Re: Lyme Question for Val

[Guest guest]

The Dx and Rx of chronic Lyme is very controversial. Val is a strong proponent of Chronic Lyme. Unfortunately we do not have any proper trials (that I am aware of) to see if Dx and Rx makes folks better, the same or worse. I would suspect you more likely have residual Conn's.I would recommend you talk directly with Val on this issue. She prob knows the leading websites and may even Yahoo Groups. Those will be better places to discuss this in detail than here.CE Grim MD Val . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous posts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart, joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even if you have Lyme. You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis I never had. I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemoryVal . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous posts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

I am not certain how many documented Lymieswe have here.Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart, joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even if you have Lyme. You have a good doctor.

Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis I never had. I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemoryVal . .

..In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous posts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing ,

elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

I have six or seven but I haven't kept track of all. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence Grim I am not certain how many documented Lymieswe have here. Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart, joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even if you have Lyme. You have a good d octor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis I never had. I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism@yahoog roups.com] On Behalf Of dsmemoryVal . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous posts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DA SHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

For me at least, late-stage Lyme is related to hyperaldosteronism, but I do not respond totally correctly to low salt and MCBs. When I was on such low salt that it was " too low to quantitate " in urine, my BP still ran in the 150's. I've been off all Lyme treatment for a week because I ran it up too fast and did damage to my innards. I've been on the BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, tea) for 4.5 days. Off Lyme treatment and on BRAT (no salt), my BP is back up to the 150's. I'm on 75 mg Inspra. On abx and feeling well, my BP averaged in the low 120's. Lyme is a spirochetal bacteria. So is syphillis. Lyme doesn't go away without treatment and syphilis doesn't either. Why does much of medicine recognize one and not the other? There is no good test for Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's but they are recognized as bona fide diseases. There is no good test for Lyme yet symptoms of late stage Lyme are referred to as " the aches and pains of getting old. " Why? Fallon at Columbia University has done some good research. There is research that treats for 90 days and some people do get better. It takes a lot more than 90 days when someone has been infected for years. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimSent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 2:51 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Lyme Question for Val The Dx and Rx of chronic Lyme is very controversial. Val is a strong proponent of Chronic Lyme. Unfortunately we do not have any proper trials (that I am aware of) to see if Dx and Rx makes folks better, the same or worse. I would suspect you more likely have residual Conn's. I would recommend you talk directly with Val on this issue. She prob knows the leading websites and may even Yahoo Groups. Those will be better places to discuss this in detail than here. CE Grim MD Val . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous p osts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

Not for syphilis as I recall. Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

For me at least, late-stage Lyme is related to hyperaldosteronism, but I do not respond totally correctly to low salt and MCBs. When I was on such low salt that it was "too low to quantitate" in urine, my BP still ran in the 150's. I've been off all Lyme treatment for a week because I ran it up too fast and did damage to my innards. I've been on the BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, tea) for 4.5 days. Off Lyme treatment and on BRAT (no salt), my BP is back up to the 150's. I'm on 75 mg Inspra. On abx and feeling well, my BP averaged in the low 120's. Lyme is a spirochetal bacteria. So is syphillis.

Lyme doesn't go away without treatment and syphilis doesn't either. Why does much of medicine recognize one and not the other? There is no good test for Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's but they are recognized as bona fide diseases. There is no good test for Lyme yet symptoms of late stage Lyme are referred to as "the aches and pains of getting old." Why? Fallon at Columbia University has done some good research. There is research that treats for 90 days and some people do get better. It takes a lot more than 90 days when someone has been infected for years. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimSent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 2:51 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Lyme Question for Val The Dx and Rx of chronic Lyme is very controversial. Val is a strong proponent of Chronic Lyme. Unfortunately we do not have any proper trials (that I am aware of) to see if Dx and Rx makes folks better, the same or worse. I would suspect you more likely have residual Conn's. I would recommend you talk directly with Val on this issue. She prob knows the leading websites and may even Yahoo Groups. Those will be better places to discuss this in detail than here. CE Grim MD Val . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have notseen any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest

to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous p osts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

Val...didn't you mean many false negatives with the testing? The IDSA states

many false POSITIVES but we know the ELISA is only about 50% effective in

diagnosing Lyme.

I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after

having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my

health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.

And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.

>

> Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the

> initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart,

> joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend

> its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you

> the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA

> positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.

> ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't

> know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you

> know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's

> printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.

>

> I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were

> indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only

> slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including

> injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly

> positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody

> test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody

> response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient

> quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even

> if you have Lyme.

>

> You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my

> doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks

> of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis

> I never had.

>

> I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.

