Abnormal result from blood test

Medical Tests 🔬
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Remember I said I that bloodwork done last Wednesday, including for “EBV titers” (EBV = Epstein-Barr virus)? Basically blood tests to make sure there isn’t anything infectious, such as Lyme disease or what have you.

Well, I was informed today that “the Lyme disease antibody came back elevated, [and] Dr. Hecox would like to do a test that is more specific known as the western blot. I will mail you a script and you can go to a lab in your area and they can fax us the results. It is a blood test.”

They also want to know if I’d like to consider undergoing a desensitization process (to sulfa drugs), under observation, so that I could be able to safely take Diamox. I don’t know … sure, they could do it in a controlled way so it’d be safe, and Diamox is also used as an anticonvulsant (or has such properties) … but should I ask about Keppra first? Scott said it sounds a logical choice if my brother and I have a same/similar genotype and the drug worked for him. Medically observed desensitization sounds … slow and long.

Now I’m confused. Lyme disease antibody levels elevated?!

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Hi George,

Wow, that is a surprising finding. It’s good that they’re chasing the Lyme disease thing further. Western blotting is a really sensitive way to look for antibodies. Have a look at this article which explains the process of the ELISA and then western blotting for this disease:

lymenet.de/labtests/brenner.htm

Did you see this article George?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

Do you recall having the “bullseye” rash at any stage?

On another note, did you not say that migraine runs in your family previously? I guess you’ll need to see what the testing reveals and know if Lyme disease really could be active in your system causing all of this.

The whole sensitisation thing sounds even more bizarre. Why is this guy so adamant to have you on a sulfa-type drug I wonder?

Scott

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— Begin quote from ____

The whole sensitisation thing sounds even more bizarre. Why is this guy so adamant to have you on a sulfa-type drug I wonder?

— End quote

I think that was before he got the blood-test results. He’d basically said, “We’re going to run some bloodwork just to make sure there aren’t any infectious diseases,” etc., which suggests to me that he didn’t expect an abnormal result. So, the Diamox prescription – which preceded the test results – suggests he probably had another idea (not Lyme) in mind as his #1 guess. If Lyme DOES come out positive, I don’t know if Diamox will still be in the picture.

— Begin quote from ____

Do you recall having the “bullseye” rash at any stage?

— End quote

No, but perhaps I had one and it just wasn’t itchy and/or not in a noticeable spot (like the back of the leg). I’m told that it can exist even without the classic bullseye.

I’ve heard say told that Lyme can manifest with pretty much any symptoms under the sun. And since we live in a heavily forested area, complete with deer, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, opossums and other forest varmints — and given that I am often mowing the lawn, and our dog frequently goes outside to romp — getting a tick bite (the usual carrier/transmitter of Lyme) at some point isn’t that hard to imagine.

— Begin quote from ____

On another note, did you not say that migraine runs in your family previously?

— End quote

That’s what everyone tells me, though as time goes on I’m not so sure how informed my family members are as to what constitutes “true” migraine. For Mom, she basically just gets excruciating headaches, lasting from hours to days. Same for me, mostly. Both of us are inclined toward dark, silent rooms when a bad headache hits. I wonder if I really fit the formal diagnostic criteria of migraine.

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I’d be THRILLED to have Lyme come back positive in the western-blot test. A stupid bacterial thing is so much more straightforward (I’m overgeneralizing a little, I know) to treat than a neurological thing.

I’ve been having some REALLY crummy days for about the last week. I have been coming off verapamil – today was the last dose – per doctor’s orders. I wonder if that’s not making things a little tougher, given that I’ve been on it for months. And, I’m probably STILL stuck with the stupid, agonizingly slow return-to-normal process from Effexor, aka The Drug From the Inner Circle of Hell.

However, on the whole, I’ve been slowly but surely going downhill (for the most part) since this all began. I don’t know if MAV is known to typically progress with time, but I know that Lyme certainly gets worse and worse when left untreated.

Do you know, I never thought that any prayer of mine would involve asking for a POSITIVE result on an infectious-disease test! So, here’s hoping for Lyme! (How strange does that sound?!)