Pirouette said...
Hi floridadude---
I'm not sure about TGF Beta 1. I hope someone can come along to share good info on that.
However, I'll share that for multiple reasons the C3a and C4a tests, along with the CD57 tests (which you didn't mention but are very commonly administered) don't always tell you what you need to know.
MDs want to use these tests to determine immune response in order to identify whether or not your immune system is struggling and/or to determine if, after a certain period of treatment has transpired, if it is still struggling. A struggling immune system (or, say, a low CD57 result) is suspected to be a "co-indicator" for lyme since it causes an infection. Same, theoretically, with C3a and C4a---indicative of how well your immune system is functioning.
However, studies are showing that the Bb microbe can cause an atypical immune response and can hide from the immune system. There are other issues that are less understood.
For instance, one MD did an experiment on his patients--he tested their blood a couple time a day over several days. He found that not only did the results lack a correlation between "wellness" (he found low CD57 numbers in fairly asymptomatic patients and high CD57 numbers in patients who had many symptoms) and he found that the CD57 scores varied in the same patient over the course of the day.
Many MDs still administer these tests to either determine a baseline before/after treatment (although I don't think this means a whole lot) and/or to satisfy insurance requirements (and eventually, insurance co's aren't going to find these tests all that indicative of infection, either).
You have probably already been notified or have read here that none of the tests for the coinfections are reliable. So, we often have to go through the motions to satisfy insurance purposes but a good LLMD/ND will know how to diagnose you clinically (and, despite what the IDSA wants you to think, MDs are directed to diagnose clinically and not solely based on these tests).
WRT your specific question about your symptoms "I still lack the classic Lyme symptoms. I have no pain, brain symptoms, or fatigue at all. I do have muscle twitches, sleep disturbances, GI problems, numb hands when waking and other more mild symptoms."
---my response is, the sx you do have ARE classic lyme sx. You don't have ALL of them (thankfully) but you have them. Sorry, dude...
-p
Thanks P. Yes I know those listed symptoms are found in Lyme, but are they not also found in Bartonella? Bart was/is my main suspect, not Lyme. I have yet to read one of one Lymie patient who has no fatigue, no brain symptoms, no pain, and no symptoms that come and go [mine do not come and go or wax and wane].
Hence my suspicion of Bartonella and Babesia [Igenex positive for Babs, no Babs symptoms at all though].
Also, my Armin Labs elispot test was negative for every form of Borrelia he tests for.