>

> Val

>

> From: hyperaldosteronism

> [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemory

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yes, Shotzie. That's what I meant. I wondered if someone would catch it. Thanks. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of shotzieVal...didn't you mean many false negatives with the testing? The IDSA states many false POSITIVES but we know the ELISA is only about 50% effective in diagnosing Lyme.I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.>> Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart,> joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend> its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only> slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even> if you have Lyme.> > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis> I never had.> > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > Val> > From: hyperaldosteronism > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> >

[Guest guest]

While Lyme and syphilis are spirochetal, they are not the same.  Does syphilis make one vulnerable to co-infections?  Co-infections complicate Lyme treatment. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence Grim Not for syphilis as I recall. Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-) May your pressure be low! CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension For me at least, late-stage Lyme is related to hyperaldosteronism, but I do not respond totally correctly to low salt and MCBs. When I was on such low salt that it was " too low to quantitate " in urine, my BP still ran in the 150's. I've been off all Lyme treatment for a week because I ran it up too fast and did damage to my innards. I've been on the BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, tea) for 4.5 days. Off Lyme treatment and on BRAT (no salt), my BP is back up to the 150's. I'm on 75 mg Inspra. On abx and feeling well, my BP averaged in the low 120's. Lyme is a spirochetal bacteria. So is syphillis. Lyme doesn't go away without treatment and syphilis doesn't either. Why does much of medicine recognize one and not the other? There is no good test for Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's but they are recognized as bona fide diseases. There is no good test for Lyme yet symptoms of late stage Lyme are referred to as " the aches and pains of getting old. " Why? Fallon at Columbia University has done some good research. There is research that treats for 90 days and some people do get better. It takes a lot more than 90 days when someone has been infected for years. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimSent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 2:51 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Lyme Question for Val The Dx and Rx of chronic Lyme is very controversial. Val is a strong proponent of Chronic Lyme. Unfortunately we do not have any proper trials (that I am aware of) to see if Dx and Rx makes folks better, the same or worse. I would suspect you more likely have residual Conn's. I would recommend you talk directly with Val on this issue. She prob knows the leading websites and may even Yahoo Groups. Those will be better places to discuss this in detail than here. CE Grim MD Val . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have nots een any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous p osts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

Shotzie-be certain that PA has not returned. This would be my first suspicion of a problem.What post op problems have you had? What has repeat renin and aldo testing revealed?What did the adrenal pathology report show? I don't recall. Have you updated your story and your database data.Thanks. CE Grim MDVal...didn't you mean many false negatives with the testing? The IDSA states many false POSITIVES but we know the ELISA is only about 50% effective in diagnosing Lyme.I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.>> Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the heart,> joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to defend> its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were only> slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even> if you have Lyme.> > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of arthritis> I never had.> > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > Val> > From: hyperaldosteronism > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> >

[Guest guest]

Not my area of expertise.'CE Grim MDWhile Lyme and syphilis are spirochetal, they are not the same. Does syphilis make one vulnerable to co-infections? Co-infections complicate Lyme treatment. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence Grim Not for syphilis as I recall. Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-) May your pressure be low! CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension For me at least, late-stage Lyme is related to hyperaldosteronism, but I do not respond totally correctly to low salt and MCBs. When I was on such low salt that it was "too low to quantitate" in urine, my BP still ran in the 150's. I've been off all Lyme treatment for a week because I ran it up too fast and did damage to my innards. I've been on the BRAT diet (banana, rice, apple, tea) for 4.5 days. Off Lyme treatment and on BRAT (no salt), my BP is back up to the 150's. I'm on 75 mg Inspra. On abx and feeling well, my BP averaged in the low 120's. Lyme is a spirochetal bacteria. So is syphillis. Lyme doesn't go away without treatment and syphilis doesn't either. Why does much of medicine recognize one and not the other? There is no good test for Parkinson's, MS and Alzheimer's but they are recognized as bona fide diseases. There is no good test for Lyme yet symptoms of late stage Lyme are referred to as "the aches and pains of getting old." Why? Fallon at Columbia University has done some good research. There is research that treats for 90 days and some people do get better. It takes a lot more than 90 days when someone has been infected for years. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimSent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 2:51 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Lyme Question for Val The Dx and Rx of chronic Lyme is very controversial. Val is a strong proponent of Chronic Lyme. Unfortunately we do not have any proper trials (that I am aware of) to see if Dx and Rx makes folks better, the same or worse. I would suspect you more likely have residual Conn's. I would recommend you talk directly with Val on this issue. She prob knows the leading websites and may even Yahoo Groups. Those will be better places to discuss this in detail than here. CE Grim MD Val . . .In addition to suspected PA, my team is wanting to do a basic Lyme panelon me (via Igenex). My dr. wants me to take 500mg. Azithromycin dailyfor 3 weeks prior to testing (someone from his office called and told methis after my last visit and it did not afford me the ability to askquestions). My question to you . . . does this sound right? I have nots een any other references to taking an antibiotic prior to testing.As many can attest to on this board, I don't want to skew a test thatwill cost me time, money and discomfort . . . only to have falseresults, delay in diagnosis and repeated testing.I have searched previous p osts and other Lyme organizations and don'thave an answer to this. Any thoughts or direction you could point meto? I highly value the help you have given this board.Thanks much!50 yo w/f, suspected normokalemic PA, labile hypertension under controldue to successful DASHing , elevated HHV-6 antibodies, elevatedmycoplasma antibodies. Previous nocturia 5x now down to 0-1x nightly.

