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Posted 5/22/2014 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
Greetings, Everyone.

I'm so glad I found this site.  I'm not sure "if" I have Lymes, as the doctor seemed as confused as I am (if not MORE SO) when she called me.  I asked her to fax the test results over to me so I have could have a better look and they have only confused me more.

I am a 48 year old female.  Sadly, I admit, I have been gardening and removing engorged ticks from my person for quite some time.  I always went by the belief "if I can see the tick, it's too big to be the kind to worry about."  I know, I know...shame on me.

After getting a hard, red (no bulls eye) rash after a tick removal two weeks ago I decided to mention it to the doctor on a routine visit and blood was drawn.

The call I received today was, "Well, your not positive and your not negative."  (insert...dropped jaw confusion here)

She said they want to retest me in one month.  No treatment.  Call if you have a problem.

This is what I have and I'm sorry if this is more info than you need.

Lyme IgG/IgM Ab     1.32 index  (high)   0.00-0.90 index

Lyme Ab Interp, EIA        Positive          

Lyme, Western Blot, Serum

All IgG:

P93  absent

P66  absent

P58  absent

P45  absent

P41  absent

P39  absent

P30  absent

P28  absent

P26  absent

P23  absent

P18  absent

Lyme IgG WB Interp  :  Negative (three out of five bands...must be positive for five)

IgM P41   absent

IgM P39   absent

IgM P23 Negative

Lyme Disease Ab, Quant, IgM   0.95 index     *High     0.00-0.90 index

With all these absents I read this as negative, but do not understand what the two highs and a positive would mean.

Early, early stage??  Old infection?  Any insight is welcome.   I promise... I will be here reading these threads all evening.

THANK YOU for your time.

Nonni

 

Posted 5/22/2014 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Nonni. I would be very adamant in demanding a script for Doxy for a minimum of 4 weeks even if you have no symptoms. Your Western Blot may have been negative but with a positive ELISA you should really be treated to be on the safe side. Once Lyme is disseminated it becomes very difficult to treat so waiting is basically rolling the dice with your health.

The WB isn't an accurate test especially only 2 weeks after a tick bite. Your body doesn't make antibodies right away so you need to wait 3-4 weeks and even then most Western Blots aren't very accurate. Most of us here use a specialty lab called IGeneX for the WB as they're known to be more accurate and don't trust the conventional labs like Quest and Labcorp.

Good luck and hope you don't end up here for long.
Posted 5/22/2014 7:31 PM (GMT 0)
ToddPaul,

I cannot thank you enough for your quick response. It's all so confusing. I'll do a bunch of reading to arm myself and call the doctor back in the morning. If nothing else, will ask about this IGeneX test when I call back.

Aside from the new tick bite, I was worried this could be something from years past that I ignored or didn't notice.

Again, thank you for the advice. I've known so many people to be treated here in New Hampshire if they were bitten at all, let alone "something" "anything" coming back positive on a blood test.

Nonni
Posted 5/22/2014 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Todd is right, best not to ignore it.

I was given 10 days with the rash and tested negative so I never thought anything of it and my health slowly degraded until I became very ill. That is a high titer for lyme so I think that is enough that you can argue and they really should give it to you without any questions asked.
Posted 5/22/2014 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Opugirl! Part of me was thinking...well, I've waited this long... (yes...shame on me again) But, you folks are convincing me even with all these "absents" on my not so fabulous test... I need to be far more proactive.

I was just reading through the new member list of symptoms. I can see where it can be hard to diagnose, since I've been blaming SO MANY that I have on getting older... hhhmmmmm

THANK YOU
Posted 5/23/2014 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum Nonni! I'm glad you found us so you can get moving on your healing. I'm glad you found the new member thread. Follow some of the diet suggestions on there to start building up your immune system. I wish you a successful healing!
Posted 5/23/2014 11:00 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Garden Peace.

It's all a bit confusing and overwhelming especially since the doctor told me "You're positive...but, you not... but, from what I've read here so far...that is not unusual. :(

Healing prayers for everyone. Thank you for the kind welcome.

Nonni
Posted 5/23/2014 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
It can be very overwhelming when you're new to it. I hope you get the answers you need.
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