Lyme tests negative? test for syphilis

This is my first time on this message board and after reading many posts here, I would like to know why you don't advise people who have a clinical presentation of Lyme disease, but who have tested negative on Elisa and Western Blot, to get an FTA-antibodies test?  This test for spirochetes, commonly used for syphilis, is considered a diagnostic for sero-negative Lyme by many Lyme literate doctors.  The test for FTA-abs is drawn along with an RPR and a VDRL to rule out actual syphilis. It is very curious how many auto-immune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis or Lupus or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis include a "false positive FTA-abs" test as a diagnostic marker. This suggests that auto-immunity may be a symptom of an undiagnosed spirochete infection - MS or Lupus or thyroiditis as a symptom of Lyme disease, not a separate diagnosis.  

For those getting Western Blot tests, ask your physician to request that the laboratory report on ALL positive bands not simply for a positive/negative report. There is a great deal of discussion among physicians,researchers and the representatives of pharmaceutical companies working on Lyme vaccines about which bands to include as diagnostic for Lyme. Women tend to react on fewer bands and men on more so the CDC decided to "split the baby down the middle" and established an arbitrary criteria for a positive diagnosis that leaves many female Lyme patients misdiagnosed.

It is also curious that in 1993, the CDC put out a film in conjunction with the Lyme Disease Foundation (Lyme Disease: What You Should Know) that stated that there were studies producing evidence of Lyme spirochetes crossing the placenta and being transmitted through sexual contact. However, if you check the CDC website today, it will tell you that no such evidence exists. This, in and of itself is enough to give pause to anyone looking to the CDC for definitive or absolute guidance on this matter.

In this, as in all research, it is good to remain critical as you expose yourself to a wide variety of opinions and to ultimately check with your gut.


This discussion is related to Lyme Disease After Six Years....