[Guest guest]

Shotzie's blood pressure remains normal. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimShotzie-be certain that PA has not returned. I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.

[Guest guest]

What was the original dx of PA based on. I think I missed that part.

I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.

[Guest guest]

On no BP meds?Tiped sad Send form miiPhone ;-)May your pressure be low!CE Grim MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertension

Shotzie's blood pressure remains normal. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimShotzie-be certain that PA has not returned. On Jul 20, 2011, at 5:11 AM, shotzie

wrote:I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also.

[Guest guest]

I don't think so.  Maybe she'll see this and let us know. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence Grim Shotzie's blood pressure remains normal. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence GrimShotzie-be certain that PA has not returned. I did not have residual effects of PA but my Lyme came out full force after having the surgery for the PA. Struggling still to maintain a balance with my health but normal BP for almost 5 yrs.And my Western blot came back more positive after treatment also..

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I

have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and

Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting.

You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the

end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best

investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!).

Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010

suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea

waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue,

tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile

blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which

would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All

symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function.

My case has been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I

initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what

I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any

supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder.

Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time

and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp

meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my

bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have

helped too.

My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between

4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty

convinced of PA.

I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) ,

significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus:

www.hhv-6foundation.org) and elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia.

While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and

left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything

more from this - with no other symptoms showing up.

I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap

again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to

check on aldo/renin/creat.

My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine

output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am

feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal

ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week.

With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the

culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we

get the billi/ possible gall bladder issue out of the way.

It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good

shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse

Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated!

P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is

dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further.

Thanks!

> >

> > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the

> > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the

> heart,

> > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to

> defend

> > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you

> > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA

> > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.

> > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't

> > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you

> > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's

> > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.

> >

> > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were

> > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were

> only

> > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including

> > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly

> > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody

> > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody

> > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient

> > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even

> > if you have Lyme.

> >

> > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my

> > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks

> > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of

> arthritis

> > I never had.

> >

> > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.

> >

> > Val

> >

> > From: hyperaldosteronism

> <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com>

> > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism

> <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Remind us of the meds you are on now?What has your urine Na and K been showging?CE Grim MD Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting. You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!). Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010 suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue, tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function. My case has been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder. Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have helped too. My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between 4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty convinced of PA. I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) , significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus: www.hhv-6foundation.org) and elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia. While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything more from this - with no other symptoms showing up. I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to check on aldo/renin/creat. My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week. With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we get the billi/ possible gall bladder issue out of the way. It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated! P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further. Thanks! > > > > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the > > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the > heart, > > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to > defend > > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you > > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA > > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. > > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't > > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you > > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's > > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. > > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were > > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were > only > > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including > > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly > > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody > > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody > > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient > > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even > > if you have Lyme. > > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my > > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks > > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of > arthritis > > I never had. > > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. > > > > Val > > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory > > > > >

[Guest guest]

Hi Dr. Grim;

Am on zero meds/zero OTC . . . just DASHing. Although in the past 2 weeks have not been able to eat well.

CBC and CMP from 7/19/2011 have come in. K is at 4.0 (3.5-5.3 ref range) done without tourniquet. CBC: platelets at 92 (140-400) and ferritin at 245 (10-232). All other results cbc tests in normal ranges. CMP: globulin at 2.1 (2.2-3.9) and bili at 2.1 (0.2-1.2). All other cmp tests in normal ranges. Aldo/renin and 24hr urine results from this week are still pending.

Here is my 24 hr urine history this past year for na and k (view in rich text to see chart):

24 Hour Urine Testing

4/5/2011

3/2/2011

12/3/2010

11/30/2010

7/2/2010

Total Volume

3032 mL/24h H

3566 mL/24h H

4288 mL/24 h H

3920 mL/ 24h H

2062 mL/24h H

Reference Range

800 - 1800 mL/ 24 h

800 - 1800 mL/ 24 h

800 - 1800 mL/ 24 h

800 - 1800 mL/ 24 h

800 - 1800 mL/ 24 h

Sodium, Urine

24 L

25 L

22 L

Reference Range

28-272 mmol/ L

28-272 mmol/ L

28-272 mmol/ L

Potassium, Urine/ 24 HR

n/a

309 H

263 H

Reference Range

20-100 mmol/ g creat

20-100 mmol/ g creat

20-100 mmol/ g creat

50 y/o wf, labile bp, suspected PA, previous nocturia 5x greatly subsided, 3x 24 hr urine volume, low platelets, elevated billi, elevated hhv-6 antibodies, successfully DASHing. Currently on zero medications and OTC at this time.

