"antibiotic treatment, which rapidly aborts culture positivity"

[gibsongal]

i also read this and wonder what it means…

Dr. Nelson emphasized that for Lyme disease diagnosis, the CDC recommends a 2-step process of serologic testing: first, an FDA-cleared enzyme immunoassay, followed in immunoassay-positive or equivocal cases by confirmatory Western blot. Only patients positive on both tests are considered to have Lyme disease. B burgdorferi culture is notoriously difficult and recommended only in rare circumstances, primarily in research settings and for patients with early Lyme borreliosis, atypical rash, and no history of antibiotic treatment, which rapidly aborts culture positivity.

[Ephedra]

Some antibiotics actually force the bacteria into cyst where they go unnoticed by your immune system and therefore promote a negative test result.  

It's best to be treated for antibiotics for a while to get your immune system pumped up, then discontinue the antibiotics a few weeks prior to the test.  

But I tested positive on Rifampin and Zithromax.  Were you on abx at the time of the test Mojogal??  Which ones?  Just curious.  

[Ricobord]

Antibiotics clear active spirochetes in the blood fairly quickly, making a culture less likely to work.  It is the spirochetes in the tissues and nerves that the antibiotics have trouble reaching.

[mojogal]

Whacky is very true. We need more doctors educated in Lyme disease!

[gibsongal]

yeah, i was testing negative but had the symptoms…
i remember that one doc put me on abx and then had me go and get tested while i was still taking them..to stimuli a response.

it's all wacky!

[mojogal]

They have said that but it's not true if they used the right lab. I was on abx for 18 months and then still tested CDC positive with IgeneX.

[gibsongal]

"no history of antibiotic treatment, which rapidly aborts culture positivity."

this is the part that interests me..

are they saying that if you had antibiotics then your test will be inaccurate…false negative?

[mojogal]

The CDC is trying to keep it so that it is more difficult to get the Lyme diagnoses. They are relying on mainstream labs too which is not good.

[cave76]

"i also read this and wonder what it means… "

It means you're getting the CDC party line about Lyme testing. It also means that you'll be reading how good the two tiered test is :( ,CDC recommended,---- a test that has led to many  people never getting treated for Lyme disease when they actually have it. That test is wrong almost as many times as correct.

That issue has been discussed here many times. Use your search function to find them.