Is it worth it to be tested and treated for Lymes

Hi almost medfree,

I think it's great that you are questioning lyme disease. Knowledgeable doctors will look at your symptoms without a blood test. Personally I wanted the blood test for my own peace of mind.

When I was sick doctors would send my blood to local labs and the results were negative which I couldn't understand since I had so many symptoms. Five years later or so a doctor sent my blood to IgeneX in Palo Alto, CA and I tested positive for lyme and ehrlichia. I had wondered why my results from the other labs didn't test positive and I found this out:

When local labs make there lyme probes they used rabbit antigens from 2 strains of Lyme.

IgeneX uses samples from human lyme patients from all over the United States and Europe and from patients who had early, middle and late stage lyme.

Also, when a western blot is done there is an acidic gel that is used to separate out the bands. Most labs use a 10% gel. IgeneX uses a 12.5% gel so they get better separation of the bands.

That said, no test is 100% accurate but I believe IgeneX is more accurate than most. Perhaps other members have more information about other labs that are also more accurate compared to local labs.

I hope this helps a bit,
Denise

You are quite welcome almost medfree!

Since I was diagnosed I have been healed for over 12 years now. First my doctor prescribed an antibiotic (Doxycyline) for 6 months but I only took it for about 2 months or so because they made me sick to my stomach (most of the Doxy ended up in the toilet bowl).

Then I tried different remedies such as silver, Nutramedix Samento (part of the Cowden protocol), and other things but I didn't feel any better.

I joined a forum (not this one) and members were talking about a book that came out written by Dr. Jernigan called "Beating Lyme Disease". Some members were already using his remedies and another member went to his clinic in Kansas and had fantastic results. So I bought the book because it contained a "healing at home" protocol which I followed and I honestly think I was just plain lucky that it worked for me. If it didn't work I had planned on going to his clinic called the Hansa Center.

Another reason why I chose to use Dr. J's remedies was because he grows them himself as well as tests them using BioResonance Scanning. He travels all over the world looking for plants that he tests for chronic illnesses to make sure they will work. I didn't want to buy herbs that were made in China or other places because I don't trust these manufacturing plants but that's another story.

It wasn't only the remedies that helped (that was the easy part) but I incorporated a detox routine (which I still continue because I believe I live in a toxic world), detox baths, dry skin brushing, foot baths, coffee enemas, internal cleansing, drinking home made bone broth, eating as healthy as I can afford to, etc.

I also addressed the stressors in my life which included divorcing my ex-husband, then moving to another state which is more peaceful, etc.

Yes indeedy, lots of information and I hope it helps,
Denise