posted
What does it mean? my doctor called to say that I had lyme. elisa score 1.81, western blot positive. then health district called to say I didnt have lyme. that the IGG was negative.. no bands deteced therefore I didnt have lyme. IGM tested positive for p23 and p41.
I have had symptoms for possibly 9 months, at least 3 months. health distric says I would have developed IGG by now.
Also, my blood was drawn on a thursday, but the test was shipped to the east coast and tested on Tuesday... I read somewhere that this could affect the IGG results to be falsely negative. does anybody have anything they can share to help me make sense of this? Thank you.
Posts: 3 | From Las Vegas, NV | Registered: May 2010
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Haley
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 22008
posted
The Elisa score shows that you have been exposed. It would be very unusual to have a false positive on this. People get false negatives but not false positives.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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TF
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 14183
posted
At the top of the "Medical Questions" forum, you will see a post called "Quick Links to Popular Topics." When you click on that, one of your choices will be "Western Blot explanation."
Click on that and read the entire thing. It answers your questions. For example, here is a small part of what it says:
"You get what you pay for, so use a lab that specializes in borreliosis. The right way to process the Western blot specimen means for the blood to be drawn and express mailed early in the week.
Research shows the borrelia antibodies have the potential to clump together, resulting in false negative test results. So far, unclumping has not been practical for laboratories to do.
The fresher the specimen, the more accurate the test results. Patients at our office are scheduled Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday if testing is to be done.
This way, express shipping will assure that the specimen does not spend the weekend sitting at the post office. This is the right way to test and ship borreliosis specimens."
It also says that more people get a positive IgM than a positive IgG and that it does not matter which one is positive. If either one is positive, you will get better with antibiotics.
Here's the quote:
"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."
So, lyme is not like the typical disease. You don't always develop IgG antibodies with a long-standing case of lyme disease. Lyme experts know this, but run of the mill medical personnel do not know it.
Pinelady
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18524
posted
Your health district is wrong!
I agree. Many Lyme docs say they are yet to see a false positive.
Clotting after sitting a long time is said to make tests more negative. So if it indeed was
late getting there it would make sense it could have been neg. but it was clearly not....
Always get copies of your tests-there may be more info that was not spoken.
-------------------- Suspected Lyme 07 Test neg One band migrating in IgG region unable to identify.Igenex Jan.09IFA titer 1:40 IND IgM neg pos 31 +++ 34 IND 39 IND 41 IND 83-93 + DX:Neuroborreliosis Posts: 5850 | From Kentucky | Registered: Dec 2008
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bcb1200
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25745
posted
I agree. Your health district is wrong. I was negative on the Elisa test. Then took the Igenex western blot.
IgM came back with positive bands 23/25, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
IgG came back negative.
According to the experts, this is common in more chronic cases of Lyme. I know I have lyme as my brain spect was abnormal and I have a CD-57 value of 84.
-------------------- Bite date ? 2/10 symptoms began 5/10 dx'd, after 3 months numerous test and doctors
IgM Igenex +/CDC + + 23/25, 30, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
Currently on:
Currently at around 95% +/- most days. Posts: 3139 | From Massachusetts | Registered: May 2010
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-------------------- bitten: ? diagnosed: 2/25/10 started tx: 3/1/10 Posts: 26 | From Raleigh/Durham NC | Registered: Feb 2010
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bcb1200
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25745
posted
Go to ILADS.org and download Burrascano's treatment guide.
CD-57 measures the level of natural killer (NK) cells in your blood (part of your immune system.) Research shows lyme kills of NK cells. ONLY Lyme does this. Rather similar to how HIV kills T cells.
So..some docs measure CD-57 as a rough idea on your germ load. NOrmal people have CD-57 >200. Chronic Lyme people are usually <60. I was 84.
General rule of thumb is to treat until you are at or near 200 otherwise a relapse could occur.
-------------------- Bite date ? 2/10 symptoms began 5/10 dx'd, after 3 months numerous test and doctors
IgM Igenex +/CDC + + 23/25, 30, 31, 34, 41, 83/93
Currently on:
Currently at around 95% +/- most days. Posts: 3139 | From Massachusetts | Registered: May 2010
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