Since this is also spirochettal, I am wondering if anyone has had positive tests for it.........particularly antibody testing.
I understand this may be a touchy subject, so if you want to answer privately, please feel free to dos o.
Posted by UnexpectedIlls (Member # 15144) on :
I had a syphills test done when I was pregnant.. it was a test with many letters in it.. I cannot remember.. but they test for a bunch of things and syphillis is one.. my test was negative...
Oh I got sick while I was pregnant...
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
I have had at least one done since being sick.
I do test CDC positive for Lyme on the IgM Western Blot (more than once over a span of years), but I have never tested positive on the Lyme Elisa.
I had a syphilis test done when I got pregnant, and I assume it was negative because no one contacted me about it.
I might have had one earlier in my illness too, because they tested me for a lot of things with bloodwork, including STD's, but I never heard about it being positive.
Posted by kellyjk4 (Member # 19731) on :
I was tested for syphilis 20 years ago and tested negative (been sick for about 30 years).
Posted by LisaS (Member # 10581) on :
twice, both negative
Posted by steven (Member # 13101) on :
yep, negative.
Posted by blinkie (Member # 14470) on :
twice, both negative
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
Yes, I ran this test within the last year and it was negative...
I believe it's important to rule out as many similar conditions as you can...
Posted by Snailhead (Member # 18091) on :
Me too, twice. Neg.
Posted by duke77 (Member # 5051) on :
The standard RPR test for syphilis is worthless, its like the ELISA for Lyme. This test measures inflammation, which we all know doesn't always accompany the spirochetes. One of the more accurate Syph tests is the FTA-ABS test. It tests for spirochetes in the blood. Unlike Lyme Syp likes to live in the blood.
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi All--
Most LLMDs test people for syphilis on your first visit-
They test you for it because Many of the symptoms are the same --
I have had 63 girl friends-- Yep I keep track-- My test was negative--Jay--
Posted by Tif (Member # 12701) on :
OK, the reason I ask is I had the more accurate test that duke77 mentioned........the FTA-ABS. It was done a few years before my dx, and it was positive.
Since that test is sensitive to spirochetes, it stands to reason (to me) that it "could" pick up on any spirochete.
I have had a few tell me that they have also had positives followed by negatives and vice versa.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
jay, 63 ... you stud you! lol
glad you keep track and hopefully all their names/addresses too .
Posted by karenl (Member # 17753) on :
several, needed for adoption purposes, all negative. Also they say people with lupus show positive on the syphillis test.
Posted by lakes592 (Member # 18905) on :
But of course...don't all Lymies get tested for Syphillis... Seems lots of docs think of Syphillis but not Lyme.
It was what made me realize I was relapsing. As soon as the doctor mentioned testing me for it a light bulb went off. Couldn't figure out why my leg, arms, hands and feet were going numb.
I loved to the way the doctors acted like it was perfectly normal to wake up take a shower and go to shave your leg to then realize it was completely numb! Scared the crap out of me.
I love what Amy Tan said "Tan meanwhile argues that Lyme disease patients can't afford to wait for the science to inch its way forward.
Her imagination still reels at the thought she was tested for both syphilis (after 29 years of marriage) and Lou Gehrig's disease before her doctors considered her for what the CDC terms "the leading cause of vector-borne infectious illness in the U.S."
"I've never met a single person in my lifetime who had ALS, but they tested me for that before Lyme disease," Tan adds. "It's not the way the medical community should be dealing with these very real problems that people are having."
I was negative 3 times...
Posted by lakes592 (Member # 18905) on :
But of course...don't all Lymies get tested for Syphillis... Seems lots of docs think of Syphillis but not Lyme.
It was what made me realize I was relapsing. As soon as the doctor mentioned testing me for it a light bulb went off. Couldn't figure out why my leg, arms, hands and feet were going numb.
I loved to the way the doctors acted like it was perfectly normal to wake up take a shower and go to shave your leg to then realize it was completely numb! Scared the crap out of me.
I love what Amy Tan said "Tan meanwhile argues that Lyme disease patients can't afford to wait for the science to inch its way forward.
