Igenex Testing BEFORE, AFTER OR DURING Parasitic Cleanse? And Other Mental Games My Mind Is Playing

Well as most of you know from my recent posts, I have been working toward convincing myself to dent the wallet for Igenex Basic Panel for my daughter AND me. Then the brain kicks in and stops me. Calling out to all of you to help guide me into an informed decision, please...........

Of course there is so much talk about people needing to test time and time again before positive results. I also understand some never get them, yet are clinically diagnosed, etc...and that clinical diagnosis is more accurate than test results. But just being honest, I am hoping for that "miracle" that testing my daughter and myself might at least show one of us as positive or suspicious...that I have been heading in the right direction. I want this for her - she is 21 and I know the medical world is tough....having some validation "could" make her path just a bit easier.

Anyway....what you need to know is that I have chosen not to do olive leaf at this time. We are both suffering severe autoimmunity (Hashimoto's) and I don't want to add any other problems at this time. Also, we do not take antibiotics. I know olive leaf and antibiotics have been mentioned in helping promote accurate diagnosis.

But here is what we ARE DOING at this moment.

I have been on parasitic cleansing (mainly wild oregano oil and Biotics Research ADP) for nearly 30 days now, and the parasites keep on coming....so frightening.

My daughter has not begun parasitic cleansing yet (I use myself as guinea pig first before starting her on something). She is about to slowly introduce the ADP this Sunday....will take weeks to get her up to therapeutic dose for the 6 week protocol.

Because I consider oregano to be nature's "broad spectrum antibiotic" I am thinking it can be likened to the olive leaf or antibiotics prior to Igenex testing people speak of.

So, with that in mind, my questions:

1. SHOULD I WAIT UNTIL MY DAUGHTER HAS AT LEAST STARTED THE PARASITE CLEANSE OR COMPLETED IT PRIOR TO TESTING?

2. WOULD IT BE BETTER (because I feel certain of mother to fetus connection of our matching illnesses) TO DO US BOTH NOW, WITH ONE OF US HAVING 30 DAYS OF TREATMENT AND THE OTHER HAVING NONE?

If we have Lyme, I am so hopeful that it is her test that shows it....I want this for her. So I want to choose when to test her as wisely as I can.

As for the other mental games.......boy, does it sneak up on you. All ready to just "order" the test kit this morning and then I stopped, with things like......

What if I am wrong? This money could have been used to find our root cause!
What will I do if we both come back completely negative, yet have so much evidence that the parasite angle is the right direction (refer to my previous posts, esp. "new here" post)?
Could there be a different pathogen that has resulted in our decades of chronic "odd" illnesses (many of mine are resolving on parasite protocol) and I am completely missing it?'
Without testing, an LLMD might have seen me and given me guidance if Lyme isn't it (might know what it is) but with negative Igenex, an LLMD probably won't even see me?

Anybody have any feedback?

I really want to rip the bandaid off and just order - at least mine for starters, to see how it goes. But now I am acting like a "freak" sitting here, with all of these questions rolling around in my head. Even the cat got down, with a look like "what is WRONG with you?"

Thanks, Girlie -

Yes - I had a tick bite in my head after camping in Michigan when i was a pre-teen...I remember lying on the couch and my dad trying to "burn the sucker" to back out....not a great childhood memory!

I appreciate the LLMD wake up call - you are right....bands, even if overall negative, can tell me something and there has to be an expert out there who would recognize this. It isn't all black and white.

I just know that parasite is the right direction for both my daughter and me - and because we have shared a lot of common "odd" ailments living a relatively healthy lifestyle (due to her celiac as an infant) for nearly two decades....which are escalating now....I am very stuck in the mother/fetus transfer idea, because of duration of our illnesses. Lyme seems to be a big candidate for that. I don't know if other parasites can pass mother/fetus with chronic implications for decades to the immune system, but not testing for Lyme seems like a mistake after traveling so far to get to this point.

