Igenex difference

[hopefull]

I'm trying to get a handle on the main difference between Igenex lab
and “regular” standard labs that non-literate MDs use.My sister had an
ELISA and then the Western Blot.Does that mean they didn't go on and test
for co-infections?Thanks,Kathy

RA dx'd 2001
Cimzia inj X2 mthly
Prednisone
considering AP again

[Maz]

[user=110]hopefull[/user] wrote:

I'm trying to get a handle on the main difference between Igenex lab
and “regular” standard labs that non-literate MDs use.My sister had an
ELISA and then the Western Blot.Does that mean they didn't go on and test
for co-infections?

Hi Kathy,

Your sis was very fortunate to test positive on standard tests for Lyme 🙂 – it's estimated that only 50% or less of people do!

The following links explain the difference between standard Lyme tests and more sensitive testing, like IGeneX labs:

http://www.rbfbb.org/view_topic.php?id=3698&forum_id=1&highlight=lyme+testing+kim+maz

http://www.lymenet.de/labtests/brenner.htm

Yes, if your sister only had ELISA and Western Blot, this only tested for antibodies to the Lyme spirochete…borrelia burgdoreferi aka Bb (the correct name for the actual infection is called borreliosis)… she would not have been tested for coinfections, like babesiosis, bartonella, erhlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and all the other tickborne coinfections. These require specific tests of their own. Unfortunately, these tests are just as notoriously bad, which is why Lyme docs will diagnose coinfections using clinical judgment. This is because it is far safer to treat prophylactically than to leave coinfections untreated.

Ticks feed off of a number of animals during their 2 year life span, often before attaching for their blood meal on a human. So they pick up and transmit to us anything they have collected along the way.

Hope this helps?

Peace, Maz

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