What bands are associated with lyme?

Hi - I posted a response to your other thread as well, but I just wanted to let you know there's a post in the "New to Lyme" thread that breaks down all the different bands.

Hi Defygravity,
First of all, you're not a dummy!! There is a lot to learn! Having Lyme can actually make is a lot harder to learn all of this, so be patient with yourself!! We understand and are here to help along the way!

Band 41 is positive for the 'tail' of the spirochete or the "flagella" - it's the part that makes it move about. Unfortunately, this is not unique to Lyme, as there are other infectious agents that have flagella as well.

Indeterminate means that they have found something, but not enough to call it a positive - but it's some of that one protein. I feel that it's like a weak pregnancy test, you're still pregnant, it's just not very detectable for some reason. Lyme can overwhelm the body so that the body doesn't produce antibodies to the infection, and that's what these tests rely on - antibodies.

In the case of a Western Blot, the test shows the 'bands' and the results appear as a small bar with the bar being anywhere from non-existent to gray to dark black -the darker the bar, the 'more' positive the test is considered. Here is a link to a site that has a picture of a Western Blot so you can see what I'm so clumsily trying to describe:
lymediseaseguide.org/western-blot-test

Did you may have meant "osp" rather than "opc" possibly? Osp refers to Outer Surface Protein, and so you may have seen Osp C -which means Outer surface protein C -which is highly predictive of Lyme.

Sooo, have I confused you more????

My 'story' is quite long and complex as I was first infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) at the age of 7 yrs old. I have always spent many many hours each week outdoors, playing when I was a kid, and working as an adult, so I've have who knows how many ticks attach to me, infecting me over and over again with the different infections that they can carry.

It is assumed that I have Lyme, RMSF, Bartonella, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma and possibly Anaplasmosis. Three years ago I tested positive for Lyme and RMSF twice, but I have the symptoms of all of the other infections as well. I saw my first Lyme Literate Medical Doctor in 2007 at the age of 44 and spent a full year on abx. This was a very bad move for me, and I ended up bed-bound and with serious cognitive issues, tons and tons of pain, and "crashing" physically.

I started seeing a Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture/Western Herbalist 1 1/2 yrs ago. It took her 5 months of working with me to get me stabilized enough to where she felt like I could handle treatment. Since that time I have only used one prescription that I still use for something to help with my sleep - everything else I take is Herbal, Homeopathic, or from Chinese medicine - not counting the acupuncture. I call her my Acu doc!! She has done wonders for me. I have a bit of a life (outside of the forum even!!), and I can play with my 2yr old grandson, and can generally function in a subdued, but almost "normal" fashion.

Other peoples stories are found among the posts, which you can search through by using the search function here on this forum. The tab for search is at the top of every page in the same blue bar as the "log in/out" tab is found, but on the right side of it. You can also find out a lot about what others have found helpful in their treatments to deal with certain symptoms by using our search function.

As for the flagella, there are just too many different bacteria that have this tail to list! Not only bacteria have flagella either. Of course it's possible to NOT have Lyme, and we aren't doctors so we can't tell you if you actually do or not. The only thing we can say is from what you are telling us, it sounds like you may (or may not ) have these infections - but you still have to get checked out by a knowledgeable doctor.

As you stated, IgM indicates an old or reactivate infection - so you have an infection, as you had two bands show up. Now this completely misses the point though of you should be diagnosed by your symptoms, as Lyme is an expert at stopping the body from producing the antibodies that are required for a positive result on those tests. For example, I didn't test positive on any tests until after I had spent an entire year on abx! Being on an appropriate dose of abx (usually 400 - 600 mgs of Doxycycline) for about 6 weeks is generally enough for most people to lower the bacteria load well enough so that the body will produce those coveted (LOL) antibodies. - Oops, I'm rambling! So sorry!

As for the Fibro, I was diagnosed with it with 18 out of 18 points testing "positive", although it was the Lyme and co-infections that were creating all of the pain in my body. There are over 300 other diseases/conditions that are regularly misdiagnosed when in reality it's Lyme disease. Not every case that has a few of the symptoms is Lyme, but when there are more than just a couple of symptoms that match up, it's wise to check to be sure it's not a Lyme infection.

You said that your thyroid med stopped working, what do you mean? What kind of issues are you having with your thyroid? Many Lyme patients do have issues with their thyroids, the most common being Hashimoto's thyroiditis - which is what I have as well.

One thing with Lyme and co-infections is that everything is very much individual. There is no one size fits most type of treatment, and a person can easily overwhelm their bodies with doing 'too much at once'. It's generally best to start and stop things one at a time so that the body doesn't get so overwhelmed and cause even more issues or symptoms. I use Homeopathic remedies for my Adrenal and Thyroid and they work quite well for me.

I hope I've been able to answer at least a few more questions for you.

Hi Nanci,

TBI stands for Tick Borne Infection.

The Master Symptom list is the list we have posted in the "New to Lyme?" thread which can be found at the top of the forum.

You mentioned that you have gum disease. The bacteria that causes gum disease also has a flagella and shows up on Band 41 of the Western Blot test.

Don't worry about "bothering" us -- we're here to answer questions and provide what support we can!

Hope you get some treatment to help you soon.