IGeneX Results

Multiplex PCR: Negative
IgM Western Blot: Negative, with a positive (3+) 41 kDa and Indeterminate 23-25 kDa, 31 kDa, 39 kDa and 83-93 kDa.
IgG Western Blot: Negative, with a positive (2+) 41 kDa and Indeterminate 31 kDa.

Overall, it's negative according to the CDC and IgeneX.  A positive western blot has 2 or more positive strands in either the IgM wb or the IgG wb (according to IgeneX, not the CDC).  Usually, a positive IgM is a sign of a current infection, and a positive IgG is a sign of a past infection.  It can also be positive in both tests.  IGeneX suggests that if you have one positive or indeterminate strand in either the IgM or IgG, you should be retested.  That's where we're stuck, because I have one positive and four indeterminate strands in just the IgM WB.  The reason IGeneX suggests retesting is because the Lyme antibodies aren't always present in the patient's blood.  Borrelia burgdorferi (the Lyme bacteria) is very good at hiding in other parts of the body, which makes diagnosing Lyme extremely difficult.  Unfortunately, the IGeneX test that I already had done once costs over $400 (insurance doesn't cover it), so we're still trying to decide what to do.  We're open to the fact that I might not have Lyme, but we also don't feel comfortable completely forgetting about a disease that doesn't have any accurate tests.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get into the neurologist quickly and we can go from there.  A neurologist should be very knowledgeable about neuroborreliosis (the neurological disorder caused by Lyme), so we're hoping that whoever I end up seeing will have that in mind while looking for other things, too.

If everything that I just wrote makes absolutely no sense, Columbia University's website on Lyme Disease research is very helpful!