Hi Jlightman,
Welcome to our community!! I'm sorry for not posting sooner, I was away this weekend.
The first test you listed, which I believe was from the ELISA test, says that anything above 80 is a positive, and you have 80, so you have tested positive for Lyme disease. If the doc wants to quibble over one point, then it's time to find another doc - a LLMD (Lyme Literate Medical Doctor) that has been trained by ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society).
As for the Western Blot test results, here is the site that I use to help interpret them:
www.reocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/western-blot.txtAn IgM result means that you have an active infection. It once was thought to mean an 'early' infection, but has since been revised. IgG means that the infection is at a later stage.
The more +'s you have beside a number, the stronger the reaction.
IND means indeterminate - not negative, but not quite strong enough to be "fully positive". But it means that you reacted on those bands and should be considered, especially when they are Lyme specific bands.
A "Lyme specific band" means specific for Borrelia Burgdorferi, sensu stricto - Lyme disease in the strictest sense. There is only
one on the over 300 known strains of Lyme that is considered Bb, ss.
Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.
Other than that, you tested positive on bands 31 and 39 - both of which are Lyme specific.
Band 31 indicates OspA, Outer Surface Protein "A"
Band 39 indicates BmpA , Bacterial Membrane Protein "A"
So not much doubt that you have Lyme disease. You can use the symptom lists in the "New to Lyme? Start here!" thread to evaluate your symptoms to help see if you have co-infections as well. The testing for them isn't very reliable either. There is a ton of other very helpful information in that thread as well and I too would greatly encourage you to read through it.
For information on finding a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor(LLMD) in your area, you can start a new thread titled something like:"Looking for LLMD/LLND in the _______ area." Although you will need to enable your email option in your profile in order to receive any recommendations, as we don't allow doctor's names and contact info to be posted on the forum for several reasons. You can enable your email option in your profile, under 'edit profile'. Be sure to click the submit button to actually save your preference.
You can send me an email by clicking on my screen name or the small blue envelop under my screen name. I may have contact information for some LLMD's in your area as well. Please include your state and area that you would like to find a LLMD in and I will see how close I can get.
You can email Stephanie at:
[email protected] You can also go to:
www.turnthecorner.org/ if you want to learn a little bit more about
Lyme Disease.
You can also go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link:
www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74 You can also now email TBDA (Tick Borne Disease Alliance) at
[email protected]
and ask for LLMD referrals also.
You will want to find an ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) trained doctor, as ID Docs (Infectious Disease Doctors) believe Lyme is hard to catch and easy to treat, and don't believe in the reality of chronic Lyme. Go to the ILADS site to read the new (2014) Treatment guidelines to get you started on your Lyme journey.
www.ilads.org/lyme/ILADS_Guidelines.pdf