HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Igenex Test Result Interpretation Help..

Support Forums
>
Lyme Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/22/2016 12:17 PM (GMT 0)
Serum Titer <40 so Negative
IgM Western Blot - Negative - Band 31 only as Indeterminant
IgG Western Blot - Positive - Band 23-25 as +, Band 31 and 34 as I, Band 41 as ++
PCR - Genomic and Plasmid both Serum and Whole Blood - Negative.
Urine Igenenx - Negative

So I was diagnosed with Chronic neuro lyme by symptomatic clinical diagnosis by doctor and started abx, Cefiximine 200 three times a day on December 2 and this Igenex lab was drawn on December 5th(after much trouble finding a lab that will draw blood for a different lab...)

I have been herxing fairly severely for the few weeks that I have been on abx and still having symptoms although much improved.

So the million dollar question is...Do I have chronic lyme..? IgM negative and IgG positive seems to point in that direction as does the symptomatology and Herx response to abx.

Thoughts appreciated..

Thanks

Post Edited (pismo10) : 12/22/2016 6:11:08 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/22/2016 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
Congratulations, you have Lyme.
Band 23 - 25 are Lyme specific.
Band 31 is Lyme specific - although many like to do a confirmation test for this band.
Band 34 is Lyme specific.

Here is the site that I use to help interpret them:www.oocities.org/hotsprings/oasis/6455/western-blot.txt You can go there to find supporting Pubmed articles showing what these bands represent.

IND means indeterminate - not negative, but not quite strong enough to be "fully positive". But it means that you reacted on those bands and should be considered, especially when they are Lyme specific bands.

A "Lyme specific band" means specific for Borrelia Burgdorferi, sensu stricto - Lyme disease in the strictest sense. There are only two on the over 300 known strains of Lyme that is considered Bb, ss. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii. Nothing else will turn a Lyme specific band positive other than Lyme disease - - even though there are over 100 different strains of Borrelia in the US that cause human illness.

Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.


Do be sure that you are doing a lot of detoxing to control the herxing. Not only is herxing hard on the body, but it can get to dangerous levels. There are a lot of really great detoxing suggestions on this page:
www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html
Posted 12/22/2016 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
Pismo, I don't know that anyone can say when lyme goes to chronic. Is that having it a year? Or a couple of months?

And, does it really matter? Most treat lyme and there is no different treatment for chronic lyme, in my opinion.

However, I have noticed in my research that someone with untreated lyme for a long time, generally has to treat a lot longer than someone with a new tick bite.

I have a friend that was bit, got the bull's eye and immediately that day went to the doc and got 4 weeks of doxy. She still has no symptoms and this was a year ago. I know she was bit by a lyme tick because 1) it was in the same yard as I was bitten and 2) her bull's eye was exactly like mine, which is why she went to the doctor immediately.

We are just praying she got enough doxy to kill it asap.

Now if she gets lyme symptoms, will she be chronic? Is chronic lyme determined by the bite or the symptoms? I have no idea......

I'm just so sorry you have lyme too. There is absolutely nothing fun about having lyme that I have found. You have to dig deep to stay positive when you have lyme.
Posted 12/22/2016 5:52 PM (GMT 0)
If it's a very recent infection - caught early with bullseye rash and it hasn't disseminated - it can be treated with one antibiotic - if it's the right dosage and treated to symptom free plus on more month.

After that, you're looking at longer treatment..

It sounds like you have more than just a bulls-eye rash . You need to keep treating (and I suggest more than one antibiotic)...until you reach symptom resolution...plus 4-8 weeks more. It will be months (not weeks) of treatment.

The good news is you're already responding to the treatment...just don't stop too soon.
Posted 12/22/2016 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
My interpretation of Chronic Lyme is you've had symptoms of it long enough to become asymptomatic on your own without treatment intervention, and then relapsed; or you had treatment intervention with some success but then relapsed with symptoms again later on.


ETA: I suppose you could consider yourself Chronic if you never make a complete recovery at all with treatment, all though technically that would be more from inadequate treatment.

Post Edited (julymorning) : 12/22/2016 10:56:22 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/22/2016 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
Chronic Lyme is disseminated Lyme. While it's still 'contained' within the skin, it's easy enough to treat. That's what all the early treatments are based on. Most will still consider symptoms in only one area of the body (say, only one knee for example) is considered 'early' Lyme, but once it spreads to more than one body area/part, it's spread throughout the body, as it has to travel through the blood to get to other areas. What areas it hits is usually dictated by what areas are 'weak' in the body.
Posted 12/22/2016 6:30 PM (GMT 0)
My understanding is that chronic lyme is independent of whether someone has been treated or not.

It's one that has spread past the initial tickbite to other areas of the body - and has been 'around' for more than a few weeks time.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply