41 KD: IGG Reactive BUT.... IGM *NON Reactive*???

Hi NJRider,
Welcome to our community! I'm so glad you found us.

The testing does not show that you have the infection - but, the testing is not very good. The fact that you reacted to band 41 is significant, as it has indicated that your immune system is producing antibodies for some type of spirochete (band 41 indicates the tail of the bacteria, but there are several types of spirochete infection - Pintas, Yaws, Syphilis, Lyme).

None of the testing is all that accurate because the testing requires the immune system to be functioning properly - but if you have Lyme disease, even in the early stages, the Lyme bacteria lower the immune function - so the testing misses many, many patients that actually do have the disease. I didn't test positive until after I have a full year of treatments - then I was "suddenly" positive for not only Lyme, but Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. But my immune system was still too low for me to test positive for other infections I had - Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasmosis and others.

Next you go to your symptoms. Here is a questionnaire that you can fill out to help you determine if you have the 'right' symptoms to be concerned about having Lyme: www.tiredoflyme.com/horowitz-lyme-msids-questionnaire.html

​If ​you haven't ​yet​, it would be helpful for you to start with reading through the thread at the top of the forum titled,"New to Lyme?...Start here!!", as​​ it is packed ​​full of ​​important information​​, symptom lists, helpful links and pdf's, how to detox when one has these infections, information on probiotics and much more.​​ ​​​​And, here's another good place to find helpful detoxing rout​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ines​​:​​​​​​ ​​​http://www.tiredoflyme.com/detox-methods.html​​
​
If you aren't seeing an ILADS trained LLMD, I would also suggest that you only go to one of them. They are not miracle workers, but they are the best we have. If you need help in finding one, please do let us know, as we can likely be of help.

Not only is lyme testing not very good - as Traveler mentioned...but Quest in particular is really not very good.


If you do want to retest - I suggest Igenex. Just do the Lyme WB Igm and Igg for total of $210.

You may get some positive lyme specific bands.

Oh - you're a new member here! Sorry I missed that.

Welcome! Traveler has given you great information...

Ok.... just to update my own thread... more for posterity.

I saw LLMD (Infectious Disease specialist)... old school doctor and has been doing this in the NYC area for 40+ years. FWIW, I liked him....
- Dr agree the Quest is weak
- Dr also noted when I brought up Igenex that they have a bad wrap as a lab & have had some serious problems.
- Dr likes Stony Brook as he has worked with them extensively over the years

My results from Stony Brook came back identical to Quest... reactive for 41KD IGG but negative everywhere else.

Overall, Dr considers this to be very good news and though he views the results as technically "inconclusive" that having 2 such results, especially one from Stony Brook, means I probably don't have Lyme. So, per the comments above, the testing is just a back up to the clinical and though I have unexplained joint pain (that responds to Cortisone), it is unlikely that Lyme is the underlying culprit.

FWIW......

My question would be if you don't have Lyme, have they ruled out the other infections that could produce a positive on band 41 then?

​ ​​​​​​​​Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.

Many of us have only band 41 show up on our tests, then we get treatment for Lyme and most often the tests will become full positive at some point in treatment.