Lyme test results - question

cheerful1_gw

9 years ago

I got my Lyme results back. One of the bands( #58) was positive, the rest negative.

My doctor considers me as testing negative for Lyme.

I can't figure out what Band 58 is, and why it tested positive.

Featured Answer

dowlinggram

9 years ago

My friend had lyme disease for months before the medical profession decided that's what he had. He didn't test positive but he always felt terrible so he finally looked up the symptoms and he had all of them. He took this info to his doctor and he did some pushing. The doctor finally admitted that it was possible and started medication. He's feeling better now but sorry he had to go through an ordeal before treatment.

My advice is that if you have the symptoms then push for treatment despite the test results

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Comments (6)

Chessie
9 years ago
http://www.publichealthalert.org/lyme-western-blots-made-easy.html

Google is your friend.
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kitasei
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The problem with your advice, dowlinggram, is that a course of antibiotics will also make a person with arthritis and many other things feel better (temporarily). It won't confirm the lyme diagnosis. Not that I'm disagreeing with idea of trying it anyway. I have had and been treated several times for lyme after known tick bites, but when I had a bout of the aches and malaise and asked the doctor for the antibiotic treatment just in case, he dissuaded me. There is a raging debate between mainstream medicine, which rejects the idea of chronic lyme and the dangers of overtreating, and a minority that is sympathetic to patients complaining of recurring symptoms and pleading for more antibiotics. The latter are swamped with patients of course. My doctor is the first school, and I trusted him that unless it was a new case of lyme, to let my own immune system have a chance to fight back. A lengthy article in the New Yorker some years ago discussed the two approaches.

I realize this doesn't answer the question about the test results. For that I'd consult the lab or perhaps the Lyme Center in Valhalla, NY. Gary Wormser is the expert.
Chessie
9 years ago
The problem with waiting until test results, to treat, is that by the time you can get results that are meaningful, the infection has progressed to a possibly more harmful stage. If you have the symptoms, even with no rash ( I had no rash and not even any indication of a tick bite) and have been in woody or grassy areas, then your dr. should immediately begin treatment.

During the first few weeks of infection, such as when a patient has an erythema migrans rash, the test is expected to be negative.

Several weeks after infection, currently available ELISA, EIA and IFA tests and two-tier testing have very good sensitivity.

It is possible for someone who was infected with Lyme disease to test negative because:
1. Some people who receive antibiotics (e.g., doxycycline) early in disease (within the first few weeks after tick bite) may not develop antibodies or may only develop them at levels too low to be detected by the test.
2. Antibodies against Lyme disease bacteria usually take a few weeks to develop, so tests performed before this time may be negative even if the person is infected. In this case, if the person is retested a few weeks later, they should have a positive test if they have Lyme disease. It is not until 4 to 6 weeks have passed that the test is likely to be positive. This does not mean that the test is bad, only that it needs to be used correctly.
Patients treated with antibiotics in the early stages of the infection usually recover rapidly and completely. Most patients who are treated in later stages of the disease also respond well to antibiotics, although some may have suffered long-term damage to the nervous system or joints. It is not uncommon for patients treated for Lyme disease with a recommended 2 to 4 week course of antibiotics to have lingering symptoms of fatigue, pain, or joint and muscle aches at the time they finish treatment. In a small percentage of cases, these symptoms can last for more than 6 months. These symptoms cannot be cured by longer courses of antibiotics, but they generally improve on their own, over time.

“I have to use clinical judgement quite often in early Lyme,” said Dr. Daniel Cameron, who leads a private practice specializing in Lyme in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., and has been treating Lyme for 30 years. “But there are doctors who are still waiting for that [positive] test, and if they can’t confirm it with a test, they’re reluctant to diagnose Lyme, and they don’t treat.

https://www.statnews.com/2017/06/28/early-lyme-tests/

Most people infected with Lyme develop the disease’s hallmark bull’s-eye rash — a painless red circle surrounding the bite — shortly after being infected. Yet people with the rash often test negative for Lyme because it can take up to a month for the body to produce enough antibodies to be detected by the Lyme disease blood test.

That’s why if you have the rash and were recently bitten or exposed to deer ticks, you don’t need to be tested but instead should be immediately prescribed antibiotics. Prompt treatment with two to three weeks of the drugs usually clears up the infection.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/testing-for-lyme-disease-is-often-unnecessary-and-leads-to-inappropriate-care/2013/09/16/ace889f8-0440-11e3-9259-e2aafe5a5f84_story.html?utm_term=.4dd50e114f88
kitasei
9 years ago
I agree with all of the above, and want to make clear that the reluctance to treat with antibiotics i was talking about was repeat courses (as you explained better than I).
AR Ar
8 years ago
DEAR cheerful1_gw

I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT YOU SINCE 1 YEAR REGARDING HIGH FSH , LH , PROLACTIN ESTRADIOL POST MENOPAUSE -MY LEVELS ARE SIMILAR TO YOURS . I WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS WITH YOU . IT'S URGENT . PLS REPLY-REGARDS PINKYPOP

Lyme test results - question

dowlinggram

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