> > > >> > > > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. > > After the> > > > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly > > the> > > heart,> > > > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes > > out to> > > defend> > > > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing > > gives you> > > > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot > > and ELISA> > > > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive > > results.> > > > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have > > Lyme. I don't> > > > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm > > sure you> > > > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the > > paper it's> > > > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > > >> > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> > > > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and > > results were> > > only> > > > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, > > including> > > > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all > > strongly> > > > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an > > antibody> > > > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> > > > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in > > sufficient> > > > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a > > positive, even> > > > if you have Lyme.> > > >> > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today > > if my> > > > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me > > three weeks> > > > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of> > > arthritis> > > > I never had.> > > >> > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > > >> > > > Val> > > >> > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com>> > > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of > > dsmemory> > > >> > > >> > >> >> >>

[Guest guest]

Others may not, but I think this is a perfect place to discuss Lyme as it appears to relate to several of us. I believe my excess aldosterone is the result of endocrine disruption caused by Lyme. I've had one endocrine malfunction after another. A couple of observations: 1) If you had the bulls eye rash, you undoubtedly had Lyme. The rash is 100% diagnostic. In all likelihood, 10 days put you into remission but did not kill all the bacteria. You needed at least three weeks; some say even six weeks. Lyme can go into dormancy, sometimes for years, and then return to an active state. Indeed, there were many periods in the 24.5 years prior to my diagnosis where I felt rather well. 2) Lyme and gallbladder dysfunction are often related. If I were in your shoes, testing from IgeneX would be on the very front burner, not the back. How are your liver enzymes? I'm betting your Lyme is back with a vengeance. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of dsmemorySent: Thursday, July 21, 2011 6:50 PMTo: hyperaldosteronism Subject: Re: Lyme Question for Val Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting.You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!).Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010 suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue, tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function.My case has been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder. Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have helped too.My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between 4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty convinced of PA. I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) , significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus: www.hhv-6foundation.org) and elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia. While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything more from this - with no other symptoms showing up. I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to check on aldo/renin/creat. My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week.With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we get the billi/ possible gall bladder issue out of the way.It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse :)Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated!P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further. Thanks!> >> > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the> heart,> > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to> defend> > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were> only> > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even> > if you have Lyme.> > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of> arthritis> > I never had.> > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > > > Val> > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> > > >>

[Guest guest]

Lyme is interesting and somewhat mysterious. It sure could carries much more validity with me than say, fibromyalgia does (only because we do have Lyme markers and not much for fibro)

I did doxycycline twice in texas after getting ticks on me and I recall a rash behind my knee after one, but it was long after the fact (a month maybe.), and I covered myself with doxy. I covered a few of my patients who I suspected maybe had Lymes - and tested a few who didn't have it - but never treated chronic.

At the time on myself I couldn't tell if it was a bullseye rash or just a heat/fungal rash on the back of my knee and derm and emergency are my psuedo PA specialities (did extra training in both) but some of my patients often had the bullseye-like rash, but I still don't ever recall an absolute positive for Lyme.

I lived in Northeast Oklahoma for 10 years and ticks were everywhere but never recall one on me ever - I'm too stinky maybe - but first year in the Texas Panhandle (2003) and I had a few on me. I use cologne to get them off, it makes them mad and they back out, then I pull them off head and all. Had an old guy in his 90's once came in with his ear "plugged up." It was a tick on his ear drum. Used some cologne, it let go and I grabbed it with forceps.

But....on the subject I could in all honestly plot my downhill course from about the time I got the ticks on me - they were all in the same season - as It was about 2004 that the huge BP spikes began, the severe fatigue -which was sporadic then, the incredible insomnia, anxiety, and so on with the symptoms. Makes me wonder.,.......

My oddest symptom in the past say 5-6 years was I had this insane crazy sense of smell. It is better now, but I also had some hyperthyroidism in there off and on (always after a flu) and my family STILL teases me so much about me marching through the house (and in Texas we had a 6 bedroom huge one story ranch style home) and looking and finding, a dirty stinkly towel or washrag buried in some pile of laundry the furthest space from me. And I 'd march through the house like a madman with air freshener spraying all the time. And being hot too - that I get teased about (when you have 6 kids, almost 7, a Dad's idiosynchrasies are good fodder for their kiddos) because they would wake up to frost on the INSIDE of the window whether it was 90 or minus 90. Hey...they survived.

