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Igenex results Neg

Can anyone please give an explanation as to why my Igenex test results would be Negative despite having IgG and Igm 41+ and IgG and IgM 31 IND. IF 31 band is so specific to Lyme Disease in that it was used to make a vaccine, and does not cross react with any other bacteria, why would my Igenex test not be labelled Postive. People are asking me this and not sure how to answer. Thanks for any help/input.
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Avatar universal
Welcome to MedHelp --  gotta say, you are made of tough stuff to go through all you have and still be up to figure it all out!  We're glad to help if we can.

What were the tests looking for -- Lyme specifically or something else?  

And what are the 'normal' ranges for each of those results?  The different laboratories may have different scales to judge by.

'Ig' means immunoglobulin, which is what the immune system produces in response to an infection.

A, G and M are different immunoglobulins which respond to different bacteria.

Do you have a Lyme specialist MD who is working with you?  That is key to sorting out many mysteries that come with tick infections.

Look forward to hearing back from you --
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Avatar universal
I don't understand any of this blood work. I've had these symptoms since the 70's when I was first covered with ticks after grooming a dog. Went through the flu-like symptoms for days after, rash, pneumonia, lung problems was later diagnosed with MS then they decided I didn't have that. Docs didn't know about tick problems back then. I have been dealing with this stuff for years. My Service Dogs were first dogs diagnosed with Lyme, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever in Florida. I was always getting bitten and having tick fever there and being put on doxy for a week. Problem I've had is that I've had 3 head injuries along the way in my life and along with them came seizures and migraines which have never gone away and a ton of surgeries. I am always seeming to fight the flu now lately with the constant ear aches. I'm 62 and still going strong fighting this thing. Just diagnosed this past month with Leukemia and then the specialist said oops...maybe not...something else is going on. I keep asking..is it the ticks? They keep saying naw, couldn't be. My blood work is coming in now locally. I don't know how to read it.
IgA  217
IgG 1162
IgM 105

Anyway, that's what it came out. Thanks for your input. connie
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Avatar universal
Also, there's some evidence that an active Epstein-Barr (Mononucleosis) infection can occasionally cross react on the 31 band. I think the IGeneX results even disclose this. A negative test for Epstein Barr should clear up any concern on that.
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Avatar universal
"IND" on an IGeneX Western Blot band result is short for "Indeterminant".  It is used to describe a level of antibodies below the cutoff that was set for a "positive" result.  It means there's a low level of that particular antibody. Other labs do not sure Indeterminant results as they're considered "negative."  But it shows that you do have some of those antibodies. If it's a Lyme specific antibody, it still means you've been exposed to Lyme at some point in your life.  Otherwise, it would be zero.

What mainstream medicine refuses to consider let alone believe is that you can have a raging Lyme infection and have such low antibody levels. Their paradigm is that the worse the infection, the higher the antibody levels.  They just don't believe that Lyme violates many of the "rules."

Many LLMDs will consider an "IND" result on a highly Lyme indicative band as a positive, especially in people with Lyme symptoms. It sounds like yours does.

From what I understand, IGeneX can't responsibly call an "IND" a positive, and without the 31, the 41 band isn't enough to confidently say you have Lyme.  I had only a positive 41 and IND 31 on my IgG and it was called "IGeneX Negative."  But I had positives on 18 and 31 and 41 on the IgM, which they called IGeneX Positive.

The tests are not always definitive. That's why Lyme is what they call a clinical diagnosis.  History and symptoms need to be considered.
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Avatar universal
As a society, we have all become accustomed to relying on test results as the final, complete and absolute answer to what ails us, and while tests have improved over the years, they still require interpretation by a knowledgeable doc ... otherwise we could just give a drop of blood into a kiosk at the pharmacy and receive a slip of paper from a slot in the machine with a complete diagnosis printed on it.

Tests are indicators that need human interpretation, and Mother Nature keeps changing up diseases and infections so that we have to keep up.  Bottom line:  test results are data, but are not an answer.

Lyme is and remains a *clinical* diagnosis, based on your history and symptoms, aided by test results, but not relying solely on test results.

From what I read, band 31 indicates the presence of outer surface protein A (Osp A), which is 'specific' to Borrelia burgdorferi (aka Lyme disease), meaning that only Lyme lights up band 31 ... BUT that particular band can also show an accidental and incorrect positive result if you have certain viruses in your body.  

Think of it this way:  let's say that a robot is looking for ... say, green grass in your neighborhood, but if the robot goes roaming around and finds a green apple instead of green grass, the test will still say 'positive', because the robot mistook one green thing for another.  However, that test will also show positive it find green *grass*, so the test is not useless -- it just has to be evaluated in the context of all your other test results and your history and symptoms.

Your doc will take all the test results and evaluate them in context with your history and symptoms and make a diagnosis.  That could change over time with more data coming in, but that's what the doc gets paid for:  knowing how to weigh different symptoms and indicators.  

Otherwise we'd just motor down to the drug store, get a finger prick of blood, and a machine would spit out medication to take.  Not happening ... at least yet.  Someday, maybe, but Mother Nature is a tricky witch, always changing things up.
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Avatar universal
Addendum: Oops I meant to add that I saw an LLMD who diagnosed me with Chronic Lyme Disease, Bortenell and Babesia. She backed it up with test results, so people are asking me how it can be Chronic Lyme when Igenex test stated "negative" yet I had antibody response to bands 41+ (which I know can indicate a few other diseases which have been ruled out) and band 31.

Just trying to get a simple layman's answer as to why Igenex still indicates "Negative".
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