Aa
? about co-infection testing
I was originally tested positive for borrelia burgdorferi and negative for anaplasmosis with the Western Blot by my primary dr. I saw a LLMD 2 weeks later and she said I could get an IGENEX test if I wanted but being it was so soon after the original test I would be wasting my $. Since there are so many co-infections how would one know which co-infection they have? What exactly does the IGENEX test for= co-infections, kidney, liver, etc?
I'm pretty sure there is at least one different test for each bacteria. My LLMD chose the tests based on my symptoms. Selection of tests can also be influenced by where you are and what bacteria are more and less prevalent in your area's population of ticks.
I hear you. It would be nice if there were one big ole test that covers everything, but each test reacts differently on purpose, to know which infection is present (since treatment is often different for each infection), and there are at least a half dozen infections that need different testing from each other.
The docs do a careful physical exam and history of the patient to make an educated guess of what infections might be present, and then often also test for those infections to confirm specifically what to treat for.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, and while the companion infections that often come along with Lyme are mostly bacterial too, they sometimes need different medicine. That's why it's all so complicated, even for the docs.
When Lyme was first recognized a couple decades ago, the docs thought it was a short and simple cure, like for an earache ... but it turns out that Lyme bacteria are more complicated than most other bacteria. They hide in areas of the body where the immune system can't easily reach to kill the bacteria, and their reproductive cycle is much longer and slower than most other bacteria -- that is why Lyme treatment lasts for months and not a couple of weeks.
The long life-cycle and strong self-protection that Lyme bacteria have give Lyme advantages that it has taken docs quite a while to figure it out ... and some docs still don't understand it or believe it. When I was a kid, a bacterial infection (for an earache, chest infection, whatever) needed 2 or maximum 3 weeks of penicillin or other commonly used antibiotics... and that was all that was needed.
As Mother Nature does sometimes, tho, she threw in a few tricks with Lyme and its co-infections that don't follow the older treatment pattern, which is still not clear to many MDs. It is best not to over-medicate, but the whole situation with Lyme is still not believed by quite a few MDs, who figure that a couple weeks of antibiotics is all you need, whether for Lyme or other bacterial infections.
If you go to a Lyme specialist MD, the doc will probably take your history of symptoms etc., and also order some blood tests to figure out whether you have Lyme and/or other infections the 'Lyme' ticks often carry. When those test results are back, the doc would likely prescribe various antibiotics, perhaps in different shifts: Medication A for a few months, then Medication B for a few more months, etc. Depends on the doc and his/her analysis of your history and test results. Lyme is a fast-developing area of medicine, so things are not carved in stone.
The docs do a careful physical exam and history of the patient to make an educated guess of what infections might be present, and then often also test for those infections to confirm specifically what to treat for.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium, and while the companion infections that often come along with Lyme are mostly bacterial too, they sometimes need different medicine. That's why it's all so complicated, even for the docs.
When Lyme was first recognized a couple decades ago, the docs thought it was a short and simple cure, like for an earache ... but it turns out that Lyme bacteria are more complicated than most other bacteria. They hide in areas of the body where the immune system can't easily reach to kill the bacteria, and their reproductive cycle is much longer and slower than most other bacteria -- that is why Lyme treatment lasts for months and not a couple of weeks.
The long life-cycle and strong self-protection that Lyme bacteria have give Lyme advantages that it has taken docs quite a while to figure it out ... and some docs still don't understand it or believe it. When I was a kid, a bacterial infection (for an earache, chest infection, whatever) needed 2 or maximum 3 weeks of penicillin or other commonly used antibiotics... and that was all that was needed.
As Mother Nature does sometimes, tho, she threw in a few tricks with Lyme and its co-infections that don't follow the older treatment pattern, which is still not clear to many MDs. It is best not to over-medicate, but the whole situation with Lyme is still not believed by quite a few MDs, who figure that a couple weeks of antibiotics is all you need, whether for Lyme or other bacterial infections.
If you go to a Lyme specialist MD, the doc will probably take your history of symptoms etc., and also order some blood tests to figure out whether you have Lyme and/or other infections the 'Lyme' ticks often carry. When those test results are back, the doc would likely prescribe various antibiotics, perhaps in different shifts: Medication A for a few months, then Medication B for a few more months, etc. Depends on the doc and his/her analysis of your history and test results. Lyme is a fast-developing area of medicine, so things are not carved in stone.
When I tested my co-infections, they have what they call a co-infection panel.
The co-infections test is not that accurate. My bartonella came back positive but the babesia said negative when clinically I had all the signs of babesia.
The co-infections test is not that accurate. My bartonella came back positive but the babesia said negative when clinically I had all the signs of babesia.
thanks JackieCalifornia, I was thinking since so many of these co-infections have similar symptoms that the IGENEX would test for each one to rule them out. I will look at their site and see what all it does.
1 -- You ask, "Since there are so many co-infections how would one know which co-infection they have?"
When the Lyme doc inquires about the patient's symptoms and history, the doc will quickly develop a short list based on training and experience, about what particular signs and symptoms match up with known infections that have already been figured out by other docs and researchers over the years.
Just as an infectious disease doc can tell the difference between a patient with measles or mumps compared to a patient with poison ivy, a Lyme doc will know what differences in 'signs and symptoms' to look for in a patient with possible tickborne infections.
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2 -- You ask, "What exactly does the IGENEX test for= co-infections, kidney, liver, etc?"
IGeneX is the name of a company in California that runs tests to confirm or rule out various infections such as Lyme disease. They have a website that describes their tests and their approaches to testing.
When the Lyme doc inquires about the patient's symptoms and history, the doc will quickly develop a short list based on training and experience, about what particular signs and symptoms match up with known infections that have already been figured out by other docs and researchers over the years.
Just as an infectious disease doc can tell the difference between a patient with measles or mumps compared to a patient with poison ivy, a Lyme doc will know what differences in 'signs and symptoms' to look for in a patient with possible tickborne infections.
=============================
2 -- You ask, "What exactly does the IGENEX test for= co-infections, kidney, liver, etc?"
IGeneX is the name of a company in California that runs tests to confirm or rule out various infections such as Lyme disease. They have a website that describes their tests and their approaches to testing.
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