My doc said she didn't think labcorp would draw for igenex. I think labcorp is the only lab near here.
Where did you guys get your blood drawn?
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
My LLMD's office.
Did you try the hospital's lab??
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
I was standing at the front desk when they were telling me I had to go to the lab ... I told them it was in CA ... they said they couldn't do it ... I started crying, so they did it. The doctor's office is perfectly capable of doing a blood draw.
Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
My doctor moved from her old practice and now works out of a much smaller building and is not equipped to do blood tests.
I'll look into the hospitals labs and try going to labcorp and begging, lol. At worst I'll have to go to urgent care and pay $25 to get them to do it.
Posted by susank (Member # 22150) on :
I think Labcorp will draw the blood as a "courtesy". That is what they did for me.
I have tested with Igenex several times. Had to beg doctors to sign and draw the blood in their offices.
I later read and confirmed with my local Labcorp that they will pull blood for other labs. And blood picked up by FedEx/whatever at the lab. So call yours and ask.
It would probably be better if you were going to Labcorp anyway with orders for tests through them. Surely you/your doctor could think of something to be tested for at Labcorp?
Posted by Elaine G (Member # 20735) on :
I had tests done twice with Igenex. Once with Quest and once with Lab Corp, they did the blood draw and had Fedex pick up the shipment.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Gigimac, Do you have the test kit in hand? You can call Igenex's toll free number and request a kit. There is no obligation, as you enclose payment when you ship the kit back.
I copied the page from the Igenex website that listed the bloodtests, and highlighted in yellow the two tests I wanted my doctor to order, which are #188 and #189. This works much better than just asking.
You need your doctor to write "Western Blot IgG and Western Blot IgM" on a prescription pad, which you must include with the form.
Be sure to read all the instructions, and you'll see that any lab can draw the blood and spin it down. My family doctor's office did this, filled out the form, and gave the tube of serum back to me.
I packed the tube with the protective materials included in the kit, and looked up the phone number for FedEx. I wrote a check, put the address stickers on the FedEx shipping envelope, and gave it to the FedEx driver.
You do need to plan for when you have the blood drawn. Draw and ship on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. The FedEx shipping envelope included in the kit is for two day shipping, as Igenex wants to receive the blood/serum as quickly as possible.
They don't want it sitting around over the weekend.
Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
My doctor gave me the igenex kit and it is for the western blot igg and igm. She did not write anything on a prescription pad though. I do need other testing through labcorps but after paying for llmd and igenex test I don't know that i will be able to afford the other tests we planned on doing.
Posted by Elaine G (Member # 20735) on :
The doctor signs the Igenex form.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
The western blot is around $200.
Your hospital would be a much better choice than Urgent Care. I get labwork at my hospital all the time. It can be expensive though, I guess.
they may not even know how much you will be charged
go to LabCorp or Quest
Posted by susank (Member # 22150) on :
Do you have insurance?
PrivateMDLabs uses Labcorp. Better prices than if doing labs w/o insurance. Is an online lab. Check their prices/menu.
Posted by susank (Member # 22150) on :
Gigi - a thought.
If you have not had your serum/total Immunoglobulin levels checked - I think you should. IIRC www.privatemdlabs.com offers the test for less than $60.
This is an important test.
You could have Labcorp draw blood for Igenex and also for PMDLabs.
The test checks your IGG, IGM and IGA levels.
If you are deficient you need to know. If you are not making enough "fighters" then treatment is more difficult.
Also I have read that if you are deficient then getting a correct result from antibody tests is more difficult. If you don't make normal amounts of antibodies - or if you barely make any at all - how can one get an accurate antibody test?
Many LD positive folks have discovered they are Immunoglobulin deficient. As in CVID.
Have a look at my sig line. Four Igenex tests. Two measly IGG bands showed reactive - one IND. Turns out - I have CVID - ie don't produce enough IGG.
It was the new Lyme culture test that finally showed a positive. It is course not an antibody test. Had I not done that test I would still be wondering if all these years I have had LD.
If Sammy is reading this - she would "second" getting the immunoglobulin testing done.
Its cheap - worth its weight in gold - and gives you a toe in the door with Labcorp for them to draw the Igenex blood as a courtesy.
Posted by susieq2 (Member # 30451) on :
Our LabCorp will do Kits from other labs only if they are also drawing blood for a test that they will be running. So our doctor just made sure that she ordered a CBC along with the Igenex orders and they did the blood draw without an extra charge.
Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
I talked to labcorp and they said they could not draw for igenex. I am not sure if it would have made a difference if I had got a cbc done and then asked but she seemed pretty sure and said they had got in trouble in the past for doing tests for other labs.
After searching and calling and people acting like I was asking for something completely unheard of I got the hospital lab to do it.
All she did was draw the blood into the two little tubes. After I left i wondered if they were supposed to spin it or anything. I hope not.
All you need is the blood drawn not spun or anything right?
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- A blood draw requires more than just the draw. There are very specific ways to prepare the blood before shipping - and shipping should be done THAT day, and only early in the week.
You need to be sure the temperature remains as required by the lab. Igenex has all such details at their site.
See the 27 things to consider with lyme testing here:
Diagnosing Lyme Disease (&/or whatever else is going on)
Other tick-borne infections and other chronic stealth infections - as well as certain conditions - that can hold us back are discussed here. -
Posted by surprise (Member # 34987) on :
Neither Labcorp lab (who knew us well because of my daughter) nor Quest would touch my daughters Igenex kit. (I had it signed by her DAN! Dr. and signature faxed)
I walked into a Catholic hospital, and the kindest admin. person ever
made personal calls for me, and got one of their labs to do it- correctly, and no charge.
I had my done at an LLMD's office.
Posted by AuntyLynn (Member # 35938) on :
Oh HELL! Now they're giving us grief at LabCorp and Quest to draw an Igenex test??
How much can one group of sick people suffer at the hands of our prejudiced medical system?
And how much do you want to bet that INSURERS have something to do with this?
Posted by gigimac (Member # 33353) on :
I sent the blood test in monday afternoon. I hope all I needed was to have the blood drawn. I wasn't instructed otherwise to my recollection, anyway.
It was the igg and igm western blot. All igenex would need is the vial of blood for that right?
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- gigimac, you asked:
It was the igg and igm western blot. All igenex would need is the vial of blood for that right? (end quote)
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If you sent it to Igenex, a form would have to go with it in which the doctor checked the tests to be done.
You would also be asked several questions so they could do the test correctly. They would need to know if you are taking any antibiotics, etc.
The doctor has to sign the form.
The form with the Igenex testing kit has the exact tubes to be used and instructions for the lab tech on preparing it for shipping.
This is where many blood samples can get ruined for a proper test. The lab techs must have clear instructions.
It would need to be picked up by FedEx for next day shipping in the envelope supplied by Igenex.
The Forms and Sample Requirements Section provides updated Test Request Forms for the Physician's Office. It is required that you use the most recent Patient Test Request Form.
Please discard any forms dated before January 2011. This Section also includes information on shipping and collecting samples.
See Menu to the left of their screen. There is a page with a chart for each test, explaining how the sample needs to be prepared. -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :