bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
Finding out I have Lyme was like the best Christmas present I ever got. Finally something to make sense out of the last 30 of my 42 years. All the symptoms fit, but the ELISA and WB are neg. I took the Bowen Q-RIBb and showed up as high as their scale goes. It is a new test that seems to have a 98%acccuracy rate, but is still waiting for approval from the state of FL. We "don't have Lyme" here in Utah. There are no LLMD's here that I have been able to locate, although I have a great naturaopath. I've been waiting two months now while tring to convince an MD who is experineced with antibiotics to treat me. Is anyone else familiar with this test? Has anyone been successful getting treated with a Q-RIBb diagnosis?
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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bejoy
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11129
posted
Bowen Labs is open. See www.Bowen.org. They are waiting for the state of Florida to approve the test.
I had not heard that all their samples were positive. Where did you hear that from. I'd like to follow the trail and get more answers.
The lab tells me that they get a high number of positives because people have so many of the symptoms before they choose to send their blood in to their research facility, and because Lyme is frighteningly prevalent. (What if it is really so common that most or all people with a high level of lyme-type syptoms have it!?)
I grew up in CT, swam in tick-infested swamps, plucked loads of them off me, and can check off at least 80% of Lyme symptms on anybody's list. I have heard that many people come up neg in standard testing when they have had Lyme a long time. Anybody understand this?
I have also heard that MD's can lose their license for treating lyme without a difinitive dx. Quite a dilemma.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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hshbmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9478
posted
Call the folks at Bowen and talk to them.
1-863.956.3538
I was told Bowen stopped doing the QRIBb because the IFA flow cytometry is a much better test. The validation study for the new IFA flow cytometry was completed at the end of December.
Bowen submitted the results of the validation study to the State of Florids in early January and are awaiting the decision. The state has 60 days to approve or deny their request for approval.
Once approved, Bowen will be able to begin testing with the new flow cytometry test.
After state approval, the insurance companies will be more likely to cover this new test.
Also, they have state approval to conduct the Western blot IgM and IgG test, but it's a commercial test (MarDx) and does not report the significant 31 or 34 kDa bands.
They plan to go through the state approval process so they can conduct tests for coinfections...possibly this spring. They did test for coinfections in the past, but are not doing them at this time.
My family participated in their validation study for the IFA flow cytometry test. They tested each of us with the Western blot IgM and IgG and the IFA flow cytometry tests.
I don't think we will receive a written copy of the flow test results. We have received a copy of our Western blot results, since Bowen is approved to conduct that test.
Nancy
Posts: 1672 | From AL/WV/OH | Registered: Jun 2006
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