Has anyone ever used them? Are they considered reliable within the LLMD network?
Posted by Hoosiers51 (Member # 15759) on :
I had 5 bands come back positive on my IgM from Stony Brook. This was about half way through treatment though, so I don't know if maybe my immune system was more "activated" at that point. I was on Amoxicillin at the time of that test.
On the Igenex, I had 6 bands come back positive closer to the beginning of treatment, but still not super close to beginning of treatment. At that time I was on a break from antibiotics.
With Stony Brook, it used to be (so probably still is) that the doctor needs to request that they show the non-CDC specific bands, in addition to the CDC bands. If the doctor requests this, you will see other bands that come up positive too, like 18 or 58, for example.
It said my IgG was completely negative from Stony Brook though, which is strange because on Igenex I had at least a few on my IgG, and the Igenex had been earlier, like I said.
I never hear of many people around here using Stony Brook, but my experience wasn't too bad. Maybe I was just lucky though?
I would say Stony Brook is pretty good, but Igenex is still considered the best around here.
Western Blots are not perfect, and they can have false negatives. A true diagnosis should be based on symptoms. I have heard of people who tested PCR positive for Lyme, that only had one band on their Western Blot. So please don't base your experience just on mine.
Posted by JKMMC09 (Member # 15795) on :
Our LLMD sends to both Igenex and Stonybrook each time blood is drawn for TBD testing, in my experience Stonybrook is a pretty good lab, my daughter has tested (CDC) positive for Lyme and Babesiosis thru SB and Igenex.
SB is also covered by insurance-- a definite plus!