Anyone else have that kooky smell issue? Could it be a PA thing?

Subject: Re: Lyme Question for ValTo: hyperaldosteronism Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 7:50 PM

Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting.You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!).Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010 suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue, tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function.My case has

been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder. Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have helped too.My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between 4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty convinced of PA. I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) , significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus: www.hhv-6foundation.org) and

elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia. While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything more from this - with no other symptoms showing up. I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to check on aldo/renin/creat. My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week.With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we get the billi/ possible gall

bladder issue out of the way.It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse :)Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated!P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further. Thanks!> >> > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the> heart,> > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to> defend> > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> > ELISA, in

particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were> only> > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> > quantity, then any test (including ELISA)

will not return a positive, even> > if you have Lyme.> > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of> arthritis> > I never had.> > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > > > Val> > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> > > >>

[Guest guest]

Makes me wonder, too.  I got my tick in Oklahoma, right on the Arkansas border.  NE Oklahoma to be exact.   We own 80 acres there that will be sold because I don't ever want any of my family on that land again.  My husband's sister dropped dead at 53 yo.  She had no drugs, alcohol or heart disease, but from what I now know, had Lyme symptoms for years and years.  The autopsy showed virtually nothing but they didn't test any tissues for Lyme or co-infections.  His brother-in-law got it a few years back but was diagnosed and treated with three weeks of doxy.  As far as I know, he is fine.  His mother, who used to love to walk the land, got very, very ill some years ago and was (I believe) misdiagnosed with Epstein Barr.  A huge percent of adults have EB antibodies, including me.  She got worse and worse and finally, her 40-year cured breast cancer came back in her bones.  She refused any treatment because she said she was too sick to go to appointments.  I get that. The bulls eye rash is 100% diagnostic.  The screening test, ELISA, misses 50% of people who have Lyme.  If I were in your shoes and had a patient with a tick bite, I would:1)  Preserve the tick and have it tested at IgeneX.2)  Watch carefully for the rash (absent in 50% of Lyme cases).  I found a rash on my arm that was barely larger than a silver dollar at the time I found it  I thought my children had brought home ring worm.  I meant to tell my doc but got busy and forgot.3.  Watch carefully for flu-like symptoms, arthritis, particularly in the knee, etc.4)  Treat with six weeks doxy if Lyme is even remotely suspected. Remember that a huge % of Lyme victims never saw the tick.  I didn't. If I were you, I would get tested through IgeneX.  Good luck finding anyone to help you.  Lyme is pretty much a do-it-yourself disease.  You might be too far out to pick it up with a Western Blot.  Enhanced sensitivity, particularly to light and sound, is common with Lyme.  I, too, have a terribly enhanced sense of smell.  There are times I am so sound sensitive that I cannot have my window open with an occasional car driving by. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Bingham Lyme is interesting and somewhat mysterious. It sure could carries much more validity with me than say, fibromyalgia does (only because we do have Lyme markers and not much for fibro) I did doxycycline twice in texas after getting ticks on me and I recall a rash behind my knee after one, but it was long after the fact (a month maybe.), and I covered myself with doxy. I covered a few of my patients who I suspected maybe had Lymes - and tested a few who didn't have it - but never treated chronic. At the time on myself I couldn't tell if it was a bullseye rash or just a heat/fungal rash on the back of my knee and derm and emergency are my psuedo PA specialities (did extra training in both) but some of my patients often had the bullseye-like rash, but I still don't ever recall an absolute positive for Lyme. I lived in Northeast Oklahoma for 10 years and ticks were everywhere but never recall one on me ever - I'm too stinky maybe - but first year in the Texas Panhandle (2003) and I had a few on me. I use cologne to get them off, it makes them mad and they back out, then I pull them off head and all. Had an old guy in his 90's once came in with his ear " plugged up. " It was a tick on his ear drum. Used some cologne, it let go and I grabbed it with forceps. But....on the subject I could in all honestly plot my downhill course from about the time I got the ticks on me - they were all in the same season - as It was about 2004 that the huge BP spikes began, the severe fatigue -which was sporadic then, the incredible insomnia, anxiety, and so on with the symptoms. Makes me wonder.,....... My oddest symptom in the past say 5-6 years was I had this insane crazy sense of smell. It is better now, but I also had some hyperthyroidism in there off and on (always after a flu) and my family STILL teases me so much about me marching through the house (and in Texas we had a 6 bedroom huge one story ranch style home) and looking and finding, a dirty stinkly towel or washrag buried in some pile of laundry the furthest space from me. And I 'd march through the house like a madman with air freshener spraying all the time. And being hot too - that I get teased about (when you have 6 kids, almost 7, a Dad's idiosynchrasies are good fodder for their kiddos) because they would wake up to frost on the INSIDE of the window whether it was 90 or minus 90. Hey...they survived. Anyone else have that kooky smell issue? Could it be a PA thing? Subject: Re: Lyme Question for ValTo: hyperaldosteronism Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 7:50 PM Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting.You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!).Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010 suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue, tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function.My case has been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder. Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have helped too.My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between 4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty convinced of PA. I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) , significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus: www.hhv-6foundation.org) and elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia. While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything more from this - with no other symptoms showing up. I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to check on aldo/renin/creat. My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week.With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we get the billi/ possible gall bladder issue out of the way.It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse :)Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated!P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further. Thanks!> >> > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the> heart,> > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to> defend> > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were> only> > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even> > if you have Lyme.> > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of> arthritis> > I never had.> > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > > > Val> > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> > > >>

