I was very discouraged today to learn that after 10 months of treatment my CD57 count is only 26, and it was 30 when I was first diagnosed.
But I've seen drastic improvement over the last few months. I really don't understand it. I refuse to believe that this is going to be a lifelong problem, that I'm going to beat it. But this was a serious blow to my being so positive about it.
Can chronic lyme even go away? My doctor insists that it can, but with my numbers going down instead of up, I feel a little hopeless.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Many people here have found that the numbers do not seem to correlate with how well they're feeling.
[ 11-06-2011, 12:51 PM: Message edited by: Lymetoo ]
Posted by IckyTicky (Member # 21466) on :
I'm about to check out the above link...but mine was 19 after 4 years of treatment. I was feeling lots better than when I began treatment so my LLMD wasn't too concerned, just disappointing.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
This is nothing to be discouraged about. Your number is not going down, as you say. There really isn't a significant difference between 26 and 30. Your number is staying the same.
It is normal for it to stay low during treatment. The CD-57 count does NOT progressively increase as treatment proceeds. But, it will jump up at some point and that is when you know you can stop treating lyme.
From page 8 of Burrascano:
"There generally is some degree of fluctuation of this count over time, and the number does not progressively increase as treatment proceeds. Instead, it remains low until the LB infection is controlled, and then it will jump."
I had lyme undiagnosed for 10 years. Would you call that chronic lyme? If so, just want you to know that I got rid of it. I completed my treatment 6 1/2 years ago and I am still symptom free, enjoying my life. I have the same life I had before lyme disease.
(I had babs and bart also.)
I also have a number of friends who had lyme for years and they are all rid of it also.