posted
How reliable are they? Can you get a positive out of that western blot, two years after the bite?
This is where the test went to last week, with my doctor, before I knew how IGX worked. I thought they were mailing me the tubes and test (doh!) and I just realized you have to print out the forms and go into the doctor to have your blood drawn.
I'll do that one, too, but I'm hoping this quest one will come back positive.
Also, it says you have to pre-pay, but I see no where on the forms or website how much the test with IGX costs.
Posts: 256 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
The test at IGX costs about 1,100.00 dollars (that includes all the co-infections) where I had it done.
Some people have gotten a positive result at quest, but it seems that most people get a negative. You may be one of the lucky few, then you won't have to shell out for IGX.
Two years after a bite, it might be difficult to get a positive on any test. You could test negative on IGX and still have lymes.
Posts: 41 | From astoria, new york | Registered: Feb 2010
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posted
The good news, it showed up as "past infection", which was good enough for my doctor to send me to an infectious disease specialist to do further testing.
I'm going to bring the IGX kit with me. I have an appointment with a LLMD but since it's several months out, I want to see this person in the meantime.
Posts: 256 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
And if it shows up (on quest lab) that there was past infection, if I was never treated for it, wouldn't that mean that it's, indeed, a current infection?
(I just called IGX and they're mailing the kit out. Hopefully it gets here before my next appointment so I can get this all done at one place)
Posts: 256 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
how can they tell if its a "past infection"?
-------------------- 3 months Doxy 8 months of Tetra 7 months of Biaxin/Plaq. 4 months Doxy/Biaxin/Plaq. 5 months Biaxin/Plaq. Back on Doxy/Biax/Plaq On the road to recovery. Trying to make people Lyme Aware....... Posts: 289 | From R.I. | Registered: Jun 2009
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posted
No clue. They did the western blot through quest, and I now know it isn't a very accurate test. But this is all I needed for my own personal reassurance that this is what is going on... and I've got an appointment with a LLMD in about 6 weeks.
The infectious disease specialist my doctor was going to send me to doesn't do these cases (:roll eyes) so I'm just going to keep the LLMD's appointment and not try to get anything else. Even though it's all out of pocket, I need to get started with treatment soon.
Posts: 256 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2010
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posted
Lyme tests are highly inaccurate and miss a large number of people who actually have Lyme, for a number of reasons.
Lyme must be diagnosed clinically, based on your symptoms and history, by an expert with enough knowledge to recognize it. This is usaully an LLMD (Lyme literate doctor).
A positive Lyme test, if you are having Lyme symptoms, supports the diagnosis of Lyme. However, a negative Lyme test means nothing and cannot rule it out.
The Western Blot tests from Igenex lab are more accurate than the ones from labs commonly used by insurance companies, but even those miss a large number of cases because of the nature of the test.
The test does not test for the actual bacteria, but for the presence of antibodies, which may not be present for several reasons.
The reason someone would say you had evidence of a "past infection" is because there are two types of antibodies, IgG and IgM. One is more common in the first few weeks of most infections, and the other is more common after that.
However, Lyme is an exception because the type of antibodies that can show up earlier also show up repeatedly throughout the course of the infection. Therefore you can't tell from a test how long you've been infected. You have to go by your symptoms and/or history of a tick bite or rash, or some people are born with Lyme.
Infectious Disease specialists are the worst possible doctors you could go to for Lyme disease--if they agree to see you at all, you will get abuse and hostility from them, as well as inadequate or no treatment.
They will tell you things that make no sense, and look at you standing there in front of them and tell you that you're not sick or it's all in your head. If you have a positive Lyme test, they will tell you it must be a false positive.
If they treat you for a few weeks and you are still sick, they will say that your Lyme is gone and you probably never had Lyme at all, and then leave you to fend for yourself.
I know that sounds incredible, but many many people have reported having a similar experience.
I wouldn't let anyone but an LLMD tell me whether I do or don't have Lyme, and what to do about it. Other doctors do not have the knowledge or experience to help, even when they are willing.
Also, do NOT let anyone give you steroids for any reason. It can make Lyme MUCH worse, or cause a relapse if you had reached remission.
Go to the LLMD as soon as you can. See if they have a waiting list, and maybe they could get you in sooner.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
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'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
I'll answer your first 2 questions as others here have "answered" the other comments so well.
Quest Labs, atleast here in Boston, IS reasonably accurate, esp. when it comes to the Blots. I tested 4.4 on the ELISA count (quite high) so, of course, the Western Blot assays were automatically run for me.
The IgM ("recent" antibodies) showed some activity (bands), but not much. The IgG ("converted" antibodies) had all but one band + !
And this was from a blood sample taken before my PCP started me on doxycycline. A month later, my (new) LLMD re-ran some blood o' mine thru IgeneX & it showed almost exactly the same bands on the IgG, but with much more resolution. [Neg(-), IND, +, ++, & +++.)
If your doc is comfortable with sending blood samples overnight out to CA (IgeneX), that would be the best choice for sensitivity, as far as I'm concerned. Some doctors claim that IgeneX is not "certified" lab, or that they're not "FDA approved".
This is from the IgeneX website: "The laboratory is CLIA-certified, inspected by the Department of Health and Human Services for Medicare testing. We are also licensed in those states with special requirements (California, Florida, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania). All other states accept CMS licensure."
As fa as FDA 'approval', the test Kits not the lab itself, are what the FDA has juristiction over. This from a prior health claims manager's website:
"The test kits MDL use are FDA-approved; the tests done by IGeneX are all proprietary. ... both will produce more accurate positives than any lab looking at the restricted number of bands stipulated by the CDC's epidemiological criteria." - http://www.anapsid.org/lyme/index.htmlPosts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Thank you for the answers... that makes a lot of sense. I was wondering how it could show past infection... now I get what that means.
I know that I have Lyme. I knew it when I got the bite. But getting anyone to help me has been a struggle. Luckily, I met up with this group, got in contact with a LLMD and have an appointment.
I'm not going to see anyone else but him now.
Posts: 256 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2010
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