I also tested negative the first time with my PCP. My sister had the same result and told me about a new company called Imaware. The test is done by mail and the team answered all my questions. My test came back positive and the results are accepted by doctors. Hope this helps.
The short-comings of diagnostic tests and the need for careful clinical diagnosis is also prevasive in the Lyme disease community. Even with positive test results, many physicians are reluctant to diagnose Lyme or related tick-borne diesease, especially in late-stage cases, owing to the controversies in the medical community regarding how to treat.
Throid disorders can also be tricky to diagnose, and doctors disagree on the ranges of thyroid hormonoes that define the normal or hypo categories.
It is frustrating to know that your diagnosis/treatment may hinge on which doctor you happen to see, and that there are not more universally accepted testing practices, interpretations, and diagnositic procedures.
Thanks for the info! And I so agree with you about the medical mentality out there today, putting all the weight on diagnostic studies while totally disregarding patient symptoms.
Now, if we could only develop a list of doctors' names who actually listen to their patients and use more gut-instinct coupled with medical knowledge to diagnose! I think that is how the "old-fashioned" MDs used to do it.
WAF
TY for the info 20% is a good amount..Did you know that a lot of the blood test for the mimics aren't 100% reliable either? My mother who has Sjogrens Syndrome tested negative for the SS-B and SS-A blood panels, but was diagnosed through the signs and symptoms, and a positive lip biopsy. Most blood panels have a certain % of people that don't come up positive for the disease, but actually have it. They have to be diagnosed through other means.
...And doctors always act like blood panels and MRIs show everything and show the full picture.
Take Care