posted
Hello, I'm starting to doubt my test results. Are there any other medications or conditions that could cause a false positive? Can someone point me to literature on the blood test ? Thanks
Posts: 4 | From MA | Registered: Aug 2011
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scorpiogirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 31907
posted
Why are you doubting your test results?
-------------------- Posts: 1391 | From Lyme Land | Registered: May 2011
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-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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James1979
Unregistered
posted
Which test did you do? What were the results?
For the CDC-recommended 2-tier testing, there is only a 1%-3% chance of getting a false-positive. That's what ALL the studies show.
Please answer my first two questions, and then maybe someone (or myself) will point you to some literature so you can see the "proof".
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scorpiogirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 31907
posted
Tutu you are correct! I didn't believe my test for a year b/c my Neurologists told me I had Brain tumors so I was kinda waiting to die. They told me I had 6-9 months to live.
I guess since I didn't die so I must have Lyme after all!
-------------------- Posts: 1391 | From Lyme Land | Registered: May 2011
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posted
What are your symptoms?
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Amanda
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14107
posted
tests are not good. yes, some few people get false positives, but getting false negatives is more a problem.
The question to ask yourself is do you respond to antiinfective therapies.
-------------------- "few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" - Mark Twain Posts: 1008 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
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"Same day head-to-head comparisons of borreliosis Western blot results revealed that reference laboratories do a better job of finding antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi than regular laboratories.
This raised the obvious concern that the reference labs might be overdiagnosing patients with borreliosis.
That is one of the reasons why I researched those 700 patients. However, the false positive rate was just three percent. In my opinion, reference laboratories do not over-diagnose borreliosis.
False negative test results, on the other hand, are a much bigger problem, in my experience. Negative Western blots convert to positive in 18 to 24 percent of cases, if four weeks of antibiotics are given, and then the patients go off antibiotics for 10 to 14 days before the repeat Western blots are done.
In other words, a false negative Western blot converts to positive in about one out of five borreliosis patients. This is a much greater problem than a false positive rate of only three percent.
Coinfection testing may depend upon where you live on planet earth. I talked to one medical doctor from New England that was concerned about getting too many positive test results for bartonellosis (cat scratch disease).
This physician was concerned about false positives. Yet I have not had a single positive yet."
from 2005
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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onbam
Unregistered
posted
A false negative is much more likely.
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Haley
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22008
posted
Maybe Syphilis could cause a false positive.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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posted
nervous because my son had a positive Elisa and then no bands showed on the WB so the rheumatolgists said he felt very confident that it he does not have lyme.
ahhh nervous...
Posts: 499 | From Malta, NY | Registered: Dec 2008
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momlyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 27775
posted
NO bands AT ALL? Or not enough to make it CDC positive?
-------------------- May health be with you!
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Deb,
Yes, to have a positive ELISA but a negative Western Blot is startling.
As asked in posts above, where ANY bands positive?
WHAT LAB did the test?
Was the sample handled correctly - every step of the way?
Did they test for ALL the bands? Most labs do not.
Reasons why a lyme test would be negative in the presence of lyme
=====================
Still, remember that lyme is to be a clinical diagnosis. If your son had symptoms, history and a positive ELISA, I sure hope you've found an ILADS-educated LLMD for a full assessment. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- jpirish,
The key is if you've been assessed IN PERSON by an ILADS-educated lyme literate MD (LLMD).
History, symptoms and your physical presentation matter greatly.
Now, if you are:
feeling tip-top, able to work full time,
attend to domestic and family chores and relationship interactions and
can exercise without fatigue or "payback" . . .
sleep well and awaken refreshed and feeling good . . .
feel pretty good throughout the day regarding body comfort . . .
good working digestive functions . . .
mood usually pretty stable and positive . . .
comfortable in busy, bright or moderately noisy environments for a reasonable time . . .
then maybe you might question it.
However, my guess is that symptoms prompted your testing. Discuss the results with an ILADS-educated LLMD.
It's VERY hard to admit to having lyme or anything else. And, yes, symptoms of the various tick-borne infections can overlap but if you've received a diagnosis for lyme, there is probably a reason.
I looked back over some of your other posts and the symptoms you list are classic for lyme.
A good ILADS-educated LLMD will also check for other possible reasons for your symptoms such as nutritional deficits, thyroid, heavy metal levels, parasites, etc.
Since lyme rarely travels alone, a good LLMD will also assess the possibility of other tick-borne infections (and other chronic stealth infections such as mycoplasma p.; HHV-6; etc.) so that your treatment can be as encompassing as possible.
Some LLMDs like to treat one infection at a time; others treat multiple ones. In addition to the LLMD's experience, the state of your body determines the complexity of treatment.
Diet and environment tweaks, and support supplements, can also help.
The only way out is through. With good treatment and support, you'll have a far better chance, someday, at being able to do all those things that a normal person can. Many have gone back to normal.
Good luck. -
[ 10-11-2011, 02:47 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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