posted
Has anyone just gotten babesia alone?
Posts: 268 | From new york city | Registered: May 2008
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julielynne4
Unregistered
posted
I have heard of people getting co-infections without lyme. I guess some ticks carry lyme AND coinfections, and others can just carry one or more such as babesia.
Plus sometimes people may test positive for the babesia and never test positive for lyme.
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
Ditto to what Julie said.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
Blood work will not give you a reliable result for lyme, so just b.c it didn't show, doesn't really mean you don't have it. I hope you don't, but I have learned not to rely on bloodwork. Even Igenex with it's skilled technicians and broader net can't see it all. So... I guess I'm saying maybe you do and it just didn't show up in a blot. A lot of things effect the blot.
-------------------- Look for the moments you are glad you got to have each day... I call these Butterfly Kisses, and the more you see... the more you see. Posts: 30 | From Northeast PA | Registered: Feb 2009
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posted
Yes, but it would be rare, just like it's rare to have ONLY Lyme.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
My current LLMD thinks that from my first tick bite, I only got bartonella, becauase I had a VERY immediate flare of symptoms right after the bite (which is classic Bart...getting symptoms right away), then the illness seemed to resolve on it's own, with the exception of some rage issues.
He thinks I got Lyme and babesia later in life, from another bite. Also, I did not become very sick until later in life, and he thinks if I would have gotten Lyme in the first bite, my current health problems would have emerged much sooner, or there would have at least been clues early on.
So all I'm really saying is that I know my LLMD thinks ticks can carry Bartonella only, so perhaps the same is true for babesia.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I have read many, many pieces of literature stating co-infections exist 20% of the time. I'm not sure what to believe. Some LLMDs really ump up the numbers.
On Lymenet, it's really impossible not to think you have Lyme, Babesia, Bartonella and 10 other illnesses. If you don't test positive, it' because there's 15 other strains. The symptom lists overlap so much I think many of us can fool ourselves into believing it all at times. It's a tough road to walk.
quote:Originally posted by Lymetoo: Yes, but it would be rare, just like it's rare to have ONLY Lyme.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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quote:Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from a Coastal Region of California
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, was detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 44 of 776 (5.67%) Ixodes pacificus ticks
Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of HGE, was detected by PCR in 48 (6.19%) I. pacificus ticks
Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of HME, was detected by nested PCR in just five (0.64%) I. pacificus ticks
Interestingly, eight (1.03%) I. pacificus ticks were co-infected with B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum, and just one (0.12%) tick was co-infected with B. burgdorferi and E. chaffeensis.
For A. phagocytophilum 40 of 48 (83%) were not also carrying Bb.
For Ehrlichia chaffeensis 4 of 5 (80%) were not also carrying Bb.
These are very small numbers. And we know nothing of the sensitivity and specificity of the tests.
I can't find a much more extensive study done in California that I found months ago. Found the complete paper online. Guess I didn't save it.
Posts: 426 | From Berkeley, CA | Registered: Feb 2009
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Dekrator48
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18239
posted
It is also possible for a previously healthy person to be infected with Babesia through a blood transfusion.
-------------------- The fibromyalgia I've had for 32 years was an undiagnosed Lyme symptom.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". -Jeremiah 29:11 Posts: 6076 | From Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
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posted
It is possible, although it can be tricky to say a person has babesia and not Lyme. The more co-infections a person has, the odds of Lyme exposure of course goes up.
Since testing isn't exactly reliable, I suppose the best way to figure it out is treat for Babesia. if all symptoms go away, you are set. If not, treat for Lyme and consider other co-infections.
Posts: 584 | From NY | Registered: Feb 2009
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