My test results are back

[ambxo]

Can anyone help me with these results? I'm trying to research the best I can. I'll be seeing my neurologist in January but I'd like to have some background knowledge just incase she tells me otherwise or whatever happens. For the most part my neurologist has been thorough and cooperative but she's leaning towards MS. Should I see an LLMD now that I have these results or wait? Thank you all in advance!



Lyme, Total Ab Test/Reflex:
Lyme Igg/Igm Ab <0.91 0.00-0.90


Lyme, Western Blot, Serum:

Igg P93 Ab. Absent

Igg P66 Ab. Absent

Igg P58 Ab. Absent

Igg P45 Ab. Absent

Igg P41 Ab. Present

Igg P39 Ab. Absent

Igg P30 Ab. Absent

Igg P28 Ab. Absent

Igg P23 Ab. Absent

Igg P18 Ab. Absent

Lyme Igg Wb Interp. Negative

Igm P41 Ab. Absent

Igm P39 Ab. Absent

Igm P23 Ab. Absent

Lyme Igm Wb Interp. Negative

[JackieCalifornia]

Lyme and other infections need a trained doc to diagnosis whatever the patient may have ... recommending medication on a website like this is not a good idea.

[canopuss]

recommend this
LTT BoreliBurg
CD57

whats your symptoms?

[JackieCalifornia]

Welcome to MedHelp Lyme -- sorry you are not back on top yet, but you are doing what I would do:  plow ahead and keep asking questions till useful answers arrive.  (I went through *20* MDs before Dr #20 ran Lyme test, and when the test came back positive, the very nice doc assured me I could not possibly have Lyme, because I "didn't look sick enough."  Riiiiiight.  I took the positive test result to a Lyme specialist and got properly diagnosed and treated and back to good health.)

Here are a couple of thoughts for your consideration (and remember, I'm not a doc, just a Lyme survivor!  Yeah!) --

-- Neurologists as a group are not inclined to 'believe' in Lyme, saying that it is rare, hard to get, and easy to cure with a couple of weeks of doxycycline.  A couple of my pre-diagnosis 20-doc parade were neurologists, and they didn't take the clue at all.  This is simply part of the split in the medical community which will someday be worked out, but not soon.  

-- The tests you were apparently given are the golden-oldie version of Lyme tests.  If the test comes back positive, it is a reliable test ... but that particular test often returns a false negative, meaning you can have a raging case of Lyme, but the test say 'no Lyme here.'  The reason the test is not reliable in someone with Lyme is that the test looks in your immune system for a high level of antibodies trying to kill the Lyme bacteria ... but Lyme is tricky and is very good at suppressing your immune system activity ... so the test say 'no Lyme here', and you are told that you are not infected.

What to do?  There is a newer test, by a company called IGeneX (they have a website that explains how their test works, if you are up for reading now or later), and the IGeneX test works differently from the old standby ELISA and Western blot tests:  the IGeneX test does not rely on your immune system reaction, but instead looks for the DNA of the Lyme bacteria themselves.  The IGeneX test is a direct test (like seeing a burglar jumping out of a window after stealing your stuff), while the ELISA and Western blot tests are indirect tests (like seeing footprints in the flower bed outside your window after the burglar leaves, but not seeing the burglar himself).  Why do docs continue to use the older (and less reliable) ELISA/W.blot tests?  Habit.  (Sigh.)

The first test I was positive on (mentioned above) was pure luck that the test was positive ... otherwise, I would not have had the clue that sent me to a Lyme specialist.  Lyme will not go away by itself and is in the same bacterial family as syphilis ... and no sensible doc would leave syphilis untreated, because it does not go away without antibiotics.

If I were in your situation, I would find a Lyme specialist and take copies of the test results you have already, just so the new doc has the data (more is good).  ILADS [dot] org has a referral function on their website to help you find a Lyme specialist near you.  If you don't have Lyme, a real Lyme doc will be the first to tell you, and if the first doc you see doesn't suit, then get another name.  And if the Lyme doc says you don't have Lyme, I'd bet money that s/he will know what you do have or likely have.  

Sounds like a total hassle, but believe me ... it's worth it.  A family member and I are entirely Lyme-free some seven years after treatment by a Lyme specialist, and life is good.  Let us know how we can help, and how you do.  Best wishes!