symptom is swollen knuckles in the AM, maybe early
morning numbness of my arms, but could be due to
bad mattress LOL. No memory of tick bite in recent
memory. Had one 15-20 yrs ago. But I thought it
was a dog tick, not deer. Anyway, in panic-mode, I
had my 3 children tested, insisted on not just
ELISA, but also Western Blot regardless of ELISA
result. Here's the deal. I was told they were all
negative, but I asked for the reports. My girls
had CBCs showing an immune response was going on,
high white cells. Could be a virus, or sinus
infection though of course. Daughter #1 - no bands
reported as +. Daughter #2 - only reported IgG
41, nothing else. Lab doesn't report those magical
bands used for the vaccine (don't remember the #s
right now).
I'm now going nuts trying to understand WHY she
would have a +41. I know it's not specific to
Lyme. She's 22 months old. My results showed only
IgM - a "new" infection, I understand. COULD this
be an immune response she acquired in utero IF I
was infected at the time? COULD she really be +_
if tested elsewhere, like Igenex or SUNY where
they report ALL bands?
As an aside - 2 weeks into 3 weeks of doxy, no
improvement in my knuckles. Ugh.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Does she have any SYMPTOMS??
Yes, she COULD test positive on Igenex. I don't think SUNY tests for all bands...?
Keep going on the doxy!! This is a marathon, not a sprint!
WELCOME! Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
I'm with TuTu....
Does she have any SYMPTOMS??
????
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
As a side note... if you do decide to test the baby again, you might want to consider a urine test (IGexeX) so as not to cause any trauma to her due to having another blood test.
BTW- Warrenton- what a lovely place.
Posted by dsk (Member # 35918) on :
The problem with sxs in a 22 month old is that she's 22 months old! Both my girls had recently been on antibiotics for
their sinuses - could they have shown up seronegative as a result of under-treatment? How would I gauge sxs in my baby?
She's cranky, a poor sleeper, congested and clingy. Could be teething! Could be a virus! Could by Lyme! Ack!! She can't say
how she feels. I'm seriously driving myself nuts. My older girl - same thing. Uber cranky, short fuse, runny nose, etc.
My biggest thought is to WHY would band 41 show up AT ALL if there's no bacterial/spirochete/flagellated bacterium disease.
Did she get it (antibodies) from ME and therefore I shouldn't give it another thought? Or is there another underlying cause?
Posted by dsk (Member # 35918) on :
I love Warrenton, Tincup. I searched the forum for Warrenton the other day, and I saw that you used to live out this way, correct? I'd love a PM if you know what doc to see in the area. Or Nearby areas. And for Peds Lyme, too.
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
You should get your children to a LLMD (Lyme-literate doctor) a.s.a.p. and find out what really is going on.
FYI - the ELISA test is very unreliable (only about 50%).
You might want to click on "Support Groups" in the left-hand corner of the Lyement page, then your state. Contact information will come up. Maybe they can help you.
I will pm you with some information.
Posted by dsk (Member # 35918) on :
I insisted on Western Blot even if ELISA was negative.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
Once I found out I had lyme, I asked my lyme doc to test my husband through Igenex. (I had had lyme undiagnosed for at least 10 years. I was concerned that perhaps I had passed it to my husband through sex, etc.)
My husband had a + on band 41 and that was all. (This was through Igenex.) My now famous lyme doctor declared that he did not have lyme.
That was 8 years ago, and my husband is still in good health with no symptoms of lyme. So, evidently many things can cause a positive on band 41. That's what my lyme doctor said, and I would say that time has proven him right.
Did you know that there are quite a few strains of lyme that just cause the bulls eye rash and no other problems? Yep. It is talked about in "Cure Unknown." These strains do not make us sick at all.
So, I wonder if getting bit by a tick with one of these strains is a possible cause for a + on band 41.
I know that exposure to other illnesses can cause a plus here also. Notice that it is "exposure" that causes the +. The Western Blot cannot tell if a person has any illness at all. It can just say that the patient was exposed to particular illnesses and made antibodies to them.
I believe it is common for a person to have a + on band 41 and be perfectly healthy. Please don't let your mind run wild over this one little thing. Symptoms indicate a problem, not this particular test result.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Agree with TF.
Posted by dsk (Member # 35918) on :
My concern is only because testing was done at ARUP labs, where they don't test some of the bands.
I know I'll feel better when she and my other 2 are tested at a specialty lab.
Thanks for talking me down a bit, TF and Lymetoo
I know doc are taught to treat the patient, not the numbers... I'm going to chill out now. lol.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
You can retest at Igenex or get the new lyme culture test. The culture test tries to grow lyme from your blood.
If it can, you have lyme without a doubt.
So, now you may want to think about which test you want.
By the way, Dr. J, world famous pediatric lyme specialist, will NOT treat a child with a positive lyme test unless the child has symptoms.
From what I have heard, if they don't have symptoms he says you don't want to stir things up with treatment. It can just create a problem. So, you really, really want to consider this.
Evidently, a person can be exposed to lyme (which is all the Western Blot reports--not the presence of the germ currently) or be a carrier of lyme, or other such situation. Hence the positive lyme test but no symptoms. You don't want to treat such a person because they are not ill. You don't want to make them ill.
Why not try to create a symptom list for each child and follow it over time. Then, see how you feel about it when you look at the symptom list.
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