Mycoplasma Testing

[Airen]

I have had some tests done and all came back negative. I do have one that was sky high for “mycoplasma pneumonae, IgG Ab.” Reference range was 0-99 and mine was 461. My question is, do you have to show mycoplasma antibodies for the AP therapy to work? Or are mycoplasma so elusive that they are difficult to detect and I can still be successful with AP. And are my numbers up there considered an active infection or past? Does that matter in AP?

Thanks for your input!

Diagnosed with RA in October 2014, pain started in February 2014
Started AP in June 2015
Taking daily: 32.5 mg WP thyroid 6 am, 100 mg mino 9 am, 16.25 mg WP thyroid 2 pm, B Complex for MTHFR mutation 3 pm, Multivitamin 3pm, 100 bil powdered probiotics 6 pm, 5-8,000 iu Vit D 6 pm, 100 mg mino 9 pm

[Maz]

@Airen wrote:

I have had some tests done and all came back negative. I do have one that was sky high for “mycoplasma pneumonae, IgG Ab.” Reference range was 0-99 and mine was 461. My question is, do you have to show mycoplasma antibodies for the AP therapy to work? Or are mycoplasma so elusive that they are difficult to detect and I can still be successful with AP. And are my numbers up there considered an active infection or past? Does that matter in AP?

Thanks for your input!

Hi Airen,

What did you have tested that returned negative?

No, not necessary to do any testing to begin AP (usually minocycline or doxycycline). Minocycline acts as both a DMARD for RA and also for its antimicrobial effects. Experienced AP docs will usually just run tests to prove infection in order for patients to get IV therapy approved. Otherwise, it’s not vital to test positive to begin therapy, particularly with the mycoplasmas, because a good % of the world’s population carries one or more strains of it. It’s just that rheumatics seem to develop a sensitivity to the bug’s toxins, called “bacterial allergy” (as described in the book). Also described in the book, the earlier a patient begins therapy, the swifter the response.

In some cases, yes, it can be hard to detect mycoplasma on indirect antibody testing, especially when bacterial antigen binds with our antibodies, causing immune complexes. See FAQ #6 on the original TARCI website (Brown’s lab), as follows:

http://wayback.archive.org/web/20111130095959/http://www.tarci.net/

“6. My mycoplasma test results came back negative but it still looks like I have an infection. Can you comment?

Physicians should be aware that, sometimes, when a patient mycoplasma test reads negative, it could be due to the formation of immune-complexes where the antigen and antibodies form aggregates that remain in muscle-tissue; since the antibodies are complexed, they would not be detected by a test looking for the bare antibody. Trace amounts of the mycoplasma antigens is detectable only after dissociation of such complexes. Furthermore, synovial fluids1 (especially in rheumatoid arthritis patients) frequently have higher concentrations of antibodies than serum. These situations require the physician’s discretion in deciding on the use of this treatment. Deciding on administration of the antibiotic becomes dependent upon other factors such as patient history, inflammation, rheumatoid factor etc.”

[Airen]

Well, the first was a blood test taken back in January and was for “mycoplasma pneumoniae, IgG Ab.” Reference range was 0-99 and mine was 461. The others were taken a couple weeks ago via stool test. However I am not certain I gave a good “sample.” Sorry if this is TMI but I had to use a q tip to retrieve the sample and I didn’t get anything…actually got blood instead from sticking that thing up my rear. Dr. still sent it off…so I’m wondering if it wasn’t a sufficient sample. The tests run were: mycoplasma genitalium, mycoplasma hominis, mycoplasma penetrans, candida albicans, tropicalis, parapsilosis, glabrata. All negative. No numbers or reference range just “negative.”

Diagnosed with RA in October 2014, pain started in February 2014
Started AP in June 2015
Taking daily: 32.5 mg WP thyroid 6 am, 100 mg mino 9 am, 16.25 mg WP thyroid 2 pm, B Complex for MTHFR mutation 3 pm, Multivitamin 3pm, 100 bil powdered probiotics 6 pm, 5-8,000 iu Vit D 6 pm, 100 mg mino 9 pm

[Maz]

@Airen wrote:

Well, the first was a blood test taken back in January and was for “mycoplasma pneumoniae, IgG Ab.” Reference range was 0-99 and mine was 461. The others were taken a couple weeks ago via stool test. However I am not certain I gave a good “sample.” Sorry if this is TMI but I had to use a q tip to retrieve the sample and I didn’t get anything…actually got blood instead from sticking that thing up my rear. Dr. still sent it off…so I’m wondering if it wasn’t a sufficient sample. The tests run were: mycoplasma genitalium, mycoplasma hominis, mycoplasma penetrans, candida albicans, tropicalis, parapsilosis, glabrata. All negative. No numbers or reference range just “negative.”

Hi Airen,

I think stool testing is pretty effective for candida testing, though not sure the swab method is as accurate as an actual stool sample. Also not sure of the lab used or its track record. It’s more common to be tested via blood for mycoplasma. The link below provides info on the lab Dr. Brown used (it’s a different name now, but the myco testing is, I think, still headed up by Millie Coker-Vann, his lab director, unless she has now retired) and they can be called/emailed to request a testing kit:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2069

Are you wanting testing to prove infection for IV therapy?

Perhaps there are others here who can comment from experience on how they fared specifically for myco testing via stool sample and which lab they used.

Seems you test positive for m. pneumoniae on both blood and stool testing. Are you questioning that it’s a past infection? If so, just to offer some reassurance, mycoplasma (of which there are a good number of strains pathogenic to humans), are dubbed “stealth pathogens,” and are not easy infections to eradicate from the body. So, if a person has symptoms and confirmed labs to indicate infection, then treatment is indicated.

You might find this article very interesting to read:

http://www.rain-tree.com/baseman.pdf

[Airen]

Hi Maz,

No, I don’t want IV therapy but just had the testing done and wasn’t sure if you needed a positive to still be successful on AP. That is all. I also didn’t think the stool sample was a good one so wasn’t sure if that one was even an effective test.

Thanks!

Diagnosed with RA in October 2014, pain started in February 2014
Started AP in June 2015
Taking daily: 32.5 mg WP thyroid 6 am, 100 mg mino 9 am, 16.25 mg WP thyroid 2 pm, B Complex for MTHFR mutation 3 pm, Multivitamin 3pm, 100 bil powdered probiotics 6 pm, 5-8,000 iu Vit D 6 pm, 100 mg mino 9 pm

[Author]

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