new to lyme - 6 bands positive on Western Blot

[dal29]

Hi,

Last year I had 6 bands on Western Blot come back positive (93,66,58,45,41, and 30).  Do these indicate Lyme disease?  I did not get treated but am seriously considering it now because I am having symptoms.  Facial twitching, tingling/asleep feeling in limbs, noise sensitivity, and others.  I'm trying to decide the best course of treatment.  One doctor was going to put me on doxy for one month, but from what I have read, that isn't enough (unless treated early.)  Lyme literate doctors are going to cost an arm and a leg, which I am willing to do if I have too but would love to know from other Lyme patients what works so I don't spend time (and $) with a doctor that isn't very knowledgeable.  Do any of you know of a good doctor in Monmouth County NJ?

Thanks for taking the time to answer all of my questions.

God bless,
dal29

[Sethrader]

Yeah, you probably have lyme. I had six bands on WB blot too and I've been incredibly sick for two years - IgG 23, 30, 39, 41, 58, 83/93 - weight loss, double vision, vertigo (24-7), muscle atrophy all over, hearing loss, mild dementia, cognitive loss - at times an inability to read/speak/use grammar and vocabulary correctly, massive hand weakness, sleeping 15 hours a day for 9 months...Just because you don't have this yet, doesn't mean you won't. Now, whether or not to treat is a complicated question. I mean some LLMDs say don't fix it if ain't broke, and I think there's definitely some truth there; however, if you are troubled by your symptoms and are starting to feel worse (more sore throats/fatigue/mild brain fog) then I would go on antibiotics (doxy is rough, Ceftin is much nicer) for a couple months. I would also suggest looking into Famvir, as I found a EB-V coinfection really responded to that. Other things you can try that are not antibiotics are Claritin to starve it and Stevia extract to kill persister cells. But I would still go to an LLMD and talk to them. There are a few in Monmouth county (you can get names by contacting the ILADS) but I would travel a little further if you can and go to one elsewhere in NJ. Sorry for you but it sound like your catching it early which is great!

[Adam709]

Hi,

I am in a similar situation as you are right now, over in Warren County, NJ.

ILADS has "treatment guidelines" and "diagnostic hints" that suggest high-dose doxy would be effective for lyme and ehrlichia if taken for 2 months.

Here is a link to the informative .pdf as it is a little hard to find on the site:
http://www.ilads.org/lyme/treatment-guideline.php

I highly recommend reading the .pdf (and be sure to see page 18 which goes into detail on drug dosages/timeframes):
http://www.ilads.org/lyme/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf

[JackieCalifornia]

Note that the quote from ILADS is dated 12/17/08 ... meaning that it is *eight* years old.  Much has changed in the Lyme medical world since then, and I would consider seeing a [different] Lyme specialist.  It's what I would do for me or my family.

[JackieCalifornia]

... and note that I am not disagreeing with ILADS's approach, but would definitely see an MD who is up to date on these matters.  ALL Lyme docs think they are up to date, or they would change what they are doing ... and many of them don't change even when new data and treatment approaches are discovered.  

[JackieCalifornia]

"93,66,58,45,41, and 30"  

From the list I have of the IGeneX Western blot test indicators, you could have Lyme but also could have other infections that are not Lyme ... BUT I would *definitely* go see a Lyme doc to be sure.  

About doxy, I agree with your comment above.  Also, doxy doesn't necessarily kill the other bacteria that 'Lyme' ticks often carry (called co-infections as a group), and those infections (if any) need testing and treating different from Lyme itself.  You could also have a co-infection but not Lyme ... and that's why seeing Lyme specialist is so important -- to know exactly what you have so it's properly and promptly treated.

You can get names of Lyme docs near you from the website at ILADS [dot] org and also from local Lyme organizations.  You're asking all the right questions.  You go!  -- and keep us posted, okay?