Is dark field microscopy reliable?

I do my own blood microscopy (see blood microscopy threads) and have for almost 3 years now. I am able to do brightfield, darkfield, phase contrast, and fluorescent microscopy. My experience, and the experiences of others, show that it is very difficult to determine if something is Bartonella or not in live blood. Same with Babesia or the other coinfections. Live blood is VERY useful for seeing spirochetes, but the best way to find the coinfections yourself is by Giemsa stain or acridine orange (fluorescent stain). At least there is bonafide medical literature to compare with when doing Giemsa (& acridine orange) smears. With live blood there is almost no authoritative literature out there. BUT, unless one is using a specific DNA probe for the organism they are looking for, it is still a bit of a guessing game as to what one is seeing even with Giemsa or acridine orange, especially when it comes to specifying to the species level. IFA specific tests, PCR, FISH, or DNA probes are the only way to know with certainty what you are viewing. And those can only be done at a lab.

So, darkfield is a good way to find out if you are infected with Borrelia, but NOTHING else (in my own experience).

Staining is a good place to start when looking for coinfections, but if you want to know with certainty the exact species, you will need to have a reputable, good lab like Igenex look at your blood. Igenex's FISH & IFA tests are not 100% accurate, but it's the best we have presently. I personally don't think PCR is sensitive enough to rely upon.

Traneboy said...
darn, so there's like no real way to know if you are infected with coinfections, besides your symptoms? My doc said that he could run a course with antibiotics for 5 years and i would still not be treated, if i didn't take the exact antibiotic that treats a specific coinfection. Like doxy is useless for bart, but good for borrelia. And how will he then treat me?

Testing is not 100% but can be very helpful.

I think it's best to use all the tools and clues a person has at their disposal. So, dependable labs like Igenex is great. Do as many tests as you can afford. Also, get the best and most knowledgeable doctor you can afford because a good Lyme literate doctor who has lots of experience will be extremely helpful in discerning your symptoms and will have a reasonable idea of what is causing what. And, lastly, doing as much as you can on your own in the way of keeping good records of your symptoms (journaling) and doing as much as you can in the way of searching for the infections yourself by way of microscopy will not only help give you a better idea of what you may be dealing with, but may also further the understanding of Lyme disease and it's coinfections as a whole. Every amateur microscopist adds a little bit more to the understanding of this horrible and complex set of infections generically referred to as Lyme Disease.

Get a microscope! You'll be amazed at how helpful & addictive microscopy is!