Hello to another Michigan Lymie, The way I was told how the Western Blot test results works is IgM results are short term infection usually 6-8 weeks or less. IgG antibiodies are a long standing infection that start to show up after 6 months. If you had nine positive bands surely it seems you are infected. Remember that nobody test the same way and that there isn't a real conclusive Lyme test. Too many false positive-negative tests. Why don't you post all the kDa bands you show a + for. There are people on this board who can help you break them down into meaning.
Dr. M is also my doctor. Will this be your first time seeing him?
I am sorry you have Lyme, but it is good you have been diagnosed so you can get the treatment you need.
There is no completely reliable test for Lyme. Did you have any bands present on the IgG?
It is good you will be seeing a Lyme doctor. This is important. Besides Lyme, ticks can also transmit several co-infections including Babesiosis, two types of Ehrlichiosis (HME & HGE), Bartonella, and Mycoplasma. Many people who have Lyme are co-infected. It may affect treatment choice and progress. It is important to be tested for these by a Lyme reputable lab such as IgeneX.
If you have children and think you may have been infected during pregnancy, you should have your children evaluated by a knowledgeble doctor also. Lyme disease can be passed through pregnancy and breastfeeding.
It is also important to learn as much as possible. I recommend reading Dr. Joseph Burrascano's 2005 Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines For Lyme and Other Tick Borne Illnesses (on-line). He is one of the top Lyme doctors in the country, and many Lyme doctors follow his protocols. I also recommend the book "Everything You Need To Know about Lyme Disease
(2nd edition)" by Karen Vanderhoof-Forschner.
Good luck at your appointment! Let us know how it goes okay?
CarinaCa is right, did some research and found this statement by a LLMD in Missouri:
"but actually, more IgM blots are positive in chronic Borreliosis than IgG. Every time borrelia reproduces itself, it may stimulate the immune system to form new IgM antibodies."
Additionally, I found a research article by Carl Brenner who sits on the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Adivsory Commmittee for Clinical Studies on Chronic Lyme Disease, He stated the following:
Bands 31, 34, 39, and 83-93 are species specific, highly specific for Lyme.
Additionally bands 31 and 34 are among the most species specific proteins of B. burgdorferi but do not show up with great frequency in patients. These bands tend to appear late if at all in Lyme disease patients.
Well, if this is true, I have both bands 31+++, 34+. I guess that my immune system is having an active reaction thus the IgM +. And that I am late stage chronic Lyme given the 31 and 34 (+)'s.
I have been doing lots of reading while waiting for my LLMD appt.. It doesn't seem as if treatment will be successful unless the patient is well informed about this disease and it's treatment, however limited that might be.
