can someone tell me what this means my daughter is getting worse and doctor will not treat her with antibiotics.
please help dont understand all this lyme test results
Posts: 5 | From long island ny | Registered: Jan 2012
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Summer3
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 35286
posted
Hello!
IgM is the body's first response to Lyme. It generally signifies an active infection. IgG comes later, but in some people it never shows up. The lack of IgG response does not mean that you are negative for lyme. Similarly, many people with late stage/chronic lyme continue to produce an IgM response or even don't produce either!
Your doctor has denied treatment for Lyme for your daughter because he/she is stringently following the CDC criteria. This is not advisable because the CDC criteria is meant for reporting purposes only. Not to guide treatment in symptomatic individuals. Even the CDC admits to that. Unfortunately, many doctors are using the guidelines to decide against treatment for those who are clearly ill.
Your daughter is positive by CDC standards on IgM having band 23 and 41. However, the CDC considers this a false positive if the patient has been sick greater than 4 weeks and has a negative IgG. The criteria for testing CDC positive on IgG is very difficult because the CDC has excluded 2 lyme-specific bands from this test.
Is this a standard Western Blot or one done through Igenex? Igenex contains more specific bands that are not checked for with a standard western blot yet which are highly specific for Lyme.
Band 41 is common with lyme. It's one of the first bands to show up usually. However, it's also present with other spirochetes/bacteria. Band 23 however is considered a part of OSPC (outer surface protein C) which is specific for lyme. Both bands are significant.
Does your daughter also have symptoms consistent with Lyme? Has she had tick bites that you are aware of? I see you are from LI. Which is a highly endemic part of the country. I used to live there as well .
A LLMD would be advisable ASAP. If you don't get any suggestions via PM from this post, post a new message in the seeking forum here with a topic line of "Seeking a LLMD near Long Island."
A LLMD or LLND is your best bet as he/she will be able to diagnose based on these results, possible Igenex testing, co-infection testing (it is very common to contract co-infections at the same time as Lyme), and most importantly, clinical symptoms.
In the meantime, has your daughter taken any antibiotics for this at all? You likely will not be able to change the mind of this doctor, so it's best to find a LLMD as soon as possible. Having doctors dismiss symptoms is very common for those with Lyme. Luckily, being on the East Cost, we are fortunate to have a higher concentration of LLMD's than many other areas.
posted
Just a quick note to tell you, I too, like your daughter, had only IGG 23+. I did not even have 41.
My primary doctor totally dismissed me having Lyme. I was EXTREMELY lucky to get into a LLMD within 2 weeks and between my clinical symptoms and the Quest 23+, I am being treated.
I am so grateful to this site for helping me and telling me to find a dr. ASAP. so...
Pay it Forward : FIND HER AN LLMD and get her seen as soon as you can.
Good luck
Posts: 22 | From North Carolina | Registered: Oct 2011
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"With most infections, your immune system first forms IgM antibodies, then in about 2 to 4 weeks, you see IgG antibodies. In some infections, IgG antibodies may be detectable for years.
Because Borrelia burgdorferi is a chronic persistent infection that may last for decades, you would think patients with chronic symptoms would have positive IgG Western blots.
But actually, more IgM blots are positive in chronic borreliosis than IgG. Every time Borrelia burgdorferi reproduces itself, it may stimulate the immune system to form new IgM antibodies.
Some patients have both IgG and IgM blots positive. But if either the IgG or IgM blot is positive, overall it is a positive result.
Response to antibiotics is the same if either is positive, or both. Some antibodies against the borrelia are given more significance if they are IgG versus IgM, or vice versa.
Since this is a chronic persistent infection, this does not make a lot of sense to me. A newly formed Borrelia burgdorferi should have the same antigen parts as the previous bacteria that produced it.
But anyway, from my clinical experience, these borrelia associated bands usually predict a clinical change in symptoms with antibiotics, regardless of whether they are IgG or IgM. In regard to the outer surface proteins, think of it like the skin of a human."
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
He is a saint and I show this to help illustrate how MD�s have been prosecuted so normal MD�s shy away from doing anything but following the flawed IDSA guidelines.
-------------------- Tim Posts: 1111 | From Glastonbury, CT | Registered: Apr 2010
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