HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

My daughter's Igenex test results, need help interpreting

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 7/18/2012 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
Western Blot - showing positive or ind markers:

IGM
39 ind
41 ++

IGG
39 +
41+++
58+

Multiplex PCR test, whole blood and serum both show negative.

Not sure what it means, really. Looks like she's positive, so why would both PCR tests show negative?

Thanks for any help!
Posted 7/18/2012 4:36 AM (GMT 0)
The Western Blot measures antibodies generated by the immune system, whereas PCR measures DNA of the Lyme bacteria itself.

PCR will only be positive if some Lyme happens to have gotten into the sample that was drawn...so a negative PCR cannot rule out Lyme.

Band 39 is extremely specific to Lyme, so yes, I'd consider this to be a positive test and recommend taking your daughter to an LLMD.

Take care,
Posted 7/18/2012 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
I only had one band reactive--band 39. My dr stared treatment ASAP.
Posted 7/18/2012 6:16 PM (GMT 0)
Five of the starred bands must be positive for a technical positive diagnosis. The thing about testing is that its known to give a lot of false negatives, so if you can manage to test positive, that's helpful, but these tests cannot be relied on, and will not be, for diagnosis by a true LLMD who makes a clinical diagnosis.

Part of the problem with this testing is that the lyme bug is fantastic at evading immune detection - which is what this tests for, whether your immune system recognizes the infection. Part of the goal of our treatment is to get the immune system to be able to fight this thing off itself.

Here's a good old thread - explains some stuff about the specific bands:

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=2092600
Posted 7/18/2012 9:55 PM (GMT 0)
All these Lyme tests are ridiculous. I paid out of pocket $400 to have every band tested, along with CD57. My CD57 was 72, I had (+) IgM 23 band, and everything else came back negative. Thank God (!) my NP had me do another test $420 that is some kind of special blood stain. I believe it was GIEMSA (?) I forget. At any rate, the lab sends you back a photo of the lab slide with your infected blood on it! I have had very few symptoms compared to most but looking at my slide you would think I was gravely ill! According to that slide my NP estimates I've been infected for 3-5 years. If I did not have this literal proof of having infection, NONE of my doctors would have listened to me. I am in an area with very high Lymes epidemic and the medical community still has their heads up their a**!! I'm embarrassed for them. My neurologist suggested it was my anxiety!
At any rate, if you want info on the lab that does these blood stains send me an e-mail and I will give it to you as I don't believe we are allowed to post docs names on here.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply