2 of 10 bands positive on WB. Is it lyme?

I have been dealing with a variety of issues that all started after getting bit several times on my legs by a deerfly July 27, 2014 (NOT a tick- apparently, its a controversial topic, if these insects carry lyme or not). I had severe swelling and bright red rashes that began to ooze after a few days - I got myself to the ER at day 3.

I was put on 10 days of doxycycline. I ended up having endless stomach issues (which I though were from anti-biotic) which led to poor appetite and have lost a lot of weight. Since January, I have had muscle/body aches, some sore joints but no inflamed joints, limited movement in my neck. Since March I have been dealing with a lot of cognitive issues (forgetful, doing things out of completely out of character, transposing numbers or letters when I am writing, stumbling over words, completely losing my train of thought mid sentence, etc.)

In March 2015, I went to a PCP for blood testing after I woke up with limited neck/head movement. He told me to see an Orthopedic and put me on Prednisone, which only made my symptoms worse, and gave me this new "firey burning" pain under my skin.

I was on vacation when the results came back, I was told everything was negative. It wasn't until I picked up the reports the week after that I saw the, what all the doctors call, "Funny lymes" results.

I was VERY angry that the doctor brushed this off. He suggested I see a orthopedic for my neck, and a rheumatologist because I had high ANA. Orthopedic did a lower back x-ray and I discovered I have "more degeneration than usual for a person of my age" in my lower back. He saw the "funny lymes" and said that the degeneration could be from lymes. possibly. (I also have gone for MRI and learned I have bulging neck discs, probably nothing to do with lymes.)

The first rheumatologist told me I definitely DONT have lymes, I have fibromyalgia. wanted to treat me, end of story. (I wanted 2nd opinion)

The second opinion Rheumatologist thinks that maybe I dont have "full blown fibro" but he went into detail about something called Post Lymes Syndrome, and went on to tell me that Lymes turns into Fibromyalgia in some patients... He said that because I once had lymes, that now I am developing this Post Lymes Syndrome - I stopped him dead in his tracks and told him I have never KNOWINGLY had lymes, but when I was 12 (20 years ago) I had my dad pull a tick out of my back that was deep under my skin... He was slightly speechless, but he offered to retest the lymes blood work again in 3 months. He said testing now, only a month after my first test, wouldn't show any change.

Can anyone please help me make sense of these results? I dont know if i should WAIT three months, of if I need to see someone sooner. I have an appointment with a hollistic (not covered by insurance) doctor May 20th - he is probably going to run further testing, but May 20th even seems SO far away, anyone's input would be GREATLY appreciated. I have been lurking around and reading about this 41 strand a lot on here, it seems to always lead to something...

ANA,EIA SCREEN (ANAS) 1.48 (Normal range >0.90)

LYME ABS (ELISA) (ELYME) - 1.35 (Normal range 0.0-0.9)

SERUM LYME WB IGG (LWG)
93KD NEGATIVE
66kD POSITIVE*
58KD NEGATIVE
45KD NEGATIVE
4lkD POSITIVE*
39kD NEGATIVE
30KD NEGATIVE
28KD NEGATIVE
23KD NEGATIVE
18kD NEGATIVE
IGG INTERPRETATION: NEGATIVE
(Need 5 of 10 positive bands to be considered Lymes)

SERUM LYME WB IGM (LWM)
4lkD NEGATIVE
39kD NEGATIVE
23KD NEGATIVE
IGM INTERPRETATION: NEGATIVE
(Need 2 of 3 positive bands to be considered Lymes)


If any additional information is needed, I would be more than happy to share further information. I have had a second set of blood work done by a rheumatologist, nothing "remarkable" to report about. I have an appointment on May 20th with an "out of the box" thinking doctor, but I don't know that he is an LLMD.. he only mentioned that he could conduct OTHER lymes tests, what other tests are there?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me figure this out!! I am getting to the point I am giving myself anxiety not knowing "whats wrong" and I dont know if waiting 3 months is a good idea, or not!

