I'm sure this has been covered a bunch of times before, but I couldn't find a step-by-step.
I see my local doctor in a week and a half, and I'm considering getting lab tests done with Igenex.
Does anyone have any advice?
I'm wondering... do I need a doctor's recommendation to have it done?
What types of tests should I get?
How accurate are they?
And what is the typical cost?
Thanks all! Much appreciated!
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- I'd spend the money on seeing a LLMD first.
You will need a doctor to order the test. Any doctor can order bit insurance will not cover (unless you are Medicare and your doctor is also a medicare provider).
You can try getting a Western Blot IgG and IgM through your own insurance but, often, they don't do the test correctly and do not test all the bands that Igenex does. And, if the test comes back negative, your doctor will think that's all there is to it.
Even with Igenex testing, tests do not always show lyme in some patients who are very ill with it.
If you don't have a doctor who will order tests but have an ND (naturopathic doctor), they can order the test.
I'm too tired to answer other questions but you can find many answers here.
You really should also consider testing for some of the coinfections but a LLMD could best guide you there. Again, I'd put the money on first seeing an ILADS-educated LLMD who can assess you for various things.
Good luck. -
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
You can order the test kit yourself.. but you have to have a dr sign off to receive the test results.
The basic test is the Western Blot. It is test #188 and 189.
No lyme testing is iron clad accurate. You can be negative and still have Lyme.
If you get the test done, come back here and post your results so we can help you with them.
But .. better yet.......find an LLMD and be thoroughly evaluated for Lyme and coinfections.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES TO FUEL THE "LYME WAR" -(author's details at link)
As two medical societies battle over its diagnosis and treatment, Lyme disease remains a frequently missed illness. Here is how to spot and treat it.
Excerpts:
Meet the players
The opponents in the battle over the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease are the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the largest national organization of general infectious disease specialists, (and)
and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), an organization made up of physicians from many specialties. ( www.ilads.org )
ILADS, by contrast, asserts that the illness is much more common than reported, underdiagnosed, easier to contract than previously believed, difficult to diagnose through commercial blood tests, and difficult to treat, (especially)
especially when treatment is delayed because of commonly encountered diagnostic difficulties ( http://www.ilads.org/guidelines.html - Accessed April 6, 2007).
. . .
" . . .To treat Lyme disease for a comparable number of life cycles, treatment would need to last 30 weeks. . . ."
`` . . .Patients with Lyme disease almost always have negative results on standard blood screening tests and have no remarkable findings on physical exam, so they are frequently referred to mental-health professionals for evaluation.
"...If all cases were detected and treated in the early stages of Lyme disease, the debate over the diagnosis and treatment of late-stage disease would not be an issue, and devastating rheumatologic, neurologic, and cardiac complications could be avoided..."
. . . * Clinicians do not realize that the CDC has gone on record as saying the commercial Lyme tests are designed for epidemiologic rather than diagnostic purposes, and a diagnosis should be based on clinical presentation rather than serologic results.
- Full article at link above, containing MUCH more detailed information.
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Co-infections (other tick-borne infections or TBD - tick-borne disease) are not discussed in this article due to space limits. Still, any LLMD you would see would know how to assess/treat if others are present.
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TESTING
You should also be evaluated for coinfections. Not all tests are great in that regard, either, but a good LLMD can evaluate you and then guide you in testing. One of the top labs is:
In addition to the usual coinfections from ticks (such as babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia, RMSF, etc.), there are some other chronic stealth infections that an excellent LLMD should know about: