One band postive?

If I am not mistaken, I have read that band 41 can be specific for co-infection erlichiosis. As a matter of fact, elevated liver enzymes and low white blood count are very specific to erlichiosis. I would do some research on that. I have tested positive for it with a high ratio - 1:320. What symptoms have you been battling?

Did he test for that co-infection?

PSR1- As far as I know, most LLMD's don't test for erlicha, as many of the drugs used to treat Lyme also treat both erlicha and mycoplasma. (I think Doxycycline is the one that works best....maybe...)

As for the testing- Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis. LLMD's do the blood test in the hopes of getting further proof, but you can have a negative blood test and still have Lyme disease. Something like 30% of people infected will test negative. It's unfortunate- because I know I was really hoping for a positive blood test, to give myself some certainty.

My test has only 41 ++ and 39 IND, so what my LLMD recommended was starting antibiotics, and re-testing in a month. If I had a significant reaction to treatment (a herx OR and improvement), or if my re-test was positive, he would feel confident it was Lyme. My re-test was identical to my first test. but I had a very strong reaction to treatment (I felt like crap for a month), so he continued treating me. If neither had happened, I don't know if he would have stopped treating me, but he would have re-evaluated more carefully. However, some LLMD's would have considered my test "positive", as band 39 is very specific to Lyme- so there is variation between Dr.'s

From what I know about band 41, it can cross-react with other things, but the two most common are gum disease and syphilis, so if you don't have either of those, than Lyme is the most likely reason for it to show up.


Also- testing for Babesia and bartonella is as unreliable as testing for Lyme, if not more so. Did your Dr get a completed list of your symptoms? If they did, they probably cross-referenced them against co-infection symptoms.

Anyway, the end point is that while a positive test means it is Lyme for sure, a negative test doesn't mean anything either way (which sucks). If I were you, I would talk to your LLMD. If might be that he is treating you for co-infections (or at least aware of them), but forgot to tell you (or just didn't think it was necessary to tell you). It would also be good to get his opinion on the test. Whe? is your next appointment?

Nicky

Zithromax is not used to treat Bartonella. Levaquin and Rifampin are used to treat Bart. Zithromax or Biaxin is usually used in conjuction with Mepron or Malorone to treat Babesia.