[Guest guest]

I'll cast my vote: I think it is fine, you've done a good job keeping " Lime " in

the subject so if anyone doesn't want to read about it they can just skip your

posts. (I know I've been reading them because my son lives in Mass. and checks

his 2 large dogs everytime they come in from outdoors. They never smell like

colone so I'll have to remember that one for him!) Is it the alcohol in it? I

think that is what he uses, on a Q-tip if he fin - maybe I should say when he

finds one!

- 64 yo morb. ob. male - 12mm X 13mm rt. a.adnoma with previous rt. flank &

testicle pain. I have decided against an adrenalectomy at this time since

Meds. are working so well. Current BP: 130/77

Other Issues/Opportunities: COPD w/ft Oxygen, OSA w Bi-Pap settings 13/19, DM2.

and PTSD

Meds: Duloxetine hcl 80 MG, Mirtazapine 15 MG, Metoprolol Tartrate 200 MG,

Metformin 2000MG and Spironolactone 75 MG.

> > >

> > > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the

> > > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the

> > heart,

> > > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to

> > defend

> > > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you

> > > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA

> > > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.

> > > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I

> don't

> > > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you

> > > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's

> > > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.

> > >

> > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were

> > > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were

> > only

> > > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx,

> including

> > > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all

> strongly

> > > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody

> > > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody

> > > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient

> > > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive,

> even

> > > if you have Lyme.

> > >

> > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my

> > > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three

> weeks

> > > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of

> > arthritis

> > > I never had.

> > >

> > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.

