Wednesday, July 14, 2010

2nd Lyme Test - from PCP - results ....


I got the call from my PCP's office with the results of my Western Blot test that was done on Friday. (By LOCAL lab!)

There are two areas of the test .... the IGG and IGM.

IGG - I had 1 positive band .... CDC requires 5 bands out 10 to consider it "positive"
IGM - I had 1 positive band .... CDC requires 2 bands out 3 to consider it "positive"

Here lies the problem. I don't fully understand all of it but the controversy is this. Many thousands of people are ill and becoming disabled due to the under-diagnosis of Lyme! Why? Because of the flawed testing as interpreted by the CDC. How can you just have "a little" of any disease? If the bands are included in the test and they test as "positive" then you have a positive result. Right?

Lyme is a very complicated and multi-faceted disease. It can be the basis of many diagnosed illnesses such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Lupus (SLE), Chronic Fatique Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia, Multiple Schlerosis (MS) and the list goes on! I cannot understand and have not found sufficient explanation as to WHY our government hasn't changed the testing protocol but it is believed to be money-driven. (IMAGINE THAT?!)

So ... what to do? Thankfully there is a lab in California ... IGENEX ... that does a more detailed Lyme test which includes many bands! It is a much more conclusive and reliable test but only the most Lyme Literate doctors (LLMD) are using this lab. However, even with IGENEX, testing is not always conclusive as is the quandry with the ever-elusive Lyme bugs. Many times there are numerous co-infections ... meaning basically that you "catch" whatever other "bugs" the tick was carrying with it!

So ... although my 2nd test through my PCP's office, did show a "positive" band on both areas of the test, I am anxiously awaiting the results of my IGENEX testing which was done on Monday.

1 comment:

Thank you for your interest in my blog and Lyme Disease. If you have information regarding Lyme or another illness similar to mine, please keep in touch!