Girlie, thanks so much for your quick response!

This was just standard blood work that was run by PCP in a "labcorp" style lab - he ran over 20 different tests, mostly standard, but threw the ANA and Lymes in because he wanted to "rule it out". I have also had separate HIV, Hep. B and Hep. C testing done - all negative (I have tattoos, so they wanted to rule it out!)

Thank you SO much for your insight, I had no idea I could order a test kit myself!! I am tired of waiting, everything takes a MONTH from the time you schedule the appointment - I haven't felt any better, and some days I feel worse.. but then I wonder is it Fibro, do I have lymes, or is it something else - and then the anxiety cycle sets in!! So I am going to look into ordering that kit NOW and possibly have the testing done next week.

$200 is a LOW price to pay to give me my sanity back!!

Thank you again! I will post updates once I have new information!

Hi eagle0eye! Welcome to our community!! I'm glad you found us!

I bet you don't think that being infected with Lyme from a deer fly is very controversial now, do you? I'm so sorry - I've been bit by those many times so I know how much they hurt, plus you got Lyme!

And when was the last time anyone heard of any other infection turning into "fibro" for which they know no cause? These are all opinions coming from the IDSA (Infectious Disease Society of America) who deny that there is chronic Lyme disease. They will call it any thing as long as it's not chronic Lyme, which leaves patients in your situation or worse, when the ID doc's and those that follow their treatment suggestions won't treat a patient long enough. Imagine if when pneumonia wasn't treated for quite long enough and it reoccurred, and we just told people that it was "Post Pneumonia Syndrome", even though they had ongoing symptoms.

I happen to believe that any insect that can bite and survive to bite again has the potential to pass these infections - they are that prevalent now. Besides, I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I'm wary of all biting insects.

As for your tests this tells you that you do indeed have Lyme:
"ANA,EIA SCREEN (ANAS) 1.48 (Normal range >0.90)" You are well above the threshold. These are antibody tests, but Lyme inhibits the immune system, so it doesn't produce as many antibodies as it would with other infections, yet that's all these tests are looking for. This is why we are working hard to try to get better tests for these infections.

I would suggest that you skip more testing and just go to a LLMD - we can help you find one - because you already have a positive test.

So to start, if you haven't ​yet​, it would be very helpful for you to start with reading through the thread at the top of the forum titled,"New to Lyme?...Start here!!", as it is packed full of important information, symptom lists, helpful links and pdf's, how to detox when one has these infections, information on probiotics and much more.​


For information on finding a​n ILADS ​(International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society)​ trained​ LLMD in your area, 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 envelope 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 to your location.​

You can start a new thread titled something like "Looking for LLMD in the (insert the nearest larger city & state) area". Members can email you about the LLMD's that they see in that area if you have your email enabled. We don't allow doctors names to be posted though.


You can also email the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance at​[​​url]​[email protected]​ for LLMD referrals and you can go to ​tbdalliance.org/​​ to learn more about these infections.


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 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​​

Thank you all so much for your input!

I have since called Igenix and have asked them to send me a kit, it will ship out to me on Monday.

Traveler, I will send you an email about my location, I would appreciate your help!! I have learned, from lurking around on this forum, there is a LLMD in the town that I live in. I plan on calling her office on Monday!

Update - I had bloodwork done 5/20/15 - I requested that my doctor (Hollistic MD) run the Igenix kit that I brought with me to the appointment - I called ahead to ensure it was OK, the day of the appointment, in his office, the doctor agreed, but when they went to draw blood, the girls doing the blood work refused to run it. (ARGHHH!!!)

They told me that their lab (Medical Diagnostic Laboratories) runs all of the same things that Igenix tests for, with the exception of TWO tests - Babesia FISH, HGA igG & IgM

I am not sure if these 2 tests are critical or not. Does anyone know?

