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Positive 41 IGG & 23 IGM on Western Blot

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Posted 6/10/2017 9:51 PM (GMT -5)
It has been a long road to get here. I have been ill for years and am only getting worse. I have gone to so many doctors with no answers. about 10 days ago, I went to a new PCP because I had a pain in my left armpit that started radiating down my arm. A week after the pain appeared, I started getting bruising at the elbow as well as other painful lumps on my forearm. My PCP suggested I get tested for Lyme disease based on the symptoms I've been having for years. The results came back as reactive to 41 IGG & 23 IGM. My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist, but I recently contacted a Lyme Disease Association in my state to get a list of recommended doctors. I am waiting to hear back on an appointment with one of the recommended doctors.

I have read that the 23 band is specific to Lyme. Does testing reactive to these two bands together suggest that I have Lyme disease (in addition to the huge list of symptoms)? Also, if I've been having these symptoms for years, why wouldn't I test positive to the 23 IGM instead of the IGG?

So glad I found this site...I've already learned so much!

Just curious...Has anyone had anything happen to them like what I described with my arm?
Posted 6/10/2017 9:57 PM (GMT -5)
Hi jmoore06 - welcome


Yes those test results show you have lyme disease. (and of course your symptoms do as well)


IgM means it is an active infection...not necessarily a recently acquired infection.

I had my symptoms for 15 months and was positive on IgM. With Lyme disease (unlike other diseases) - the IgM can persist for many months to years before converting over to IgG.

When you have time, it would be helpful if you read through the thread at the top of the page titled: "New to Lyme?..Start Here!" It's got a lot of useful information in there.

I have had pain radiating from my left shoulder blade - down my left arm and hand...but no bruising or lumps.

Keep reading, posting, asking questions. This is a very knowledgeable and supportive group here.
Posted 6/10/2017 10:06 PM (GMT -5)
Thank you so much for your quick response! This makes total sense! I could cry right now...just the thought of having an answer and a plan to getting better gives me so much hope! Not that I want to have Lyme Disease, but I want to get my life back and a diagnoses would help me do that! Thanks again!
Posted 6/10/2017 10:45 PM (GMT -5)
Hi jmoore06 -

Another "welcome" to the forum. Sorry you're here but glad you for us.

Like Girlie mentioned the IgG and IgM are not always accurate - it's best not to take our immune responses too literal where Lyme is concerned, given how much the Bb microbe can interfere with immune function. I contracted Lyme 16+ yrs before my WB yet my IgM was CDC+ and IgG was negative. Makes no sense.

Let us know if you need more help finding an LLMD. In the interim until you get into see someone, it's great and a little cathartic to use the time preparing and reading and documenting your symptom and health history - detoxing and cleaning up your diet.

-p
Posted 6/11/2017 9:54 AM (GMT -5)
Hi Jmoore!
Welcome to our community! I'm so glad you found us.

I too have had the pain, and have had the lumps (may indicate another infection - Bartonella) on my arms as well as in other places. I bruise easily due to Bart and having a really 'fair' skin color (very easily seen, even very light bruising).

The testing is not that good. It looks for antibodies produced by our immune system - but Lyme disease lowers immune function, so we not only don't test positive for the infection many times, but as Girlie and Pirouette explained, the IgM can show up any time the infection is active, no matter how long the person has had the infection. I was infected by the age of 7 and couldn't get a positive Lyme test until I had a full year of treatment - then I tested fully CDC positive for not only Lyme, but RMSF. What the testing didn't reveal is that I also had Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasmosis and others as well.

Keep asking questions!!!
Posted 6/11/2017 11:27 AM (GMT -5)
Thank you all for your responses. The arm pain with bruising and lumps is definitely the strangest thing that has happened so far. My PCP didn't have any answers, so she referred me to the ER when the pain/bruising started getting worse. They checked me thoroughly for blood clots and it all came back negative. The ER doctor did say that the bruising/lumps were definitely strange, but she has referred me to an orthopedic doctor...I will see him this coming Tuesday. Curious to know what he has to say. I am realizing that testing reactive for bands 41 and 23 on the Western blot might have been a lucky instance due to the fact that it does not show up most times. Counting my blessings that this intuitive PCP had the sense to test me for it.
Posted 6/11/2017 11:40 AM (GMT -5)
While it is good to rule out other things, it's unlikely that the Orthopedist will be of much help. Your best option is to use an ILADS trained doctor as they will recognize your need for effective treatments using ILADS treatment standards.
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