IGeneX Test vs Western Blot through Quest

There is no reason for your doctor to dismiss an positive Igenex test.....no way he is the LLMD of choice in my opinion. With a CDC positive number of bands, what more did he want as confirmation!??! I hope that your new doctor is more clued up than that.

That would indicate that the WB through Quest was the false negative and your LLMD should know this...your PCP would be more likely to argue the point, but that's an issue that a lot of people have with nonLLMDs.

And never apologise for questions, they help you and all of us learn, and it is great that you are getting everything organised before your doctors appointment as it will mean that you hopefully know what to expect, get all the answers you need and get the correct treatment :)

Many here are starting treatment with just one positive band but lots of symptoms that match lyme, and after treatment they are starting to herx, as expected.

IgeneX is an approved lab in the USA. The only controversy about IgeneX is they consider the tests positive with lower number of bands than CDC.

You on the other hand have FIVE positive bands. Your result is positive even based on CDC standards, not IgeneX ! With this result you have official lyme disease so you can get treatment that is covered by the insurance. At least for the first months.

"I took that to a doc that I thought was an LLMD" - you were wrong, he is not an LLMD . No serious LLMD would dismiss five bands on IgeneX, CDC positive, especially if you also have symptoms.

As most said, a positive CDC is a positive CDC. Igenex labs is an approved lab. If it were a positive Igenex result only, then a non-LLMD would be right in questioning it or at least could be excused for questioning it.

The negative through Quest just confirms that their testing is not sensitive enough to pick up all the bands necessary for a positive test. There is no argument that they can make that it just went away. So the Igenex test results stand, especially because it indicated a positive using the CDC criteria.

One thing about getting insurance to cover Lyme treatment. Most don't. I checked my insurance before getting tested and their policy stated that they would only cover it if first I had a positive ELISA, then a positive WB. After that it listed what treatment it would cover: 6 weeks of oral antibiotics. Everything else was considered "experimental" including longer term antibiotics. They listed out most of the treatments discussed here as "experimental."

I mention this because the diagnosis on all my records (except for an LLMD I visited once) is Fibromyalgia. My rheum said to me to be careful about using the Lyme diagnosis (I tested positive CDC also) because he said my insurance would only pay for the Fibromyalgia treatment if "there was no other diagnosis that explained my symptoms." Essentially, if I push the Lyme diagnosis, the insurance company could say, ok you have lyme so we aren't going to pay for your fibro meds, doctor's visits, pt or anything else with a Fibro ICD code.

Just wanted to warn you. It would be a good idea to go on the insurance company's website and search for their policy bulletin for Lyme treatment. That will tell you what you are up against as far as insurance coverage goes.

Hope you have a good day,
Kim