posted
Hi everyone, I am very confused right now and I dont know what to think. Basically my son tested positive through Igenex (but only their criteria) on the WB.
However, he tested negative on the Advanced Labs Culture testing. (He was not on ABX when we tested).
Dr J (pediatric lyme specialist) told me when we saw him prior to the testing that of the 10 kids hes had tested all 10 of them came back positive so he takes the test to heart.
I am confused now though because my sons testing was negative on the culture.
He has some MINOR symptoms like mood swings and some rage (maybe temper tamtrums? He is 3).
He was not sick when he came out as a baby and I was symptom free prior to pregnnacy and prior to him being born. I became symptomatic when he was a year old.
Dr J said that he thinks he got bit a tick seperatly and that he didnt get it congenitally because he would have had problems from the get-go.. I find that VERY hard to believe because we dont live in an endemic area and he wasnt outside very often AND I check him for ticks everynight. I just find it very unlikely
Is it possible for the WB to be falsly positive and maybe he doesnt have lyme?
Hes being treated right now and other then the same temper tantrums he hasnt herxed or anything at all
Posts: 574 | From Out there somewhere | Registered: Jul 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
How long has he treated? Maybe the abx did the trick? Maybe the lyme bacteria was not in the sample drawn for the Advanced Labs test?
Posts: 749 | From State full of ticks | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
He wasnt treated at all prior to the test. He started treatment after the blood was drawn
Posts: 574 | From Out there somewhere | Registered: Jul 2010
| IP: Logged |
surprise
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34987
posted
One thing I wonder:
If a mother with Lyme breast feeds, does she pass on the antibodies? That can then show up in antibody testing?
-------------------- Lyme positive PCR blood, and positive Bartonella henselae Igenex, 2011. low positive Fry biofilm test, 2012. Update 7/16- After extensive treatments, doing okay! Posts: 2518 | From USA | Registered: Nov 2011
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by surprise: One thing I wonder:
If a mother with Lyme breast feeds, does she pass on the antibodies? That can then show up in antibody testing?
Iam unsure..If I pass on the antibodies would that mean that he has lyme? Or he just has the antibodies? Because I did breastfeed him. But I did not have any symptoms what so ever prior to pregnancy
Posts: 574 | From Out there somewhere | Registered: Jul 2010
| IP: Logged |
surprise
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 34987
posted
I'm not sure, either.
My daughter has been in treatment for various health issues longer than I have,
is currently off antibiotics and herbs- thinking very hard about doing this Advanced test on her.
-------------------- Lyme positive PCR blood, and positive Bartonella henselae Igenex, 2011. low positive Fry biofilm test, 2012. Update 7/16- After extensive treatments, doing okay! Posts: 2518 | From USA | Registered: Nov 2011
| IP: Logged |
posted
At a recent lyme presentation, one of the speakers indicated (at least as far as I remember) that kids with lyme passed thru pregnancy may often test negative on elisa/western blot as their bodies do not recognize this as a foreign invader, thus, they do not produce antibodies to it. At least that's the way I understood it.
Posts: 749 | From State full of ticks | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged |
ktkdommer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29020
posted
My kids did not have symptoms at birth and both were congenital Lyme. In fact, my oldest had very few symptoms even at age 16 when tested but he lit up with bands on IgeneX testing. My youngest started with migraines at age 5 and went downhill from there.
-------------------- Things are never dull. After 3 fighting Lyme, 2 are in remission. Youngest is still sick, age 22. He has new diagnosed Chiari Malformation and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Posts: 1366 | From Perrysburg, Ohio | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
It is my understanding that if you get lyme while you are breastfeeding, you can pass the lyme on to the child through your milk.
You don't make antibodies to lyme right away. It can take several weeks. And, even once you make antibodies, you are still passing the lyme on to the child through your milk. So, could you have gotten lyme while you were breastfeeding?
A woman with lyme has to be on antibiotics in order to safely breastfeed. That comes from Dr. J's talks.
It is my understanding that lyme doctors do not belive in false positive Western Blots. If the WB is positive, the person is positive. What IS possible is that there were no lyme bacteria in the blood sample that was sent for culture. That CAN happen. Then, the lab suggests doing the test again with another blood sample.
You don't need to do that. You have a positive WB.
Here is a section of the Advanced Labs fact sheet about the test, stating that you may have to do 3 tests to get a positive:
"Bb culture nuts and bolts
Sensitivity exceeds 80% if the patient is symptomatic at the time of blood draw and not on antibiotics for at least four weeks
All negative controls have remained negative so far
As with all blood cultures, may need several sets to be sure
Any positive test is significant, even if it is the only positive out of a set of three."
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic