Got a Western Blot test...but...

[Erin]

Went to the MS Clinic today. Shocked the heck out of me when the Nurse Practitioner said that she would definately order a Western Blot to check for Lyme. (wow! she actually listened to me!)

Only thing is, they're not using Igenex, but some lab in Utah (I think...) I didnt have to bring the WB test kit that I ordered from Igenex. The NP said that if I'm still concerned after their WB test, I can still get the Igenex WB test done and that she would help me find a LLMD if I'm still worried about the possibility of Lyme even if I get a negative result on the MS Clinic's WB test that they're doing.

Along with the WB test, they're also testing me for just about all of the diseases that imitate MS. (something both my regular doctor and neuro didnt do...they only did an ELISA for Lyme) After being told about most of those diseases, I'm hoping for this to be either Lyme or MS, because a lot of the other diseases sound scarier.

The MS neuro wanted to check for Devic's disease because of something he saw on the MRI's that I had last year. But when I told him about the tick bites that I've had and the rash that I had a few months after some of those tick bites, he put a rush on the Lyme tests...even tho he said that he thought Lyme diagnosis are "overrated" (whatever the heck he meant by that, I dont know...he's an Arab and had a heavy Farsi accent and I was having problems following what he was saying. Both me and the Nurse practitioner actually had to correct his pronunciation of certain words...it'd be nice if he spoke english better)

At least they actually were taking me seriously about my concern about Lyme. Told me that they'd help me find a Lyme specialist if the Western Blot comes back positive. I feel a lot better after seeing the neuro at the MS clinic, mostly because he and the NP actually listened to me.

So, hopefully this second opinion I'm getting about the MS will give me better news about what's going on. If anything, at least now I'll get some sort of drugs or treatment for whatever is going on.

EDITED TO ADD: I just remembered the name of the lab... I'm pretty sure it's ARUP (hope that's the right spelling) Does anyone know about this lab? Do they have a good track record for finding Lyme in blood tests????

[tmptmp]

'Over rated' except for those of us who have had a serious
form of the illness.

tm

[tmptmp]

Correction:

"Over rated"
Not for those of us ....

[Erin]

I know, I didnt quite understand what he meant by overrated.

Since I've talked to a bunch of people here on BT that have Lyme, I dont see how it can be considered overrated...what the heck did that doctor mean by that?

Maybe, because he had such crappy English skills, he just picked the wrong word or something

Either that, or he's just a putz.

[blimeyitslymie]

I go for the putz definition. When my son was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome 7 years ago, a cousin who is an MD, PhD, told me it was the flavor of the month DX. Another PUTZ. :rolleyes: The ego's of some of these DR's drive me crazy.

As far as the testing is concerned, I haven't heard of that lab and think that if the NP is willing to do the IgeneX testing for you then just wait and see.

Good luck.

[lymebytes]

Hi Erin. I am not familiar with the Utah lab. Many Lyme doctors use IgeneX for testing because they have more sensitive testing and list more bands on the Western Blot. Make sure you get a copy of your results. If you need help interpreting them, let me know.

Funny the doctor thinks Lyme is over-diagnosed. It is the second fastest growing infectious disease in the US after AIDS and it is the number one vector borne disease (not West Nile). It is very under-diagnosed.

[Erin]

Hopefully I'll get the results back soon. I dont expect them to call me before monday or tuesday tho. They took so many blood samples that the hospital lab was going to do and several others for that utah lab to do (along with the WB test) I'm betting they'll wait till they get everything back before they call me.


And yes, I think that doctor was a putz regarding the comment about Lyme. Other than that, I think he was a pretty good doctor. He figured out that I had something wrong with my other eye, and he said that I have clonus (or something) in my right ankle and foot. I didnt know about those two problems before.

laters...gonna go giggle about the news about Paris Hilton...I just laughed for about 20 minutes straight about her screaming for her mommy. Saturday Night Live and Jay Leno and David Letterman and all the night time shows are going to have a blast making fun of her...

I probably shouldnt giggle about it so much, because it's obvious there's something wrong with her...but, I cant help it.

[Sonsie]

he thought Lyme diagnosis are "overrated"
You should NOT see this doctor. This is a doctor who does not care to keep up with modern medicine. Good grief -- everyone who understands the nature of LD acknowledges that only a small percent of LD cases are reported.

Does anyone know about this lab? Do they have a good track record for finding Lyme in blood tests????
Never heard of them. All the LD experts (if you want web sites, let me know) report repeatedly how important it is to use a lab that knows how to do the right tests. Sadly, most labs don't have the knowledge and expertise to do this. It's criminal, yes, but being aware of this and making sure that we don't let them keep on deluding us into giving them our business is very important to our futures.