Lyme Disease Support Group

I have tested positive by WB by CDC for lyme by IGM serology. My doctor says "a positive IGM doesn't mean you have lyme" I already know that this is not so, but am really interested in anyone sharing their story on how their blood tests changed during the course of treatment. i.e. Did anyone have only IGM positive resluts and if so, did it eventually convert to IGG as well?

Also, I read that some people don't make IGG antibodies or so called "IGG deficiency syndrome" has anyone been tested for this?

JP,

I just wanted to say hi and welcome to the group.

I'm not sure about the answer to your question. I was positive on both IGG and IGM. I haven't been rechecked since starting treatments in Jan.

How long have you been ill?

I'm sure more people will be by who can answer your question. I'm still learning about this disease as I go through treatments.

There is lots of info. around this site. Please look around and read about this disease. It will help with a lot of fears your may have about it.

Take care and good luck,

Sheila

Okay, this is what my PA told me... IGG is the antibody...IGM is an active infection...this. I am going to verify this with the PA I see at the Lyme clinic. I read somewhere in the posts, that we are not all going to develop the antibodies needed to fight these infections.

Another doc, said you only show IGM when you are 1st infected, MY OPINION HELLO< if you still have Lyme it is active no matter when you were infected.

Oh yeah, I came negative on IGG because I did not meet CDC criteria...I only had one positive IGG band. But met the CDC criteria for positive on the IGM.

Were your tests through IGENEX, and did you see all of your bands?

Post edited by: Zeke, at: 06/14/2009 07:01 PM

Okay, found this and thought is was good..I was curious to find out myself...and wanted to share; even though I found it on a site that applies to Herpes..(which we know we all have that too..don't worry) It explains the IGG vs IGM in a language we may all be able to understand. This also applies to Lyme.

Blood tests can look for and detect antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood. IgG appears soon after infection and stays in the blood for life. IgM is actually the first antibody that appears after infection, but it may disappear thereafter.

Post edited by: Zeke, at: 06/16/2009 06:19 PM

Post edited by: Zeke, at: 06/16/2009 06:21 PM

hi, I had positive IGM but negative IGG. My doctor said it was normal for IGG to come up negative especially if your immune system is wiped out.

I have seen many people ask this same question. It appears as though everyone is different and some people only test IGM positive but never IGG and others test IGG but not IGM. Everyone is different but we all still have lyme either way it comes up. I researched this same topic when I first tested positive.

I had been sick for 7 years when I was tested and came up IGM positive in October. My primary doctor said that it meant I had a recent infection but I knew that was crap. No way was it recent. I knew that is what had been making me sick all these years. He said after a month it should turn from IGM to IGG but it didn't. Months later I still was testing IGM positive which went against what he was saying.

Doctors don't know all the ins and outs of Lyme and the testing etc. They look for any way to deny what has been making you sick all along. If you come up IGM they say that can only mean a recent infection so that is not what has been making you sick all along. BUT if you come up IGG positive they say that just means you had a past infection but that it isn't a current infection so that can't be why you are sick now. So really you can't win with most doctors no matter what comes up on your lyme test.

LLMD's seem like the only ones that know anything.

Take Care!

Pam

Hi Pam,

So right you are. I was told mine was new infection and I probably have had it for 10+ years. My body just recently started making antibodies against the disease. Thats the only thing thats recent, not the actual disease. Some day the testing and reading of the results of those tests will get better. For now its all we have.

My DD peditrican told me this that her IGm CDC positive test was false positive based on nothing. I chewed him out. Chroinc persistant lyme shows up positive on a IGM, making old infection look new as the infection regrows every 3 to 4 weeks.

I suggest you chew your DR out too! THen had him some information and tell him he should be ashmed of himself for not keeping up with new diseases. In my pass JOB in I.T I had to keep up with changing techonolgy every three to six months of constant traing and reading.

THeses MD's get their degrees and STOP learning....Life is a process of learning....

Actually Im state mandated to do CE (cont. ed) every year. So I imagine they do too. I guess they sleep thru those courses.

Just wanted to note... I put a couple of posts on this above...I copied something that I thought put this well IGG is an antibody that stays (which some of us may never develop) The IGM shows the first antibody to appear, this does not necessarily mean it is recent...it may disappear...My PA explained what IGM meant was ACTIVE...not necessarily RECENT. So it makes since this could come & go.