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Posted 9/27/2015 4:53 AM (GMT 0)
The short story on me.

I was (and now am again) an overweight 39 year old man living in Maryland. In January 2013 I decided I would train for a half marathon in the fall of 2013. I did so and did so well. I was in the best shape I had been in since playing high school football. I was and hope to once again be an avid golfer.

In Sept 2013 I started having a strange chest pain. I would describe it as an elephant sitting on my chest all day long. After 2 GI workups, I was cleared of any GI problems. In Oct 2013 I started having pain at the base of my neck in the back. For two years I have been under the impression that running ruined my body. But that just didn't make sense. After two years, my body should heal right?

- Two Endoscopes
- 6 MRIs
- 4 CTs (including a full body scan I paid for out of pocket)
- 3 Chiropractors
- 4 Rounds f Physical Therapy
- Acupuncture
- Massage Therapy
- Dry Needling
- 2 Psychiatrist
- Lots of other Misc things I tried
- Brain MRI which is the only test that revealed anything (white matter/foci that *might* be related to lyme)

2 years later, I'm in terrible pain and struggle to make it through my daily routines. I can't even begin to talk about the emotional and mental distress this has caused me. But that's all things folks in this forum have or are going through.

Two week ago I saw an infectious disease doc. She wasn't experienced with Lyme but she did order a Western Blot test. Knowing I wouldn't be satisfied with that, I went and saw a LLMD. He ordered tests through Igenex.

Yesterday I got both results over the phone. Western Blot Negative, Igenex test positive. I have an appointment with the LLMD Tuesday. I have a few questions:

- I haven't read anything that would make me suspect a false negative from Igenex. Do others agree?
- Does everyone start with a conservative dose of Oral Antibiotics? I have read horror stories about PICC lines and long term antibiotic treatment so I'm a little worried.
- How soon should I expect to get some relief after starting antibiotics?
Posted 9/27/2015 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Rdot23 - welcome to our community!

I am sorry for your suffering.

I am assuming the Igenex positive test was also a WB.
You asked about a false negative - did you mean a false positive? Your Igenex test is positive - you have Lyme disease. There aren't false positives.

IV antibiotics are not routinely given - they are for the extreme cases or for those who can't tolerate oral antibiotics. Also, if someone isn't responding to orals, then they might do IV abx.

Unfortunately with chronic Lyme disease - antibiotics have to be taken for several months at least.

Many people choose to use an herbal protocol - either instead of antibiotics or in addition to antibiotics.

I am so glad you have an appointment with a LLMD.

When you have a moment, please take a look at the thread at the top of the page titled: "New to Lyme?...Start a Here!" It's full of good information.

I hope you find this group to be a supportive group of people and keep reading and posting.
Posted 9/27/2015 5:37 AM (GMT 0)
I can't say how soon you will get relief once treatment is started.

Everyone is different. How long you you've had Lyme disease, how many co-infections you have, how well your body detoxes, etc...those are a few things that affect your healing.

You could start developing some good detox habits right away - check out the New to Lyme thread for ideas.
Detoxing is crucial when treating - you need to flush out the toxins that are created when the bacteria dies off. The die-off and resulting increase in symptoms is called a herx. Detoxing helps reduce those symptoms.

Take a deep breath, it's a lot to take in...but we are here to help you.
We're in this together.
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