Topic: Igenex vs MDL (Medical Diagnostic Labs) for PCR Lyme and Anaplasma?
Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
MDL used to be good for testing, but doesn't seem to be as good as they used to be. Perhaps, for PCR they are both good?
MDL is in-network for me, so no out-of-pocket. Igenex, I have to pay for out-of-pocket, and I never get reimbursed, even though I am supposed to.
I will pay for it, if Igenex is better.
My WB's for Lyme & Anaplasma for for the first time came out indeterminate. Always + before. But I am on IVIG, so . . .
Neither my doc, nor myself needs it per se. I am trying to get positive test(s), so I can get Neupagen rx'd and authorized, in order to be able to treat and keep my WBC's & neutrophils up. Nothing else has done the trick so far.
The other alternative is to do the culture test, but I would have to have a dr and a lab to draw the blood from out of state, neither of which I have. Plus, it's very expensive, but it might be the
best bet, if I had both. But who and where without paying a fortune? I have an out of state MD, but he refused to rx the test in the past, sadly ("not FDA approved") What the heck??
Thank you!
Posts: 3792 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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Can't remember if your doc is in New York or not? But if they are then that state does not allow docs to write orders for many labs -- every test has to be "approved" not just the lab itself is my understanding.
There is one more new test that might be an option. At the LDA conference one of the speakers was a lady who has done research on PANDAS. She is now testing lyme patients in conjunction with Dr BF (Columbia neuropsych). The test is for anitneuronal antibodies.
Supposedly if that test is positive you can get IV IG approved even if your immune subclasses are normal.
Anyway the lady has opened her own lab recently.
Will post the lab info in a couple of days when I get my notes organized.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Does it have to be a PCR test? Hubby's LLMD just used Quest and LabCorp for ehrlichia/anaplasma tests and rickettsia. Thought those tests were just as reliable as other more expensive labs. They just used the standard antibody tests.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
Well, I just tested "Indeterminate" with Igenex's WB of Lyme and Anaplasma, and their WB tests are more effective than the generic lab tests. I never tested + on generic lab tests for Lyme, but always did on Igenex's WB. I did test + for Anaplama PCR before (and WB's for it, too).
The PCR tests for the DNA of the organism.
I did speak with Dr. H of Igenex about my situation, esp re the IVIG possibly mucking up the results. He thought that the next tests to do were the PCR, which was what I thought. Actually, he said serum & whole blood PCR, now that I look at my notes. So that lobbies for the Igenex test.
Unless I could get the Culture test rx'd and the blood drawn by an out of state doc.
If the PCR tests didn't test +, Dr. H of Igenex suggested a cloned antigen of WB band 31, which tested indeterminate on the IgM WB. Columbia has used that test in an NIH study, and 29 out of 30 tested +.
Posts: 3792 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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