> > >

> > > Val

> > >

> > > From: hyperaldosteronism

> <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com>

> > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com>

> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism

> <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com>

> > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Again I would prefer to move the Lyme discussions to another venue.Thanks CE Grim MD Makes me wonder, too. I got my tick in Oklahoma, right on the Arkansas border. NE Oklahoma to be exact. We own 80 acres there that will be sold because I don't ever want any of my family on that land again. My husband's sister dropped dead at 53 yo. She had no drugs, alcohol or heart disease, but from what I now know, had Lyme symptoms for years and years. The autopsy showed virtually nothing but they didn't test any tissues for Lyme or co-infections. His brother-in-law got it a few years back but was diagnosed and treated with three weeks of doxy. As far as I know, he is fine. His mother, who used to love to walk the land, got very, very ill some years ago and was (I believe) misdiagnosed with Epstein Barr. A huge percent of adults have EB antibodies, including me. She got worse and worse and finally, her 40-year cured breast cancer came back in her bones. She refused any treatment because she said she was too sick to go to appointments. I get that. The bulls eye rash is 100% diagnostic. The screening test, ELISA, misses 50% of people who have Lyme. If I were in your shoes and had a patient with a tick bite, I would:1) Preserve the tick and have it tested at IgeneX.2) Watch carefully for the rash (absent in 50% of Lyme cases). I found a rash on my arm that was barely larger than a silver dollar at the time I found it I thought my children had brought home ring worm. I meant to tell my doc but got busy and forgot.3. Watch carefully for flu-like symptoms, arthritis, particularly in the knee, etc.4) Treat with six weeks doxy if Lyme is even remotely suspected. Remember that a huge % of Lyme victims never saw the tick. I didn't. If I were you, I would get tested through IgeneX. Good luck finding anyone to help you. Lyme is pretty much a do-it-yourself disease. You might be too far out to pick it up with a Western Blot. Enhanced sensitivity, particularly to light and sound, is common with Lyme. I, too, have a terribly enhanced sense of smell. There are times I am so sound sensitive that I cannot have my window open with an occasional car driving by. Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Bingham Lyme is interesting and somewhat mysterious. It sure could carries much more validity with me than say, fibromyalgia does (only because we do have Lyme markers and not much for fibro) I did doxycycline twice in texas after getting ticks on me and I recall a rash behind my knee after one, but it was long after the fact (a month maybe.), and I covered myself with doxy. I covered a few of my patients who I suspected maybe had Lymes - and tested a few who didn't have it - but never treated chronic. At the time on myself I couldn't tell if it was a bullseye rash or just a heat/fungal rash on the back of my knee and derm and emergency are my psuedo PA specialities (did extra training in both) but some of my patients often had the bullseye-like rash, but I still don't ever recall an absolute positive for Lyme. I lived in Northeast Oklahoma for 10 years and ticks were everywhere but never recall one on me ever - I'm too stinky maybe - but first year in the Texas Panhandle (2003) and I had a few on me. I use cologne to get them off, it makes them mad and they back out, then I pull them off head and all. Had an old guy in his 90's once came in with his ear "plugged up." It was a tick on his ear drum. Used some cologne, it let go and I grabbed it with forceps. But....on the subject I could in all honestly plot my downhill course from about the time I got the ticks on me - they were all in the same season - as It was about 2004 that the huge BP spikes began, the severe fatigue -which was sporadic then, the incredible insomnia, anxiety, and so on with the symptoms. Makes me wonder.,....... My oddest symptom in the past say 5-6 years was I had this insane crazy sense of smell. It is better now, but I also had some hyperthyroidism in there off and on (always after a flu) and my family STILL teases me so much about me marching through the house (and in Texas we had a 6 bedroom huge one story ranch style home) and looking and finding, a dirty stinkly towel or washrag buried in some pile of laundry the furthest space from me. And I 'd march through the house like a madman with air freshener spraying all the time. And being hot too - that I get teased about (when you have 6 kids, almost 7, a Dad's idiosynchrasies are good fodder for their kiddos) because they would wake up to frost on the INSIDE of the window whether it was 90 or minus 90. Hey...they survived. Anyone else have that kooky smell issue? Could it be a PA thing? Subject: Re: Lyme Question for ValTo: hyperaldosteronism Date: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 7:50 PM Thanks for the input all . . . Since visiting the posts on this PA board, I have noticed that there is more than one person on here with a PA diagnosis and Lyme Diagnosis - very interesting.You all have not heard much from me, as I had contracted with Dr. Grim at the end of 2010 and had been working in the background with him (side note: best investment I ever made - thank you Dr. Grim!).Dr. Grim has stated that he highly suspects PA in my case. Last June, 2010 suddenly came down with flu-like symptoms, lightheadedness, brain fog, nausea waves throughout the day/night, numbness in feet, hands, lower face and tongue, tingling in arms, insomnia/factured sleep, nocturia (up to 5x night) and labile blood pressure (swings that could go from 220/120 to 88/44 in minutes which would leave me hot/sweaty and very dizzy/nauseated during episodes). All symptoms continued on for months and I felt like I could hardly function.My case has been hard to ferret out, as I was eating a DASH style diet when I initially got sick (have multiple food allergies and have to be careful of what I eat). Dr. Grim had me drop all hormone replacement therapy and any supplements I was on. Also under Dr. Grim's advice, DASHed even harder. Successfully DASHing has brought my bp into a normal range about 90% of the time and nocturia has virtually diminished. So far, by DASHing, I have avoided bp meds (which Dr. Grim advised may be dangerous in my case anyway, might drop my bp too low). I have also had some accupunture treatments that I believe have helped too.My aldo/renin ratio last check was 12, but based on 24hr urine volume between 4288-3032 (800-1800mL/24 hr ref. range) and symptoms, Dr. Grim was pretty convinced of PA. I also had elevated billirubin, low platelets at 92 (ref range 140-400) , significantly elevated antibodies to HHV-6 (human herpes 6 virus: www.hhv-6foundation.org) and elevated antibodies to mycoplasma pneumonia. While on a trip to Kentucky 15 years ago, a tick imbedded into my lower leg and left a red ring. I was put on antibotics for 10 days and never thought anything more from this - with no other symptoms showing up. I had been feeling better until a few weeks ago and started to feel like crap again! BP is remaining stable. A new 24 hour urine test is in the works to check on aldo/renin/creat. My billi is on the rise at 2.1 (0.2-1.2 ref range) along with decreased urine output, darker/cloudy urine, burning discomfort in upper right quadrant. I am feeling very nauseated with indigestion too (which comes and goes). Abdominal ultra sound just came back normal. Have lost 6 pounds in the last week.With that being said, my health care team is taking a look at what could be the culprit. We are going to put Lyme testing on the back burner for now until we get the billi/ possible gall bladder issue out of the way.It's funny, but prior to turning 50, I have been relatively healthy and in good shape. This just plain sucks! Oh well . . . could be worse :)Thanks for everyone on this board . . .you are all appreciated!P.S. I know this is not the place for Lyme discussions. My e-mail address is dsmemory@... if any of you would like to discuss Lyme with me further. Thanks!> >> > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the> > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the> heart,> > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to> defend> > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you> > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA> > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results.> > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I don't> > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you> > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's> > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands.> > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were> > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were> only> > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, including> > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all strongly> > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody> > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody> > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient> > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, even> > if you have Lyme.> > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my> > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three weeks> > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of> arthritis> > I never had.> > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting.> > > > Val> > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory> > > >>

