Help with test results

My CD 57 was 48 when i was diagnosed by my llnp. My wife was diagnosed with lyme at about the same time. Here is what my llnd wrote about me.:

"On the surface your results present only a mildly positive indication of lyme. However, CD57 at levels below 100 and particularly below 60 represent chronic lyme. A low cd57 level represents deficient immune system that is specific to lyme, which differentiates from other similar presenting conditions.such as MS, systemic luuupus, or rhumatoid arthritis where cd57 levels are not depressed. Commonly, with a depressed CD57 level, the immune system is also not strong enough to present a strong positive to lyme and coinfection tests, and therefore the negative tests that we see wityh you could actually be an indication of a more severe condition. Hence the negative results could potentially be showing as false negative, rather than true negative."

With regards to my wife's igenix test, her cd57 level was 66and she showed positive in 3 coinfections. the llnp wrote aboout her that her results are definately positive for lyme. He concludes writing diagnosis as follows:

"On the surface, wife's results seem a lot more severe than xfmlg's but this could be that xfmlg's results are possiblyfalsely negative due to a more deficient immne system where his cd57 is 48 compared to the wife's at 66."

Both wife and i have been in treatment initially with antibiotics for about a month and then we shifted to strictly herbal and supplements. My reactions to this treatment has been much more severe with continual major herxing problems while wife has been just coasting along with by now some improvements over her initial conditions. My painful herxing reaction is causing my llnd concern because one of these herxes is a heart slow down heart arythmia where the pulse is significantly slower but it is erratic and beats that do occur are almost earthshattering when they hit. When this herx first hit while i was in bed one night, i thought that there was an eartquake in progress where it was actually my own pulse that was causing my mattress to shake.

My lyme history is that i figure i got the lyme present from my mom at my birth, but then 10 yers ago i got a booster shot of lyme with a tick bite that produced the bull's eye rash. With this rash, i went to my regular doctor asking if this was lyme, and he said i have nothing to worry about, and that there are lots of other insect bites that cause this rash, and he thus did not instigate any treatment as a result of this rash. I am finally dealing with reality now that i have lyme.

The way i see it, Jessie, based on my experience, you have lyme and so just start the treatments that you and your your medic have in mind. xfmlg

HI Jessiejax!
Welcome to our community!

Yes, I would be very concerned with a doctor calling themselves a LLMD and not starting you on treatments right away with those results, especially when combined with your symptoms! Even the CDC states: "Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful if used correctly and performed with validated methods."
www.cdc.gov/Lyme/

As for your test results, here is the site that I use to help interpret them:www.reocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/western-blot.txt

An IgM result means that you have an active infection. It once was thought to mean an 'early' infection, but has since been revised. IgG means that the infection is at a later stage.

The more +'s you have beside a number, the stronger the reaction.

IND means indeterminate - not negative, but not quite strong enough to be "fully positive". But it means that you reacted on those bands and should be considered, especially when they are Lyme specific bands.

A "Lyme specific band" means specific for Borrelia Burgdorferi, sensu stricto - Lyme disease in the strictest sense. There is only one on the over 300 known strains of Lyme that is considered Bb, ss.


Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.

The bands that you showed positive for are all Lyme specific bands except for band 41. Let me explain:

Bands 23 - 25 indicated OspC - Outer Surface protein "C" with band 25 being specific for Lyme.

Band 31 indicates OspA - Outer Surface Protein "A" - Lyme specific.

Band 39 - BmpA - Bacterial Membrane Protein "A", specific to Lyme.


For information on finding a LLMD in your area that would actually treat you with those results & symptoms, you can start a new thread titled something like:"Looking for LLMD/LLND in the _______ area." Although you will need to enable your email option in your profile in order to receive any recommendations, as we don't allow doctor's names and contact info to be posted on the forum for several reasons. You can enable your email option in your profile, under 'edit profile'. Be sure to click the submit button to actually save your preference.

​You can send me an email by clicking on my screen name or the small blue envelop under my screen name. I may have contact information for some LLMD's in your area as well.​ ​Please include your state and area that you would like to find a LLMD in and I will see how close I can get.​


You can email Stephanie at: [email protected] You can also go to: www.turnthecorner.org/ if you want to learn a little bit more about Lyme Disease.

You can also go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link: www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74

​ You can also now email TBDA (Tick Borne Disease Alliance) at [email protected]​
​ and ask for LLMD referrals also.
​
You will want to find an ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) trained doctor, as ID Docs (Infectious Disease Doctors) believe Lyme is hard to catch and easy to treat, and don't believe in the reality of chronic Lyme. Go to the ILADS site to read the new (2014) Treatment guidelines to get you started on your Lyme journey.www.ilads.org/lyme/ILADS_Guidelines.pdf

And realize that you are not alone in this!! You now have all of us to help you through this!