Fluctuating Lyme tests over 3 months

Hello,

My dad was diagnosed with Lyme in June after having a couple years of severe neurological symptoms, twitching, and muscle weakness.

He had a Labcorp test in May 2018 with present IGG 41, 45, 66. He has a IGENEX test in June 2018 with present IGM 41 and IGG 23-25, 31, 34, 41, 45, 58.

He also had a DNA Connexions test showing Babesia duncani, Bartonella bacillformis and henselae, and ehrlichia chaffeenis.

After a month of antibiotics, he just had a recently had a Labcorp test in July showing just a present IGG 23.

Does this mean he has all of those antibodies or are the labs doing something wrong? Should we continue with treatment? His symptoms haven't gone away but are maybe slightly improved.

Thank you in advance for any responses or help!

gotcha82 said...
Hello,

My dad was diagnosed with Lyme in June after having a couple years of severe neurological symptoms, twitching, and muscle weakness.

He had a Labcorp test in May 2018 with present IGG 41, 45, 66. He has a IGENEX test in June 2018 with present IGM 41 and IGG 23-25, 31, 34, 41, 45, 58.

He also had a DNA Connexions test showing Babesia duncani, Bartonella bacillformis and henselae, and ehrlichia chaffeenis.

After a month of antibiotics, he just had a recently had a Labcorp test in July showing just a present IGG 23.

Does this mean he has all of those antibodies or are the labs doing something wrong? Should we continue with treatment? His symptoms haven't gone away but are maybe slightly improved.

Thank you in advance for any responses or help!

Welcome, gotcha!

The way the WB works is the body's immune system needs to mount a response to the bacteria to produce the antibodies. This shows up in the positive bands.
The immune system can fluctuate over time.
Also, as opugirl mentioned Labcorp is not a good test for lyme. Igenex specializes in tick borne disease testing.
The testing can't be used to determine when to stop treatment. After we've healed, our immune system can continue to produce antibodies.

that's great - sounds like he is doing better. I hope he continues to treat longer...and like Opugirl mentioned - it's best to consult with a LL Dr. since he has a chronic infection (older) to make sure he's got it covered.

Perhaps the Dr. Has prescribed a short-term treatment only to provoke a response of/by his immune system. Its what my Dr. Keeps doing. He will likely remain on antibiotic treatment especially IF the infection wasnt treated within 1 month of the initial exposure.

Lyme disease is treated based on patients symptoms, and history. Its a clinical diagnosis more-so than a lab test diagnosis. I often wonder WHY even bother wasting my time & money on tests since theyre almost always false negatives(for me). The ONLY positive Ive ever gotten was DNA testing!!!

Prayers for your dad!

The doctor seems more concerned about mold tests and cd57 than Lyme.

He’s actually been doing IPT treatment for Lyme and mold. He’s had 10 treatments and has been off for over a week. I am wondering whether he should get just antibiotics and maybe herbal treatment instead.

Sorry, I didn't see there was a response! It is insulin potentiation therapy- insulin is given to lower blood sugar and then antibiotics and antifungals are injected. It was really the only option the LLMD gave us and it is quite expensive..