So far... weak positive on ELISA test

Hello everyone,

My name is David and im from Dublin, Ireland.

Ive been battling with the symptoms of Lyme disease progressively for 5 years now.

It began with swallowing problems 5 years ago and now I have every single symptom of Lyme disease.

Every specialist ive cannot explain my symptoms, cardiologist, endocrinologist, GP, ER chief etc.

All my tests, including many X-rays, MRIs, endoscopy, barium swallow tests and probably over 50 blood tests all say that im a picture of health.

Except for my Lyme blood test, which was came back with a weak positive result ten days ago.

I have since given another blood sample which is being sent for another test.

Two days ago I was put on 100mg of doxycycline per day for a throat infection by my regular doctor (GP) and
am feeling terrible.

Does this look like I have finally found the problem or am I getting my hopes up?

Kind regards
David

Jetski - if you enable your email, then forum members can send you information. We can't post Dr.'s names on the forum.

Hi David,

Any positive Lyme test should be taken seriously because it is hard to test positive. Lyme weakens our immune systems and makes it hard for us to test positive, especially in chronic cases.

As for your term "weak," it's like being "sort of" pregnant. Either you are or you are not. Thus, a positive result is a positive and should not be dismissed.

For my first test, I had a positive ELISA and negative Western Blot. I later tested positive through IGENEX after going to an LLMD. All my other tests were normal. Lyme was the only logical explanation for my symptoms.

With your "positive" test, ongoing symptoms and reaction to doxycycline, it is likely that you have Lyme and possible co-infections. Lyme almost always travels with co-infections, which may need other antibiotics and/or other treatments besides doxy.

It is important to find a "Lyme Literate" ("LL") doctor because your doctor is not likely to give you more than a month of doxy. A lot of people don't get better with a month of doxy. Their symptoms can later come out with a vengeance.

You're much better off getting to an LLMD now. I hope someone can help you find a "LL" doctor near Dublin. Good luck! Keep us posted. :)

That's great!

I'm not sure about the labs in Ireland, but a lot of labs in the US are not very good at detecting Lyme. Are you familiar with IGENEX or other labs specialized in Lyme testing? An LL doctor will know where to send your blood for testing and can order this for you.

Definitely get in to see an LL doctor as soon as you can. I don't think you will regret it. Let us know how you're doing. I wish you the best! :)