What kind of Lyme test should I order ? Doctors will not order !!

[amanda_45]

Hello , I need to order a Lyme test for my son. He has been going thriough many symptoms for over 3 years now. For some reason the doctors he has seen do not want to order a lyme test , I would like to know if anyone cn please recommend what test I may order on the Request a test website. This site allows people to order testinf without a doctors order thankfully. My son has already been tested for lupus, thyroid and endo ,  The only test for some reason they do not want to order is Lyme., My niece was diagnosed last week with Lyme too, We have been to a tick area as well. There are about 4 Lyme tests so I don't know what to order. If some can please help me I truly appreciate it very much !!  Thanks again



The sites that I can order from are either :  



Request a test . com     OR     Direct Labs .com

[Ricobord]

A Western Blot is probably the best "standard" Lyme test, but it can still miss a lot of cases and turn up a false negative, especially in the first month of infection.

Even if it's positive, your son's doctor might reject it as a "false positive" if he's under the delusion that "There's no Lyme here." or he feels too to diagnose or treat a Lyme case. By refusing to run tests, he can avoid that controversial topic. (I'm speculating here. I have no idea what his actual reasons are.)

Your son could also have other tick borne disease(s) besides or in addition to Lyme.  He could have Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasma, Babesia, Mycoplasma, or Bartonella  (standard lab tests only look for Bartonella Henselae or Bartonella Quintana...there are other species that infect humans that would result in a false negative).

Maybe his current doctor would be willing to run these other tests, if he hasn't already. Just know that Babesia tests miss about half of actual cases and Bartonella has an unknown false negative rate. Very few doctors know how to make a clinical diagnosis for these 2 infections.

I admire your urgency to get him tested. Time does matter. But even if you do order any of these tests without a doctor's order, your son still needs to get to a LLMD for a proper evaluation for tick borne diseases. While a positive is very useful, negatives sometimes are not.  And he'll still need a doctor to treat him properly.

Good luck!

[mojogal]

If you PM me, I can give you name of Dr in that area. I am from Sterling, Va.

[JackieCalifornia]

There are quite a few different infections that can come from a tick, and it takes a knowledgeable doc to know what tests to order.  Otherwise, you could spend a lot of money and time and not have uncovered all the possible answers.

Also, interpreting the tests is an art, which takes an experienced doc.  These aren't like +/- pregnancy tests.

I just searched -- lyme disease virginia doctor -- and got some very interesting links.  You can also email to 'contact' at ILADS [dot] org and tell them where you are located ('in Virginia near DC' or whatever is accurate) and they will send you names of docs who belong to ILADS, which is the main voluntary group of wise docs in the Lyme field.

Bottom line, while doing it yourself may seem like a short cut, there are imo and experience, there are too many possible infections that ticks carry for you to efficiently and accurately choose which tests to order.  And then if you get a positive, you'll have to go to a doc for treatment, and the doc may then run more tests to confirm the tests you got already, if the doc isn't keen on the lab you used.  And so on.

Fastest and cheapest and more reliable thing to do?  imo, to find a good Lyme doc and let the doc call the shots.

[amanda_45]

He is 19 years old and his symptoms are excessive perspiration , severa anxiety, blood pressure is either too high or too low, hair loss ( comes and goes )  insomnia , and weight loss for no reason.


I know from reading symptoms, these may be some ....