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lyme or CPn

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 3:44 am
by mom10789
if i have lyme is it the samee abxs
i've always felt i had lyme first
is the LP the only way to find out
my day was a little better yesterday
went to see our sons-in-law play softball last night
in quite a bit of pain this morning

but on a happy note, during my sponge bath yesterday,i asked the nurse to move the kitten because she was chewing on my ankle bracelet
i actually felt it
it was pretty cool
shell

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:52 am
by SarahLonglands
Wow, Shell, what a good thing to actually feel a kitten chewing on your ankle bracelet! I still remember when I put my feet on a bare wooden floor on the first cool day of autumn, four years ago, and actually feeling the cool, polished wood.

Yes, lyme disease is treated very successfully with the same abx as MS, so no worries there. I has a blood serum test for Cpn and lyme and was completely negative for lyme, marginally positive for Cpn, but this was only after I had started treatment and was just done out of interest, really. I have never had a lumbar puncture. David apparently used to be very good at it, when training, but that was nearly thirty years ago and I have heard such varying tales about others, I was glad it wasn't
necessary!

Sarah :D

Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:26 pm
by tory2457
Hi Shell,

In order to rule Lyme Disease in or out; the least likely test is a Lumbar Puncture. Less than 5 % of LD is detected in the spinal fluid.

Testing using a Western Blot isn't 100% reliable either, but far better than the conventional ELISA. IGeneX Labs in CA specializes in Tick Borne Illnesses and tests for all the bands.

For instance: my brother in law found a tick on his chest and then a bulls eye rash about 6 yrs ago, and he just tested negative (IGeneX) according to CDC criteria. He did however have band 39++.
Band 39 is the most significant band for LD. Does he have LD? yup! He also has Mycoplasma Pneumonia.

Here's a good place to start understanding the "difficulty" in testing for LD.
Like MS, Lyme is a clinical diagnosis first.

ilads.org
lymenet.org

best to you,
tory

Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:35 pm
by daisy
Tory - Great explanation!

As I believe Sojourner once posted - "just a little bit of lyme is like being just a little bit pregnant".

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:37 am
by tory2457
thanks! Daisy :)

I agree with Sojourner's post, gets right to the point.

It also speaks of "treat the Patient, not the test result" as all physicians are taught..