Do you ever test negative ??

Since the Western Blot relies on antibodies , is the result of this blood test going to be positive for months or even years after the last significant Lyme symptom ??

Anyone thoughts on this?

I have had repeat H Pylori blood test positives , despite three years on ABX : and am going to take the breath test for active infection next week, since I have never had an H Pylori symptom - and would like to stop taking the proton pump inhibitors( they give me headaches)

All my other co-infections and problems finally test negative ( Ehrlichia , babs , bart , Mycoplasma , TB ) : but my Lyme western blot continues to be very positive despite a vast reduction in symptoms . I would hate to continue taking the huge amounts of ABX if indeed I am "better"?

I wonder if there is another test , like in the case of H Pylori , that tests for "active" infection rather than historic exposure ? Anyone comment?

Thanks Dorit ! I continue to test +ve on both ...just about every band despite being so much better .

hi janem! I heard about a few people still having a positive igm in westernblod after long treatment with abx and no symtoms left; all a miracle, this disease and as sickinct said a lot of things may interfere with those testing methods ...you said you tested positive for heliobacter too without having symptoms. do you see a llmd? maybe its worth a try to go without abx if you feel much better now.
I' ll keep you in my thoughts and hope that you can stop taking abx as soon as possible! dorit

janem said...
Thanks Dorit and sickinct. I am a scientist , so have researched the (in)accuracy of all the Lyme tests - just wondered if there was a new wonder test out there that I didn't know about

Actually there is, being a scientist you will appreciate it. It's called Live Blood Analysis. Using a high power darkfield microscope you should be able to visibly view the Lyme Spirochete in the blood. I would not trust it to rule out Lyme (because it can also hide in other parts of the body or in cyst form) but instead it is a good tool to confirm it. I had it done and was amazed at what I saw. If you goto youtube.com and type in "Lyme Microscope" you will be able to see what I am talking about. There is only one other type of bacteria that will look like this and that is syphilis. Syphilis is a cousin to Lyme and will actually cause the same exact symptoms in late stage so make sure you have been tested for it as well. If you view your blood and your looking at your red and white blood cells let it sit under the microscope for about 10 minutes. As the cells start to dry up the Spirochete should come swimming out angry and looking for a new host!!

Post Edited (SickInCT) : 1/14/2009 8:13:21 PM (GMT-7)