Aa
LLMD in or near NYC
Hi, I was visiting my doc's for a routine exam and bloodwork. The PA asked if she wanted me to go over my old blood work. She did. Among those papers in Aug 2010 I had requested a lyme test because I found a tick in my neck a month earlier. THAT tick turned out to be a wood tick, not engorged, and easily removed, so it hadn't been there long.
The PA read that the Ig that tested for new, acute infections was negative BUT, there was another Ig that said "reactive." She said "Oh, that's for old infections. We don't concern ourselves with that."
WhaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA???!?!?!?
So um, er, I am going to make another appt to ream out my doctor and get re-tested I suppose. If this means I have had lyme for years then I am doing really well compared to what often happens to folks, but I don't want to mess around! What burns me up is that when I called for test results back then, no one ever mentioned the "reactive" result. I mean, it's not as if I was known to them as an established lyme patient.
I THINK this was an ELISA test but don't quote me on it. I should have asked more Qs then and there but it was still hitting me. The CanLyme website said false positives are rare. True? False?
Anyway, if anyone knows of a LLMD my way I'd love to know. I live in NYC.
The PA read that the Ig that tested for new, acute infections was negative BUT, there was another Ig that said "reactive." She said "Oh, that's for old infections. We don't concern ourselves with that."
WhaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAA???!?!?!?
So um, er, I am going to make another appt to ream out my doctor and get re-tested I suppose. If this means I have had lyme for years then I am doing really well compared to what often happens to folks, but I don't want to mess around! What burns me up is that when I called for test results back then, no one ever mentioned the "reactive" result. I mean, it's not as if I was known to them as an established lyme patient.
I THINK this was an ELISA test but don't quote me on it. I should have asked more Qs then and there but it was still hitting me. The CanLyme website said false positives are rare. True? False?
Anyway, if anyone knows of a LLMD my way I'd love to know. I live in NYC.
I'm not sure what my insurance will do but it looks bad right away if you go to a doc that does not take it. I doubt my own doctor will refer me.
Every Lyme MD I have been referred to so far, will not take any insurance. Intial consultation rates are not cheap, just as you and Jackie inferred.
Yeah, I know. Websites. Well if even the ones by the very doctors I am supposed to seek out are not to be believed, it gives little confidence.
Every Lyme MD I have been referred to so far, will not take any insurance. Intial consultation rates are not cheap, just as you and Jackie inferred.
Yeah, I know. Websites. Well if even the ones by the very doctors I am supposed to seek out are not to be believed, it gives little confidence.
Yeah. And my insurance questioned my referral request to my LLMD because he's officially a GP and not a "specialist." And yet I am convinced that treating Lyme requires more sophistication and specialized knowledge than some other specialties.
... but so many variables! Different meds, different labs, different coinfections. Egad.
My doc likes IGeneX, and if they don't offer a needed test, then Labcorp or whatever insurance will cover. The LymeMD in Maryland has said he likes the Stonybrook lab, because they report even more bands than IGeneX, and it gives him a second opinion per se on a Western Blot. They usually differ.
From what I have read, researchers at Stonybrook take a "middle of the road" approach on Lyme...not as strict as Yale and the official IDSA guidelines, but not in agreement with ILADS, either. I really don't know much about them.
I wish someone would do a retrospective study to compare treatment success rates... That would be interesting.
From what I have read, researchers at Stonybrook take a "middle of the road" approach on Lyme...not as strict as Yale and the official IDSA guidelines, but not in agreement with ILADS, either. I really don't know much about them.
I wish someone would do a retrospective study to compare treatment success rates... That would be interesting.
What matters is your doc and whether the doc knows how to read the lab results. Some docs prefer one lab over the others, but it's the DOC who is important, because generally the doc can read the reports and allow for any weaknesses in the lab's approach. My doc used IGeneX and LabCorp, but others use other labs.
Remember: in Lyme, it's all still developing news. Ain't it fun being on the cutting edge of medicine?! (NOT!)
Remember: in Lyme, it's all still developing news. Ain't it fun being on the cutting edge of medicine?! (NOT!)
It was just something I saw in passing on a website. And you know you can't trust websites!!!
Some people like Burger King, some like McDonalds, just go with whatever on the labs and don't worry.
Some people like Burger King, some like McDonalds, just go with whatever on the labs and don't worry.
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