Survey: Who got 5 on %CD8-/CD57+ Lymphs (range 2-17%)?

[bluebird4500]

Hi,

Just curious.  Just got my %CD8-/CD57+ Lymphs (range is 2.0-17.0%) results today and I was a 5.

So, technically, I'm in "range", but I had a few bands show I had Lyme. They called me in for more blood work next week.

Anyone else have this number?

Is it high/ low in your experience?

Thank you for any help you can give!

[bluebird4500]

Hi,

Great info! Thanks so much. This is helpful :-)

[JackieCalifornia]

I don't have my old test results at hand, and don't remember the numbers I had, but I do recall that they jumped around a lot from test to test over time.

Here's a quote from a website called anapsid [dot] org / lyme / strickerpanel [dot] html:

"Just to ensure that nothing is ever cut-and-dried with Lyme, most patients who are in a Lyme relapse (flare) will have a very low NK [= natural killer cells, part of the immune system] cell count, while those who are feeling somewhat better will have normal-high NK counts.

"And then there are people like me, who had a zero (that is, 0) NK count in while feeling significantly better (all things being relative) than some friends in severe flare, who had normal-high NK counts.

"While many Lyme patients are getting this test, it is not a Lyme--or any sort of TBD--test. It is a look at some aspects of the immune system's ability to fight off infection, and so a general immune deficiency ICD code is generall used on the test request form, such as 279.3 - Unspecified immunity deficiency."

So .... if I understand correctly, the test is to see how your immune system is acting against the infection.  Over time and with more testing, it helps the docs indirectly see how you're doing fighting off the infection.  It's not a direct measure of Lyme or how strong the infection is.  Some docs use it, some don't, I gather from what I have read.

It's fair to ask your doc to tell you what s/he sees in the test results.