posted
My dr. just sent out some of my blood to Stonybrook, in Long Island, NY From what he says, it is as good a Igenex, and more insurance friendly. Anyone have any good experience with this lab?
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posted
Yes, they are good. My Doctor did not request for Stonybrook to specify all bands, so my daughter tested positive band 41 "along with other non reportable bands". If your doc request which bands...that is more helpful.
Posts: 747 | From Utah | Registered: Apr 2010
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posted
That's weird. Someone new to Lyme would have no clue that all the bands were not tested for.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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lymeboy
Unregistered
posted
Thank you....glad I asked! I got a Positive from Igenex 3 months ago. So this is a newer test. I guess he will compare and contrast, right?
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posted
Don't even bother with Stonybrook. It is NOT as good as Igenex. Stonybrook does not test all bands like lymetoo said. If they did my family might have been spared some of the hell we've been through.
And like lymetoo said, someone new to Lyme has no clue about what bands to test for.
You have a positive from Igenex...IMO, that's the most reliable and ought to be good enough for your LLMD, assuming you also have clinical symptoms.
From personal experience, Stonybrook lab was a waste of time, effort and money.
-------------------- You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
---Eleanor Roosevelt Posts: 748 | From somewhere | Registered: May 2010
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
Stonybrook is a good lab. Dr. F at Columbia Univ. Medical Center uses them (at least he sent my blood there).
I've had several tests run there. My doctor always requests that all bands be reported.
I've had more positive bands from Stonybrook than from Igenex.
Timaca
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
My doctor requested that the "non-CDC" bands also be reported, so on the IgM, I tested positive for: 18, 23, 39, 41, 66 with Stony Brook.
So that's an example of some of the bands Stony Brook will show, **IF** the doctor requests. Otherwise, they'll only show 23, 39, 41 on the IgM.
I think you'll get the best results if you do some antibiotics first, like Amoxicillin or Doxycycline. Mine was actually tested while I was on Amoxicillin, and those were the results.
I have found that other doctors (like a general MD you'll meet anywhere) will tend to believe Stony Brook results are more legit than Igenex, simply because the results "look" like what you get from a lab like Quest (no ++'s in the results like Igenex).
I say, go for it! You could always try the testing again later, after antibiotics, if you don't get good results. And then, if you are still not getting positives, you can try Igenex.
Good luck!
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
Timaca, I actually had more positive bands from Stony Brook than Igenex too...on the IgM...but the Stony Brook was done a year later, so who knows.
Igenex didn't even show an IND on my 23, and that showed up positive with Stony Brook.
I think I had better results with my IgG with Igenex though. I don't think Stony Brook showed any on my IgG, and IGenex showed like 4 bands on IgG, and tons of IND's.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
Maybe it does make a difference when the doc requests that all bands be reported. But why does such a request have to be made in the first place?
Stonybrook is in the heart of Lyme country on eastern LI in NYS. It would be logical to assume that reporting of all bands would be the norm for a respected lab of this stature, especially since they have the capacity and are willing to do so.
I've heard mixed things about Dr. F. but I am glad that he is associated with a major medical center in a large city. I personally don't think his body of work will change anything (unfortunately), but I sure hope it will as Dr. F. has done a great deal of valuable research.
-------------------- You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
---Eleanor Roosevelt Posts: 748 | From somewhere | Registered: May 2010
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posted
Paul if it makes you feel any better a friend of mine called the CDC to inform them of her CDC-positive results and they blew her off.
CDC-positive "status" doesn't necessarily mean that the doc will report it, or even if he or she does report it that it will be documented by the CDC.
A "CDC-positive" gold stamp would be wonderful for insurance purposes. It would be great if at some point everyone here tested "CDC-positive" ie, testing positive for Lyme Disease according to "screening" criterion set by the IDSA that was not designed to be diagnostic in the first place.
How sad is that?
-------------------- You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
---Eleanor Roosevelt Posts: 748 | From somewhere | Registered: May 2010
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