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lyme disease mimicking an autoimmune disease?!

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Posted 11/5/2014 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
oh gosh i bet im the only who who wants to have lyme disease right now. I saw a tick in my apartment 2 years ago and i had been bit by fleas i had a CDC neg and Igenex positive lyme test. but i have a positive ana and symptoms now showing of scleroderma. im freaking out right now. the rheumie says he saw no sign of scleroderma but i have the ana nucleolar and i have some red dots and whiteness over my knuckles and dry eyes. can lyme cause an auto immune disease or mimick it? im in a pickle here i can continue my lyme treatment but i wanted to see a sclero expert and the treatment is immunosuppressants and chemo which is bad for lyme obvioustly.

does any one know what i should do ? can lyme cause an auto immune or mimick scleroderma ?

Posted 11/5/2014 8:47 PM (GMT 0)
forgot my lyme test was as follow
31 +++
34 +
39 IND
41 ++
58 ++
83-93 IND
Posted 11/5/2014 9:44 PM (GMT 0)
We have never dealt with scleroderma but before treatment out daughter had several positive ANA (speckled type; associated with SLE, Sjögren syndrome, scleroderma) tests return.

After treatment for positive bartonella and IND lyme (through Igenex) she is now testing negative for ANA.
Posted 11/5/2014 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
my first was mac lab only positive was 41 then i went with igenex and i got the results i posted above which was a positive test. i heard on igenex 31 and 34 can cross react with epsten barr and cytolomegalovirus . i atleast have had the epsten barr virus. so idk im hoping its lyme
Posted 11/6/2014 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, Lyme can definitely mimic autoimmune. If you have a positive Igenex test, you have Lyme
Posted 11/6/2014 6:45 PM (GMT 0)
LOL! Hi fnfiacco! I've hoped it was "just" Lyme too!!

Yes, Lyme mimics autoimmune diseases - I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis while I was infected the first time around, but during the 2 years that I was healed from these infections, I had no signs of it.

A positive ANA doesn't mean any specific disease, although it is used to screen for some nasty ones. "ANA are a group of autoantibodies produced by a person's immune system when it fails to adequately distinguish between "self" and "nonself." They target substances found in the nucleus of a cell and cause organ and tissue damage."
labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ana/tab/test/

With those test results, I would seek out Lyme treatment and be done with all of those symptoms! Do you have referrals? We can likely help you with that if you wish.
Posted 11/7/2014 10:14 AM (GMT 0)
I don't think people who have been suffering for awhile with Lyme would now look back and say that they are "hoping it's lyme". Unfortunately, it's seen as a "light" diagnosis as compared to other chronic illnesses and I think that is perpetuated by the medical industry. I read that it can mimic 350 conditions and what my husband suffers from...ALS.. is one of them. I believe it can very well be the root cause of this autoimmune disease. Whether it mimics it or causes it doesn't matter...ALS still a frightening diagnosis so just his situation...he was tested postive for Lyme two years ago....makes one think twice before hoping for a Lyme diagnosis. His may not be so common, but there are many people out there, including on this forum, who have suffered horribly with Lyme/co-infections. The variables are incredible which is why it is so difficult to diagnose clinically. It's a common misconception though so you are not alone.
Posted 11/7/2014 10:22 AM (GMT 0)
I want to add though in one sense it was good that we discovered my husband has Lyme. It meant his illness is treatable so in that sense we did hope it was Lyme....but only because of the fatal prognosis.
Posted 11/7/2014 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
Lyme mimics autoimmune diseases, but in some cases also brings out the real thing. For instance, one of the autoimmune diseases I now have is arthritis - and I tested positive for the gene so would have dealt with it eventually.

Post Edited (RTF) : 11/7/2014 9:17:45 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/7/2014 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
I think the only thing that is meant by those that say they hope it's "Just Lyme" has a lot to do with at least they now know what they are dealing with and it has a treatment with a hope of healing - not that it's no big deal to live with or treat.

When I was reinfected, I went from being horrified, to angry to being grateful to that it was "just Lyme" and not something else that I would have to learn how to deal with.

I seriously doubt any disrespect to the dangers and the difficulty of living and treating these infections was/were meant.
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