Well, crap. It really IS Borrelia. And Ehrlichia. And Anaplasma.

· by · in Lab Testing, Lyme/Co-Infections. ·

Borrelia burgdorferi Full Antigen: 1 SI.

Borellia burgdorferi OSP-Mix: 1 SI.

Borrelia burgdorferi LFA-1: 1 SI.

The results of the Elispot tests indicate no current cellular activity against Borellia burgdorferi.

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Borrelia miyamotoi Elispot: 4 SI.

Ehrlichia/Anaplasma Elispot: 4 SI.

The result of the Elispot test indicates current cellular activity against Borrelia miyamotoi and Ehrlichia/Anaplasma.

Wait, whaat?!

I’m so used to logging into my patient portal (the online account where me and my doctor share documents/lab results) only to see nothing there that catches my eye. Uploaded forms I signed at the clinic. Blood test results with numbers within their usual reference range. Nothing I wasn’t already expecting to see, more or less.

I also tested negative for Borrelia burgdorferi via Igenex last summer, so I’ve always had some skepticism in the back of my mind as to whether I’ve really been bitten by a tick or not.

But I guess this quashes that doubt. It was a surreal moment for me to stare at those results and let the weight of what I was seeing on my laptop screen sink in. The fact that the results came so quick (go ArminLabs with your quick turnaround time!) also lent itself to the shock, as I logged into my patient portal really just out of OCD rather than having had eg. a notification sent to me that something new had been uploaded.

asdflhdaslfbdlsewoiryip.  It’s a struggle here for me to describe how exactly I felt in the moments following that… not entirely bad, not really good either. Ambivalent, I suppose. I feel that at least this gives us a target to go for and legitimizes the symptoms I’ve been expressing to medical professionals, most of which have dismissed me, since the fall of 2014. On the flipside, holy shit?? Here I come longterm antibiotics, broken bank account and herxes? 😦

I’m now more curious that ever to see what the rest of my lab results show. As far as the tick-borne disease testing goes, I still have Igenex and Galaxy Diagnostics results I’m waiting on. Probably once all that is in, I’ll be having a phone follow-up appointment with Dr. K of the Open Medicine Institute to see what he thinks and to decide on what to do from here.

More to come…

Open Medicine Institute

The waiting room at the Open Medicine Institute.

Also see: May 2017 Trip to the Open Medicine Institute: Midtrip Check-In

 

 

 

 

 

8 responses to “Well, crap. It really IS Borrelia. And Ehrlichia. And Anaplasma.”

  2. Oh man, I totally understand how you’re feeling right now. We’re actually in a really similar place! I just got my preliminary results in March, my Armin lab results in April, and now I’m just waiting on my co-infections panel.
    On the one hand, it’s completely devastating, but on the other hand, I’m grateful that we can do something about it now. I relate with what you said when you mentioned it legitimizes your symptoms; maybe it’s easier for people to understand if it’s a real thing?
    Anyway, looks like we have a long road ahead. I’m in the greater Vancouver area so if you ever want to meet up on your way to Cali, let me know!

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    • Hey Natalie it’s nice to connect! Thanks for sharing a bit of your story and thoughts with me. It certainly isn’t a quick process to get all the tests done, especially when they cost so much and in the initial stages you don’t know which ones are worth it to do. I like that you mentioned the gratitude component though, you’re right that it’s fortunate we’re in a position to get a diagnosis in the first place and (hopefully) move forward with it towards recovery.

      While I wouldn’t wish anyone else to be at this place health-wise, it’s nice not to feel so alone in this journey, and to meet a fellow Canadian 🙂

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  3. It is really difficult to say how reliable this kind of Elispots are, sadly. I don’t know how they will be considered at Open Medicine Institute. Very curious.

    Tere aren’t good tests for the serology against Borrelia Myamotoi, at present, as far as I know. But it would be interesting to mesure IgM and IgG to Ehrlichia.

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    • Thanks for stopping by! I’ll certainly be updating once I have my follow-up phone appointment with Dr. K, hopefully later this month. I’m not sure how he’ll interpret the results either.

      While I know the tests aren’t perfect, I actually did some Igenex testing last year that were sort of “borderline” positive/suspicious. But since I experienced a spontaneous remission from symptoms we didn’t pursue further treatment at the time. My Ehrlichia result in spring 2016 was IgM <20 and IgG 80.

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