/H
What does the H mean? Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Have no idea, brandi... which lab is this?
"reactive" means a plus (+)
Igenex uses the pluses. Lousy labs use "reactive" or "non-reactive."
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