Guest guest Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 My igenex test said I was positive for lyme but in the Short term, had just one band in the long term....does that mean that I have not have this very long....although my symptoms seem chronic and i feel like i could have had it for two years at least...any thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 We had the IGG IGM tider that came back negative. We are going to a different doctor for more testing who will use Igenex lab. Thinking ahead, if this comes back negative we will be trying to rule out other things beside lyme. I don't know which tests for sure to ask for in testing for lyme but don't want to rush off to a lyme specialist unless we're sure it's lyme. Has anyone else been in the situation where they don't know for sure it's lyme and are ruling out other things? The testing for lyme seems so complicated... Our finances are limited and we're trying to think strategically so we don't spend a lot of money on specialists unnecessarily. Advice? Alison ________________________________ From: sw_emigre <fentonscott@...> Sent: Sat, February 19, 2011 5:43:02 PM Subject: [ ] Re: Igenex Test I had a similar situation before, where I'd been sick for 3 years, but when I took the IGenex test I was positive for short-term and negative for long-term. My ND and my GP believe that this probably means that my immune system is so so shot that I'm not producing the antibodies for long-term killing Lyme. So in my experience, don't worry about the diagnosis, you for sure have Lyme. Only catch is that you may have a long way back to health. But you'll get there, we all will! Paz, S > > My igenex test said I was positive for lyme but in the Short term, had just one >band in the long term....does that mean that I have not have this very >long....although my symptoms seem chronic and i feel like i could have had it >for two years at least...any thoughts. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 > > We had the IGG IGM tider that came back negative. If both IgG and IgM are negative, you can still have seronegative Lyme. With a good Western Blot test like IgeneX the chance of that happening is relatively small (less than 5% probably), but it does occur. Theoretically it would be a good idea to try a PCR test if the Western Blot comes up completely negatieve. But if your finances are strained this is not such a good idea (small chance of definite outcome, and relatively expensive test in the US). Did you have an erythema migrans or other sign of Borrelia infection? It is always a good idea to be open to other explanations ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Regarding testing, I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of a recently available approach to lyme and other disease testing. It relies on DNA rather than antibodies, and tests for dozens of organisms at the same time, and at a cost similar to the Igenix test for lyme only. The web site where you can order the test and get information is: http://www.spirostattech.com <http://www.spirostattech.com/> This seems to be an increasingly favored testing approach by Doctors. It provides much more information at a modest cost, and is likely more accurate. Bob son Fairbanks, AK [ ] Re: Igenex Test I had a similar situation before, where I'd been sick for 3 years, but when I took the IGenex test I was positive for short-term and negative for long-term. My ND and my GP believe that this probably means that my immune system is so so shot that I'm not producing the antibodies for long-term killing Lyme. So in my experience, don't worry about the diagnosis, you for sure have Lyme. Only catch is that you may have a long way back to health. But you'll get there, we all will! Paz, S > > My igenex test said I was positive for lyme but in the Short term, had just one >band in the long term....does that mean that I have not have this very >long....although my symptoms seem chronic and i feel like i could have had it >for two years at least...any thoughts. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 > > http://www.spirostattech.com <http://www.spirostattech.com/> > > This seems to be an increasingly favored testing approach by Doctors. It > provides much more information at a modest cost, and is likely more > accurate. thanks for the info, that's interesting. This is a different version of PCR testing (which normally detects just one strain/species of pathogen). It is a promising approach IMHO, especially for detecting coinfections, but I doubt it is 'increasingly favored'. Many scientists see this approach as extremely sensitive to contamination. If the lab is not extremely carefull you can get false positives. I don't know any lab in Europe that is using this for diagnosis, although it is used for research. So interesting to see that it is on the market now in the US. To put things into perspective: the amplification technology is similar to that used for sequencing of whole genomes. Recent estimates say that 25% of the currently available DNA sequences are contaminated with human DNA, due to contamination in the lab. And this is not from commercial labs, but from research labs where one can assume that they use the very best standards. PCR testing in blood usually has a large chance of false negatives, I guess that applies just the same for this test. If there is no pathogen DNA in the blood you will not detect the pathogen. If anyone knows the specifity (risk of false positive) and sensitivity (risk of false negative) of this labtest, I would be interested to hear about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hi ,    I had Lyme ruled out four times by testing before coming back positive on an IGENEX test.I went untreated for 10-12 years. The standards used were different for sensitivity. IGENEX has stated that the best way to diagnose lyme is through symptoms as most testing is more or less unreliable. Take your LLMDs advice and get treated if he feels you have Lyme disease. The downside of not being treated is much worse than most admit.   Peace and wellness,          Jeff From: alison kelly <greatowlherbs@...> Subject: Re: [ ] Re: Igenex Test Date: Monday, February 21, 2011, 1:31 PM  We had the IGG IGM tider that came back negative. We are going to a different doctor for more testing who will use Igenex lab. Thinking ahead, if this comes back negative we will be trying to rule out other things beside lyme. I don't know which tests for sure to ask for in testing for lyme but don't want to rush off to a lyme specialist unless we're sure it's lyme. Has anyone else been in the situation where they don't know for sure it's lyme and are ruling out other things? The testing for lyme seems so complicated... Our finances are limited and we're trying to think strategically so we don't spend a lot of money on specialists unnecessarily. Advice? Alison Paz, S > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 What does positive in the short term mean exactly? Short term and long term? Thank you, Alison ________________________________ From: sw_emigre <fentonscott@...> Sent: Sat, February 19, 2011 5:43:02 PM Subject: [ ] Re: Igenex Test I had a similar situation before, where I'd been sick for 3 years, but when I took the IGenex test I was positive for short-term and negative for long-term. My ND and my GP believe that this probably means that my immune system is so so shot that I'm not producing the antibodies for long-term killing Lyme. So in my experience, don't worry about the diagnosis, you for sure have Lyme. Only catch is that you may have a long way back to health. But you'll get there, we all will! Paz, S > > My igenex test said I was positive for lyme but in the Short term, had just one >band in the long term....does that mean that I have not have this very >long....although my symptoms seem chronic and i feel like i could have had it >for two years at least...any thoughts. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Oh geesh I forgot the link to the article, sorry!!! I will pull it up when I get to the comp and send it to you. Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry® Re: [ ] Re: Igenex Test We had the IGG IGM tider that came back negative. We are going to a different doctor for more testing who will use Igenex lab. Thinking ahead, if this comes back negative we will be trying to rule out other things beside lyme. I don't know which tests for sure to ask for in testing for lyme but don't want to rush off to a lyme specialist unless we're sure it's lyme. Has anyone else been in the situation where they don't know for sure it's lyme and are ruling out other things? The testing for lyme seems so complicated... Our finances are limited and we're trying to think strategically so we don't spend a lot of money on specialists unnecessarily. Advice? Alison .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.