And I would love to say that the cat is pushing for testing - but I think he wants the whole dinette bench seat in the rv back as soon as possible...I am taking up space with the laptop. My husband and I are guest in "his" rv....we recognize this all too well :)

PeteZa -

Thank you for your sweet words, optimism and cat wisdom :)
I always like the Eckhart Tolle quote as well: "I have lived with many Zen masters...all of them cats"

Take care,
Robin

This is such a common theme for Lyme patients. You've had a tick bite, you have Lyme symptoms, but you get stopped by those intruding thoughts before ever being able to do anything positive towards testing/treatment. I'm convinced that it has something directly to do with these infections, honestly - although it could just be the uncertainty we are faced with by saying we have an infection that is squarely seated in the middle of a huge political fight.

If you can swing the cost - do the testing at least for your daughter. You sound so much like me - my kids come first, no matter what. That's likely how I survived 40 yrs with these infections - I had kids to raise. Testing your daughter will give you and her peace of mind - but with her likely being infected for her entire life, the chances that she will get a positive result are pretty slim. I understand why you don't want to do anything that could make things worse, but if you wish for her to have the best chance possible with testing (& you can only afford to test once), doing something to provoke a positive will be very beneficial.

For what it's worth, I've been a fan of Oil of oregano for many, many years now. I used to treat severe bronchitis with it when the abx I was given failed!

And we can be your experts at helping you to decipher the results of a Western Blot. This is the best site I've found to help interpret those bands and what they mean. Maybe having this site "in your hands" will make you feel a bit more comfortable with getting those tests so you can see what bands come back positive or IND? www.oocities.org/hotsprings/oasis/6455/western-blot.txt

PS - I'm the owner of a small red-headed polydactyl kitty too. =) He loves harassing our smallish (under 25 lbs) dogs!

Thanks Traveler and Girlie.....

So let me ask, because I am getting confused on something......

You said my daughter will likely test negative (I assume by diagnostic standards) but there could still be some band evidence? Or do you mean, if she has had this two decades, she likely will test negative as in not even anything on bands will show up? As in results will be each band spelled out with a big negative next to it.

Provoking a positive, I am guessing, means olive leaf? I just can't do that to her right now. And I am still battling parasite cleansing and need to function so don't want to throw it on top of it.

I know I read a thread somewhere where I think you (Traveler) said you tested positive only after a year of Lyme treatment? So here go those thoughts again...........should I just wait? I don't want to, but it sounds like the odds of my daughter and me, if we have Lyme, testing positive is like the odds of winning the lottery.

I mean, I COULD proceed with parasitic stuff, then Lyme treatment for awhile and see how we respond?

I don't know how I am going to respond if western blots are both 100% negative with no band reactions, etc. on both of us.

I think my brain is going to explode.

Ok......so then a scenario is do parasitic cleansing on us both (assess any changes).......then in a few months, do some lyme treatment on us both (assess any changes) and then do olive leaf on us both for 5 weeks.....THEN TEST? This would mean postponing Igenex for 6 months but treating like we have Lyme. In this scenario it would likely increase our odds of provoking a response, if indeed Lyme has been a hitchhiker all these years?

Of course, I want to just jump in and test.....but maybe I shouldn't?

Again, can you get good "band information" even if not enough to be deemed 100% positive? I could live with that for the new clues the bands bring to the table. But if you are saying we likely will show zippo, nada, nothing on bands either after all of these years (even if we have lyme), then maybe this truly isn't worth it right now?

Post Edited (ursamajor68) : 1/22/2016 4:39:12 PM (GMT-7)

Yes, there could be some band evidence although the overall test result is 'negative'.

But, there may not be any bands show up...

I would say most people even if they've had it for years...will have a band or two show up...would you agree, Traveler?

But, having said that - if you are willing to treat without the Igenex test...and then test down the road..there's nothing wrong with that.
Are you thinking of self-treating - with an herbal approach?

You could just go ahead and start that as soon as the parasite cleanse is done.and mull over the testing issue. Do you have to wait until the parasite cleanse is done?....is that necessary?

And, yes you can get lyme specific bands being positive or IND although the test result is negative, and it would still be significant in diagnosing lyme disease.