I was reading on another forum that Lyme disease and Mycoplasma are very hard to differentiate from one another. Then I read on here from a user that they tested negative for Lyme 22 times from Igenex.....while they are still very sick, and are positive for Mycoplasma pneumonia.
My Western Blot is negative for Lyme disease, with only the 41 IgG band reactive (going for an Igenix soon if my insrance will cover it). However my mycoplasma pneumonia levels showed active infection, even a year after the initial exposure...
I'm wondering now, how someone is supposed to tell whether their illness is Lyme or Mycoplasma, if they are so similar, especially with regards to mycoplasma causing neurological disease?
I used to have flares every four weeks that are accompanied by a lot of left-sided symptoms, which is typical of Lyme: Weakness, pain, numbness, neurological-based leg weakness with lower spine pain, severe headaches, etc., along with fever. I say "used to" because, now it's happening every two weeks instead of four.
I also do herx on Doxycycline....however Doxycycline is also a primary treatment for mycoplasma pneumonia!
For those who have experience with this, do you think Mycoplasma pneumonia could be playing a bigger role in my disease than the Lyme? I'd think not, with my symptom patterns being every two (previously four) weeks, but a positive mycoplasma test with a negative Lyme test makes me question things.
Thank you!
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
Until you get tested by Igenex for lyme and the coinfections (babesiosis, bartonella, and ehrlichia), you really don't know what all you have. Lyme tests from Quest and LabCorp are useless.
You must get good testing. My insurance paid part of the Igenex cost. You file the claim yourself.
Coinfections (including mycoplasma) make the lyme patient's illness worse. Myco and lyme are virtually indistinguishable, and when you treat the lyme, you will be treating the myco automatically.
So, I think you need treated for lyme disease. That, and treatment for babs and bart if you have them (most likely you do) will take care of your problems.
I would not delay getting good lyme treatment based on your symptoms. They are serious and they are neurologically based. Sounds like a serious case of lyme disease to me.
Posted by Mathias (Member # 5298) on :
Mycoplasma can be a huge problem and I agree with TF that the symptoms are indistinguishable.
Treating lyme and Mycoplasma require different therapies though. Mycoplasma does not have a cell wall, so antibiotics that work on the area (i.e. Rocephin, Bicillin, Amox) do not treat Mycoplasma.
Some species (i.e. fermentans) are even resistant to Zithromax and Biaxin.
The tetracycline class and the floroquinlone class are the best bet for getting rid of Mycoplasma.
Medical Diagnostics Lab in NJ is a good lab for testing for Mycoplasma. http://www.mdlab.com Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
You cannot tell the difference by symptoms between various pathogens....so chronic viral infections have similar symptoms to Lyme. I was also tested for mycoplasma pneumonia, and did not have high antibody titers. I did (or do) to HHV-6, EBV, HSV1, Coxsackie B and chlamydia pneumonia, so I have plenty of pathogens to try to beat back.
So, yes, your problems can be due to mycoplasma and not Lyme.
Best, Timaca
Posted by little_olive (Member # 28063) on :
Sorry for my delay! I honestly forgot even making this post
Thank you all for your insights.
little olive
Posted by CherylSue (Member # 13077) on :
Help! Myco may be a bigger player than I ever realized.
I'm in another relapse, and my LLMD ran tests. Lyme seems to be under control, Babs, too, no more EBV, BUT....
Mycoplasma Pneumonia is showing bigtime activity amd
I have burning skin, intermittent mild fevers, flulike malaise, and fatigue.
LLMD has me on doxycycline which I could tolerate easy before at 200mgBID. Now I can barely tolerate 100mg BID.
This is torture to come so far, and then be plagued by this.
Posted by little_olive (Member # 28063) on :
Aww, I made this post before I got my IGeneX results back, which showed the Lyme. Before that I only had a band 41.
I ultimately decided not to worry about Myco, as long as my treatments for Lyme were inadvertantly treating the mycoplasma as well. So far so good.
I did find out, though, that my flares started happening every two weeks instead of four, because I started a cyst buster (herbal)!! I guess it woke up another Lyme replication cycle? The one that the cyst buster caused is less severe, but my original Lyme flare cycle is still the worst. After several months on Rifampin (another cyst buster), that additional flare cycle I developed is going away, almost non-existant.
Two months after makign this post I got pleurisy again and almost ended up in the hospital. I assume the Myco is still there because of that... Granted, I was completely off of antibiotics, so it had all the chance in the world to attack me. It was the second time I got pleurisy off of antibiotics.
I still suggest the Minocycline for you, since you cannot tolerate the Doxy. It's just as effecitve at killing mycoplasma as Doxycyline.
little olive
Posted by imagine2 (Member # 3136) on :
CherylSue, Sorry you're having such a hard time. Just wanted to mention that I have burning skin too and my llmd always said it was bartonella. Are you sure you don't have bart?
I didn't realize that mycoplasma could cause it as well. Interesting that my burning skin stops on my week off abx. I'm on mino too.
Posted by CherylSue (Member # 13077) on :
Both my LLMD's have stated that the burning skin is the toxins from die off and that it could be any infection, viruses, etc. Perhaps, Bart is a big player for you, and your doctor feels that is making your skin burn.
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