I see the Hollistic MD in a month to go over my results. I had them mail me the results - I have since learned they only mailed me HALF of the results - I requested the doctor re-review my test results and call me sooner (I am under the impression he may not have seen the results that were mailed to me) and call me if he thinks it is positive.

IgM western blot and it shows TWO strains positive, that were not positive when I tested in March 2015 - 41 & 39.

Test: Borrelia B31 + OspA/B IgM ViraStripe IgM

It states if you have two or more bands from 23, 39, 4, it is considered positive (reactive). The thing that confuses me is below it says "Bands present must have an intensity greater or equal to 60% of the cut-off band"

Band 41 - shows"028" for intensity percentage
Band 39 - shows "032" for intensity percentage

I have since made an appointment with the LLMD in my area - who came highly regarded by a new friend I have met, who has been dealing with lymes for 15+ years. Unfortunately, that is also a month away.

I am still waiting on the other "half" of my test results to arrive in the mail in the next day or two, to see the IgG results - the half that I have also shows 3 different EBV positives, which I am learning is pretty common with lymes.

Is any of this transmittable to my husband? He hasn't been feeling well, and I was just thinking it was sympathy pains.. mostly just run down and tired feeling. I feel like a month to wait to ask all of these questions is a LONG time!!

Thanks in advance for anyone who has insight!

Post Edited (eagle0eye0JC) : 6/2/2015 8:58:37 AM (GMT-6)

Eagle0eye - the good news is you have an upcoming LLMD appt.

If he/she feels another test is necessary, it will be ordered then.

Your test shows you have lyme disease.

Thanks for your insight Traveler, Girlie and Sarah! I feel like a lot of the doctors I have been dealing with are NEVER telling me the whole truth... I have had to become a professional "PITA" just to get to where I am today! (Remember, that doctor in March told me "NOPE, not lyme".)

I was told by the receptionist that the LLMD office that sometimes they use that lab, and those results are enough to confirm, and they would either do the igenex testing when I come in, or they may be able to come up with a plan based on all of the other testing I have had done - because boy, have I had a LOT of blood tests done! June 26th cant come soon enough! I have SO many questions...

I just received my cytokines & interlukens test results back -follow up at the END of June. (what a pain in the butt that was, took THREE attempts at LabCorp...I even called ahead and it was not enough..) I have no idea what half of it means, other than my body is definitely pissed off! either due to allergens or due to infection. I noticed there were some possibly alarming numbers (or maybe not? I don't know i'm not a doctor!)

immunoglobulin e, total HIGH 387 (Range 0-100) IU/mL
abs.cd8-cd57+ lymphs LOW 18 (Range 60-360) /uL
% cd8-/cd57+ lymphs LOW 1.0 (Range 2.0-17.0) %
igg, subclass 3 Low 28 (Range 41-129) mg/dL

I am currently following an auto immune protocol of the Whole30 diet (day 22) - no sugars, dairy, grains, legumes, nightshades, etc. I haven't noticed MUCH difference, but if anything, my head is slightly less foggy. I may try to stick to this super strict diet for 90 days, just to try to calm down any inflammation - a CT scan of my abdomen & Pelvis revealed my lower ilium loop looked thickened. My gastro has no explanation for it, and was only concerned about the pretty sizable dermoid cyst that was also discovered on the CT scan - i'm a mess!! My gyno wants to do surgery - I want to wait, im not crazy about surgery when I have all this other MESS of stuff going on. I follow up with him 6 weeks from my last ultra sound.

I have another set of tests results that reveal I am "insulin resistant" - are there any other diet changes I can make to accommodate for this new finding?

I see Rheumatologist (the one who thought I have Fibro caused by Post-Lymes Syndrome) and a Pain Management specialist on Monday. Does anyone have any experience with Pain Management specialists? I am under the impression he will just want to load me up on pills or inject me with things. YUCK!

Thanks for all the great support!