[Guest guest]

Again the science of Chronic Lyme disease is still considered shaky from what I can read and in discussing with my ID colleagues.CE Grim MD I'll cast my vote: I think it is fine, you've done a good job keeping "Lime" in the subject so if anyone doesn't want to read about it they can just skip your posts. (I know I've been reading them because my son lives in Mass. and checks his 2 large dogs everytime they come in from outdoors. They never smell like colone so I'll have to remember that one for him!) Is it the alcohol in it? I think that is what he uses, on a Q-tip if he fin - maybe I should say when he finds one! - 64 yo morb. ob. male - 12mm X 13mm rt. a.adnoma with previous rt. flank & testicle pain. I have decided against an adrenalectomy at this time since Meds. are working so well. Current BP: 130/77 Other Issues/Opportunities: COPD w/ft Oxygen, OSA w Bi-Pap settings 13/19, DM2. and PTSD Meds: Duloxetine hcl 80 MG, Mirtazapine 15 MG, Metoprolol Tartrate 200 MG, Metformin 2000MG and Spironolactone 75 MG. > > > > > > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the > > > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the > > heart, > > > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to > > defend > > > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you > > > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA > > > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. > > > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I > don't > > > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you > > > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's > > > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. > > > > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were > > > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were > > only > > > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, > including > > > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all > strongly > > > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody > > > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody > > > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient > > > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, > even > > > if you have Lyme. > > > > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my > > > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three > weeks > > > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of > > arthritis > > > I never had. > > > > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. > > > > > > Val > > > > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory > > > > > > > > >

[Guest guest]

Again the science of Chronic Lyme disease is still considered shaky from what I can read and in discussing with my ID colleagues.CE Grim MD I'll cast my vote: I think it is fine, you've done a good job keeping "Lime" in the subject so if anyone doesn't want to read about it they can just skip your posts. (I know I've been reading them because my son lives in Mass. and checks his 2 large dogs everytime they come in from outdoors. They never smell like colone so I'll have to remember that one for him!) Is it the alcohol in it? I think that is what he uses, on a Q-tip if he fin - maybe I should say when he finds one! - 64 yo morb. ob. male - 12mm X 13mm rt. a.adnoma with previous rt. flank & testicle pain. I have decided against an adrenalectomy at this time since Meds. are working so well. Current BP: 130/77 Other Issues/Opportunities: COPD w/ft Oxygen, OSA w Bi-Pap settings 13/19, DM2. and PTSD Meds: Duloxetine hcl 80 MG, Mirtazapine 15 MG, Metoprolol Tartrate 200 MG, Metformin 2000MG and Spironolactone 75 MG. > > > > > > Yes, it makes perfect sense. Lyme is an interesting bacteria. After the > > > initial infection, it bores into tissues, including particularly the > > heart, > > > joints and brain. If it senses an antibiotic attack, it comes out to > > defend > > > its territory (your body). Taking antibiotics prior to testing gives you > > > the best chance of catching an antibody response. Western Blot and ELISA > > > positives are rarely incorrect, but often return false positive results. > > > ELISA, in particular, misses at least 50% of those who have Lyme. I > don't > > > know what the false positive rates are for Western Blot. As I'm sure you > > > know, a Western Blot from LabCorp or Quest is not worth the paper it's > > > printed on because they omit important Lyme bands. > > > > > > I did IgeneX Western Blot testing w/o any abx and my results were > > > indeterminate. I then took three weeks of doxycycline and results were > > only > > > slightly more positive. Then I did five days of heavy duty abx, > including > > > injected bicillin, and the urine results (days 2, 4, 6) were all > strongly > > > positive for Lyme. That was a Lyme antigen test instead of an antibody > > > test. The problem with Western Blot is that it measures antibody > > > response. If your body is no longer making Lyme antibodies in sufficient > > > quantity, then any test (including ELISA) will not return a positive, > even > > > if you have Lyme. > > > > > > You have a good doctor. Hang onto him/her. I would be well today if my > > > doctor in 1985, who casually mentioned Lyme, had just given me three > weeks > > > of doxycycline instead of years and years of NSAIDS for a form of > > arthritis > > > I never had. > > > > > > I'm finding the Lyme cases on this board quite interesting. > > > > > > Val > > > > > > From: hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > > [mailto:hyperaldosteronism > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> > > <mailto:hyperaldosteronism%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of dsmemory > > > > > > > > >