I tried a search but there are too many results from "co-infection".
Is there a controversy around co-infections"?
From my reading in Seeking A Doctor, I gather that some doctors either don't treat co-infections or that some don't even recognize them as legitimate.
What's the scoop?
Are co-infections also clinically diagnosed? Are they identified by iGneX tests only? Are there CDC approved tests that are accurate (ha, ha, ha)?
What are forums users take on this and what is your experience with doctors who either treat or do not treat co-infections.
Posted by Camp Other (Member # 29797) on :
There is less controversy around coinfections from what I've seen so far. The main issue is in getting doctors to even recognize that they are an issue. The Red Cross recognizes that Babesia infection - even subclinical infection - is a big problem, as people have gotten Babesiosis and even *died* from blood transfusions from people who are asymptomatic, subclinically infected with Babesia.
There is at present *no screening mechanism* for Babesia in the blood supply. People who have ever been diagnosed with Babesia are told they cannot donate blood.
A lot of doctors are simply not educated about Babesia and other tickborne infections. They need to be, and I argue that education on coinfections may help a lot more people sooner as they don't seem to have the 'aura' that Lyme disease has due to its controversy.
Coinfections are often clinically diagnosed but a properly done, sequential blood test for Babesia can be reliable. There are technicians and labs who have better odds of finding it than others, but you can be symptomatic with a very low percentage of infected RBCs.
Posted by t9im (Member # 25489) on :
Read Dr. B's Advance Topics in Lyme Disease as I've found you have to be your own advocate.
There is controvery accross the Tick Borne Disease Spectrum from diagnosis to treatment.
The LLMD's will tell you LB, BTO & Babesia tests can produce false negatives. Doesn't matter if its from IGenex or not. The main stream MD's will tell you you need a positive blood test.
Example - Babs typically infects less than 1% of the blood and there are numerous strains. Easily missed in tests and the diagnosis should be clinical. The IFDS feels there are only 2 strains and they are detectable by the tests.
All agree if it starts to reach the 6% range it will kill you.
Of course part of the problem for the LLMD's is many of the symptoms are common between the illnesses.
Posted by Camp Other (Member # 29797) on :
t9im,
I agree with what you've said - I also think that there is less controversy and in some cases no controversy with mainstream doctors over conifections simply because they aren't aware of them. Has this been your experience, or have you learned otherwise?
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
I've found that some LLMD's don't even know how to diagnose sero-negative coinfections (based on specifically targeted questions about specific symptoms and their relation to specific coinfections). So I think any controversy that does exist is due to lack of knowledge and education about them.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Razzle: I've found that some LLMD's don't even know how to diagnose sero-negative coinfections (based on specifically targeted questions about specific symptoms and their relation to specific coinfections). So I think any controversy that does exist is due to lack of knowledge and education about them.
- YES! and since MANY MANY patients are sero-negative .. this is very important.
A good LLMD will also do a trial run of coinfection meds to see if a patient responds to them.
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
Testing and treating for coinfections is an evolving process.
7 years ago when hubby was a patient of the Dr B the standard treatment for bartonella or BLO was 1 month of oral levaquin. Hubby went back for a follow-up appointment and the doc said that new research indicated 3 months of oral levaquin were needed.
That did not do anything for hubby's bart or blo or mycoplasma -- still do not know exactly what the bacteria was.
It was not until years later when we got multiple positive blood slides from the F lab indicating some sort of bartonella, mycoplasma or haemobartonella and also multiple positive bloodslides from Clongen indicating a gram negative pleomorphic motile extracellular coccobacilli. Up to that point we had thought the bart or BLO had been treated adequately.
Eventually after 2 1/2 years of treatment with multiple combos of levaquin, rifampin and factive hubby got a clear bloodslide where in the beginning it showed numerous bacteria. His seizure-like spells stopped and his Parkinsonian tremors stopped 10 years after they started. He also treated aggressively with herbs as well.