Her imagination still reels at the thought she was tested for both syphilis (after 29 years of marriage) and Lou Gehrig's disease before her doctors considered her for what the CDC terms "the leading cause of vector-borne infectious illness in the U.S."
"I've never met a single person in my lifetime who had ALS, but they tested me for that before Lyme disease," Tan adds. "It's not the way the medical community should be dealing with these very real problems that people are having."
I was negative 3 times...
Posted by duke77 (Member # 5051) on :
quote:"I've never met a single person in my lifetime who had ALS
I totally agree, how common is lyme and how uncommon is ALS? I had two doctors test me for ALS after I told them I saw the tick on me. It has got to be a conspiracy or the doctors are completely morons.
Posted by Janice70 (Member # 16319) on :
I think most pregnant women are tested for syphilis. Mine was negative.
Perhaps 40 years from now, every pregnant woman will be tested for Lyme....
Posted by lnc2000 (Member # 18440) on :
Tif,
I'm a male, just had a false-positive syphyllis screen test, the confirm syphyllis test (fta-abs)is nonreactive. my primary doc say it could be a cross reaction from Lyme or something else.
I read on the net and some say it could be Sjogen syndrome, or lupus, or hiv and that really scared, freak me out. i don't see the doc until next week, i hope it nothing else beside Lyme.
i have another question if anyone know, does any one has livedo with lyme, i have it for about 3 weeks now, it on the back of my arms, also front and back of knees, and lot of pimples on back, and also lot of gas (f*rt) all the time. Thank you much
Posted by Janice70 (Member # 16319) on :
Inc2000, the farting could be from yeast (candida). Candida is a problem for many people with Lyme.
Posted by liesandmorelies (Member # 15323) on :
lakes592,
You are correct. It seems like so many doctors would rather consider syphyllis than Lyme.
I had a doctor that insisted on testing me for Syph, but would not consider Lyme. Isn't that crazy?
Especially since I told him that I had been with the same person for twenty years and the only way I could have contracted syph. was from him. GEEZ
I finally relented and took the test which was negative. I thought maybe if I could prove to him that I did not have syphyllis than maybe he would take me more seriously.
I can't believe what we have to do to get taken seriously and treated properly.
Posted by kam (Member # 3410) on :
While looking for answers I had STD's tested without even knowing the doctor was doing so until I got a copy of my test results from his office.
Glad to know I was fine, but I don't like doctor's who do not communicate with me on what they are doing.
I was told I was being tested for something else.
This same doctor tested me for drugs and alcohol too without telling me.
I recall looking at the lab request papers and before the lab drew my blood but I sure didn't see the above tests.
I came out fine for drugs and alcohol too but I knew that before I went in. Guessing many of those on drugs and alcohol lie so I can understand the testing.
But, I don't understand not communicating with the patient on what you are testing for.
Posted by mandy614 (Member # 16524) on :
twice, both negative
Posted by AmyPW8 (Member # 11504) on :
Just a thought...maybe your doc is hoping your syp test comes back positive so treating you with long term abx wont be so dangerous for him.
I have heard about Lyme people getting a positive syp test because the bacteria are so similar.
Posted by MarsyNY (Member # 7766) on :
I had a false-positive test back in 1996. Too bad I didnt know that lyme could produce a positve syph test.
Adding this:
Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) may lead to a false-positive FTA-ABS test result, but it does not cause a positive treponemal reagin reaction (Scheid, 2006).
Treponemal tests The FTA-ABS and the MHA-TP are very reactive (ie, sensitive and specific) tests in secondary, latent, tertiary, and quaternary (ie, fulminant, necrotizing) syphilis. They confirm the diagnosis. After seroconversion, most patients' results remain positive indefinitely despite adequate therapy and regardless of disease stage. Infection with B burgdorferi (Lyme disease) may lead to a false-positive FTA-ABS result but does not cause a positive treponemal reagin reaction (Matias, 2006).
Posted by Tif (Member # 12701) on :
thank you to everyone.......MarsNY, where did you get that information? I want to print it out for my own benefit
Posted by MarsyNY (Member # 7766) on :
Evidently this goes way back. Like I said wish I had known...
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
lol