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Can another disease or infection give you a + band on a lyme test
I was wondering if anyone knows if when you have a lyme test can a infection or another disease give you a + band. I have heard that band 41 is not specific to just lyme, are they other bands that are not specific to Lyme? I have also been told that 18 31 34 58 bands are specific to lyme but can they be also for something else? I have read alot of articles and I just don't understand them to well. I had a postive 1 + at 18, 41 and had ind at 31 and 34 on my igm and on my igg 1 + on 41 and 58. I am so confused at this point I don't know what to do.
My symptoms were fatigue, muscle aches, joints pains and some numbness and tingling. All the symptoms are just about gone since I have been going in to the Chiro for neck and back massages (have severe to moderate spinal stenosis in my upper spine). I do still have the joint aches but they only bother me on humid days. I know it is possible to still have lyme but could I have had some othe infection my body was fighting off that may have given me some + bands?
In Feb we were in Florida and my legs were attacked by no see em chigger bugs and I also I was taking a blood pressure medication when I found a website that people were writing in about some things that had happened to them being on this drug and they had alot of the symptoms that I had and I did go off the medication and about 8 weeks later is when I started to feel better.
Any input would be appreciated.
Cheri
My symptoms were fatigue, muscle aches, joints pains and some numbness and tingling. All the symptoms are just about gone since I have been going in to the Chiro for neck and back massages (have severe to moderate spinal stenosis in my upper spine). I do still have the joint aches but they only bother me on humid days. I know it is possible to still have lyme but could I have had some othe infection my body was fighting off that may have given me some + bands?
In Feb we were in Florida and my legs were attacked by no see em chigger bugs and I also I was taking a blood pressure medication when I found a website that people were writing in about some things that had happened to them being on this drug and they had alot of the symptoms that I had and I did go off the medication and about 8 weeks later is when I started to feel better.
Any input would be appreciated.
Cheri
Good! Igenex has the most complete report. Some labs, I understand, will ignore a weak +, and some it seems send along only a conclusion: "positive" or "negative" for Lyme.
Igenex however sends a complete report on more bands, so the dr can interpret in context with your symptoms.
If you have had any other blood or other tests since you became ill, you might consider taking copies of those with you for the LLMD's file, if s/he wants them. They sometimes find interesting things in test reports that don't mean much to nonLLMDs.
Let us know how it goes -- best wishes to you!
Igenex however sends a complete report on more bands, so the dr can interpret in context with your symptoms.
If you have had any other blood or other tests since you became ill, you might consider taking copies of those with you for the LLMD's file, if s/he wants them. They sometimes find interesting things in test reports that don't mean much to nonLLMDs.
Let us know how it goes -- best wishes to you!
My testing was done by IGENEX. I am in the process of looking for a llmd to see and talk about my results.
Thanks all for your responses
Cheri
Thanks all for your responses
Cheri
Hi, I took the language I quoted above from a post on this website (MedHelp) which said the original came from truth about lyme disease [dot] com (if you google that website, take out the spaces between the 4 words before the dot), but I've just been to that website and was not able to find the section. Perhaps I just wasn't looking in the right place.
Anyway, some artful googling ought to turn up the same information elsewhere. Sorry!
Anyway, some artful googling ought to turn up the same information elsewhere. Sorry!
Hi! Interesting post. Could you please post or private email the site where you found all this info.. Thanks so much.
K.
K.
Cheri, to answer your specific question about which bands are specific to Bb:
Your msg above says: "I had a positive 1 + at 18, 41 and had ind at 31 and 34 on my igm and on my igg 1 + on 41 and 58."
From another website that someone sent me a while ago:
"There are nine known Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme bacteria) genus specie specific ... bands: 18 23 30 31 34 37 39 83 93." That means, to my understanding, that if you have any reaction on any of these bands, it indicates Lyme. Different drs read the + and - different ways, but...
The bands you list above as having reacted to are listed below, with the notes from the data I copied from that other website:
"18: highly specific to Lyme -- many LLMDs say if this band alone is positive, you have Lyme
"41: flagellin protein common to all spirochetes [which is the kind of bacterium that Lyme is], usually the first band to appear after an infection, but does NOT point only to Bb
"31: specific to Bb, but has cross-reactivity with several viruses also
"34: specific to Bb
"58: unknown but may be a heat-shock Bb protein"
If I were in your shoes, I'd find me an LLMD. You don't say who ran these tests on you, but if it's not an LLMD, then you may not have gotten the most critical reading from him/her.
I'm not a dr or a medical person, so this is just my half-baked and unprofessional commentary, since you asked!
Best of luck --
Your msg above says: "I had a positive 1 + at 18, 41 and had ind at 31 and 34 on my igm and on my igg 1 + on 41 and 58."
From another website that someone sent me a while ago:
"There are nine known Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme bacteria) genus specie specific ... bands: 18 23 30 31 34 37 39 83 93." That means, to my understanding, that if you have any reaction on any of these bands, it indicates Lyme. Different drs read the + and - different ways, but...
The bands you list above as having reacted to are listed below, with the notes from the data I copied from that other website:
"18: highly specific to Lyme -- many LLMDs say if this band alone is positive, you have Lyme
"41: flagellin protein common to all spirochetes [which is the kind of bacterium that Lyme is], usually the first band to appear after an infection, but does NOT point only to Bb
"31: specific to Bb, but has cross-reactivity with several viruses also
"34: specific to Bb
"58: unknown but may be a heat-shock Bb protein"
If I were in your shoes, I'd find me an LLMD. You don't say who ran these tests on you, but if it's not an LLMD, then you may not have gotten the most critical reading from him/her.
I'm not a dr or a medical person, so this is just my half-baked and unprofessional commentary, since you asked!
Best of luck --
I am only aware of band 41 being non-specific. I have read bacteria in the mouth can give a positive on this band.
Sometimes Lyme goes quiet, but comes back later. You are right, there are some bands on the test that overlap with other diseases, but I'm not the best person to ask -- someone else here can reply better.
Your MD was thoughtful enough to have a Lyme test run -- did s/he run an ELISA and a Western Blot, or just one of them? And what was his/her comment on the test results and your condition? How long ago did you become ill?
Your MD was thoughtful enough to have a Lyme test run -- did s/he run an ELISA and a Western Blot, or just one of them? And what was his/her comment on the test results and your condition? How long ago did you become ill?
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