Riddle: Elispot LTT = Still infected?

Hi!

So...Yesterday, I had an appointment with a doctor at the hospital, in the infectious diseases & internal medicine dept.
Nothing to expect from these guys, but anyway, I wanted to have their insight. The doc pointed out that my Elispot is positive, which means I was infected, but this doesn't mean the infection is still there. It may have disrupted my body, which would ex)plain my symptoms.

Yet, I wonder why I still have strong symptoms of Lyme. But on the other hand, as I was infected 30-40 years ago, I also wonder how I could have lived all these years with an infection in my body without completely declining and eventually die, which would have happened with many other infections, right? My immune system is not bad, as per the blood test. Also, my ELISA & WB are negative (which seems to be normal for an old infection anyway).

Do you think I should cast doubt on my diagnosis, and maybe perform further tests, such as culture of borrelia, or PCR of borrelia, etc...?
Thank you,

Did you discuss your symptoms with the Doctor?

It's NOT psychological - that's just what they say when they have no other explanations. I've been down that road too. I was infected for 40 years before anyone figured out what it was - I had nearly every tick-borne infection out there, and yet I couldn't test positive for a single one until I had a full 12 months of Lyme treatments - then I was fully CDC positive for not only Lyme, but RMSF as well. This is NOT an unusual situation, because Lyme lowers the immune function, so our bodies simply can't produce the antibodies in quantities that are needed for a fully CDC positive on any of the current tests.

As Girlie said, you are in need of treatment.

Thank you! Yes, I'll resume my treatment, and I'll also keep searching for a good doctor.

calande said...
Hi!
Yet, I wonder why I still have strong symptoms of Lyme. But on the other hand, as I was infected 30-40 years ago, I also wonder how I could have lived all these years with an infection in my body without completely declining and eventually die, which would have happened with many other infections, right?

Well i can give you an example of people living for years with this and not dying or not even knowing: this guy, Kris Kristofferson, actor and songwriter, lived for 7 years with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's while his brain was infected with the Lyme bacteria.
www.cbsnews.com/news/kris-kristofferson-misdiagnosed-alzheimers-has-lyme-disease/

So to answer your questions

- you CAN live many years with an infection like this, Lyme is a parasite, just like intestinal worms, they do not usually kill the host

- because this bacteria gets into all your body's tissues, it creates lots of symptoms, so you CAN get a completely wrong diagnosis, like Alzheimer's or in your case psychological, and have lyme disease

- if you have a positive lyme test and you have symptoms, then it is worth finding a Lyme doctor nearby and start treatment. I am not sure why wouldn't you at least try and would prefer to suffer...

- some people have the bacteria but they don't have any symptoms, if you find that odd you can take a look at latent Syphilis /www.cdc.gov/std/tg2015/syphilis.htm#latent, a cousin of the lyme bacteria...

Just wanted to let you know that I got your email and will be answering it soon! Thank you.