posted
Anyone good at putting together medical puzzles? 6 months ago my 1st lyme test came back positive (screener test/elisa?). 2 months later the ingenex test came back positive for active and chronic lyme.
Last week I had the igg(?) and igm tests for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The one that indicates longterm infection came back negative but the one that indicates a recent infection came back positive. This would indicate a second tick bite.
I read that only 3% of ticks carry RMSF. Now I am wondering how, why, and where! Could one of the tests be a false positive or negative? Should I have my environment check out somehow?
I know I have had lots of questions lately. Thank you for all the support! These discussions, the success stories, and info. are the only source of hope for me.
Posts: 8 | From Chicago/Rockford, IL | Registered: Jul 2008
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bettyg
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posted
alli,
please post your POSITIVE/IND numbers for western blot igm and igg below; show them going downward NOT across...
same w/rmsf; i know nothing on that but others may and we have MANY RNS who are very knowledgeable! thanks.
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Last week I had the igg(?) and igm tests for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The one that indicates longterm infection came back negative but the one that indicates a recent infection came back positive. This would indicate a second tick bite.
WHY??? Because it was the IgM??? Read this:
"With most infections, your immune system first forms IgM antibodies, then in about 2 to 4 weeks, you see IgG antibodies. In some infections, IgG antibodies may be detectable for years.
Because Borrelia burgdorferi is a chronic persistent infection that may last for decades, you would think patients with chronic symptoms would have positive IgG Western blots.
But actually, more IgM blots are positive in chronic borreliosis than IgG. Every time Borrelia burgdorferi reproduces itself, it may stimulate the immune system to form new IgM antibodies.
Some patients have both IgG and IgM blots positive. But if either the IgG or IgM blot is positive, overall it is a positive result.
Response to antibiotics is the same if either is positive, or both. Some antibodies against the borrelia are given more significance if they are IgG versus IgM, or vice versa.
Since this is a chronic persistent infection, this does not make a lot of sense to me. A newly formed Borrelia burgdorferi should have the same antigen parts as the previous bacteria that produced it.
But anyway, from my clinical experience, these borrelia associated bands usually predict a clinical change in symptoms with antibiotics, regardless of whether they are IgG or IgM."
posted
Thanks so much for the info! That helps so much. I will have to read more info. from that doctor. It was the igM test that was positive.
My symptoms are basically the same as Lyme symptoms. I have had a slightly higher temp the last few weeks- 98 or 99 when usually it's 96-98. Symptoms I have had for the longest time....all over pain, constant headache, sore throat, dizziness, stomach stuff, and bladder stuff. That might have been a response to a private message I received. Thanks!
Posts: 8 | From Chicago/Rockford, IL | Registered: Jul 2008
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