False Positives?

No, it's not a false positive....you have symptoms - obviously - as you sought out a LLMD to get tested.

Since having Lyme, I have wondered how many people diagnosed with RA or Lupus...if the source is indeed lyme.

Many of us don't get positives from 'regular' labs - that's why we go to Igenix...or another lab.
But, you got a positive from a 'regular' lab.

I don't know if this is good or bad news for you - hopefully it is good - as you can get appropriately treated.

I don't understand, you were on Sida Acuta and Houttuynia in May, and have posted here for a long time -- so why would you think it's a "false positive"? You were already treating Lyme.

It depends on what bands you have. You should get a printout of the bands so we can see them. I think certain autoimmune diseases can turn certain bands positive, but if there are enough lyme specific bands +IgM, i'm inclined to think Lyme. If its just IgG w/ a bunch of non-specific bands, it could very well be an autoimmune condition. Also depends on what symptoms you are having?

Hi dcd -
Thank you for your reply. The IgG is negative, there were only two reactive bands. The IgM is showing positive because of bands 23 and 39. This is the first time I've tested positive with the CDC. I tested positive years ago through Igenex (I've been having typical symptoms for years). Just confused because my doctor said this is a new infection, not old, just wanted to make sure it wasn't cross-reacting with something like Lupus as that is specifically mentioned at the bottom of the test in fine print. Anyway, sorry for the long response. Thanks for writing. Be well.

I have had CDC positive Lyme IgM since 2017 and have never had a positive IgG. Have same results from 2 different labs.
I've never heard of the Lupus and/or RA connection.
Perhaps the reason is what saraeli posted?

Do you feel better with treatment. Have you been treating for years? What are your symptoms?

It is well known with lyme disease the whole igm being current and igg being past does not hold. My igm & igg are identical (through IGeneX) and have been pretty much the same for 2 years (tested before antibiotics and after).

The western blot is an antibody test. So if a band on the blot causes a similar immune reaction it can light up. For example, ebv (a virus) causes a similar immune response to band 31 and can sometimes cause a false positive.

I have to admit, I do get worried that sometimes people can be treating lyme disease for years and it ends up being another cause to their illness. As long as the history is there, and all other causes are ruled out, then I think it’s safe to assume lyme disease and coinfections.

If your worried about lupus or RA - I’d ask for autoimmune testing (ANA, anti- double stranded dna, rheum factor, etc). I also think that the flip side is possible, and lyme can cause these tests to be positive. So, something to consider. I do have positive ANA & rheum factor but the rheumatologist does not believe I have RA. And RA doesn’t explain all my symptoms. Sometimes healthy people test positive on these tests too.

I’ve had tons of testing, and it almost always leaves me with more questions than answers, sadly.

Post Edited (k07) : 7/28/2020 5:50:23 PM (GMT-6)

Girlie said...

BeKindPls said...
Hi dcd -
Thank you for your reply. The IgG is negative, there were only two reactive bands. The IgM is showing positive because of bands 23 and 39. This is the first time I've tested positive with the CDC. I tested positive years ago through Igenex (I've been having typical symptoms for years). Just confused because my doctor said this is a new infection, not old, just wanted to make sure it wasn't cross-reacting with something like Lupus as that is specifically mentioned at the bottom of the test in fine print. Anyway, sorry for the long response. Thanks for writing. Be well.

IgM 23 and 39 are lyme specific.

IgM can be an early infection or older but active infection.

It’s lyme

###

Unfortunately, I don’t think testing is always accurate.

My husband has igm band 23 & 41 through Labcorp - 5 years ago. He does not have lyme disease. Or maybe I should say he has no symptoms of Lyme Disease. We tested our entire family when I was first diagnosed. Healthy people don’t usually test for lyme. I think if they did, we’d see how flawed this testing is. Yet, I get a totally negative western blot from labcorp & quest and have symptoms indicative of lyme.

Post Edited (k07) : 7/28/2020 6:49:35 PM (GMT-6)

So each lyme band has a specificity. The specificity tells you how specific that protein is for lyme. There are certain bands like 41 which are not specific at all, and there are certain bands like 93 which are believed to be highly specific. What theyre saying is that if you have RA or Lupus some of the test bands will react with your RA or Lupus antibodies and not with actual lyme antibodies, and create a false positive. For the life of me I cannot understand why more time is not spent on this subject. Every book I read glances over this topic, and I see contradictory statements by the lyme gurus as to which bands are actually specific. Probably because there's no real consensus. I will ask Dr K when I talk to him next, he's studied all this stuff in depth.

But...you say that your bands are IgM. IgM is secreted by plasmablasts, which only live for a few days and are usually active during initial infection. Lupus and RA antibodies will be of the IgG variety, secreted by plasma and memory b-cells, which can live for years and proliferate, hence the reason you have IgG bands sometimes for life. If you only have IgM my guess is its a current active lyme infection. Although I'd be curious to see if those IgGs turn positive later.

Was your elisa positive too? If you were CDC positive I imagine it was the two step protocol, Elisa then WB?

Also, what are your symptoms?

Post Edited (dcd2103) : 7/29/2020 6:23:22 AM (GMT-6)