Diagnosing lyme disease

diagnosing lyme disease

Testing for Lyme disease is usually very difficult and complex. The easiest way to diagnose Lyme disease is if you see a tick on your body or see a rash or bullseye rash on your body after being in tall grass or a wooded area. If this happens, go to your doctor immediately to be tested. However, most people with Lyme disease have no recollection of a tick bite and some do not get the bullseye rash. If you have any of the following symptoms, we would recommend asking your doctor to be tested for Lyme and the co-factors.

  • fever, chills, or night sweats
  • body aches, joint pain, neck stiffness
  • ear ringing
  • numbness or weakness in your limbs 
  • neurological problems
  • difficulty in concentrating or recalling words or names
  • severe fatigue 
  • irregular heartbeat
  • insomnia
  • ANY strange symptoms that can not be explained

Some doctors “clinically” diagnose Lyme disease through a physical and looking at your symptoms. You can fill out the Horowitz Lyme MSIDS Questionnaire to see how you score. http://www.lymeactionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MSIDS.pdf

You can also try to walk in a straight line heel to toe and then do it again with your eyes closed. If you are unable to do this, you may have Lyme disease that has progressed into neurological Lyme.  

Other doctors can diagnose through live blood analysis where they look at your blood through a microscope to view the bacteria that is present in your blood.

The following list includes some of the tests currently used to diagnose Lyme. Each has pros and cons. The biggest con for any of these tests is that they are expensive and not covered by insurance.  

True HealthLab
  • 25+ Lyme labs sent directly to your home. Includes infant testing.
True-Health-Labs-4.0-Logo-scaled-e1640864096761
the ELISA test
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Test
  • Detects antibodies to B. Burgdorferi
  • Con: It can sometime give false-positive results and usually needs to be confirmed with the Western Blot test
the Western Blot test
  • If the ELISA test is positive, this test is used to confirm diagnosis
  • This test detects antibodies to several B. Burgdorferi proteins
IGeneX
  • Order a test and complete paperwork to give IGeneX a better understanding of which specific Lyme tests are right for you
  • IGeneX will then determine which test you should complete and mail you the test kit
  • The next step is to get a blood draw, mail the kit to IGeneX, and get your results
  • Pro: Very comprehensive and individualized, research and development team focused on tick-borne illnesses, test for the antibodies that are earliest to appear after exposure to Lyme disease
  • Con: Expensive, need a doctor to order and fill out paperwork
DNA Connexions
  • At-home test kit that looks for four different genes found in B. Burgdorferi which is the most common bacteria associated with Lyme disease and its co-factors
  • Pro: Positive test indicates the presence of B. Burgdorferi
  • Con: Negative test result does NOT prove that you do not have Lyme disease, it could just not be detectable by this specific test
Armin lab
  • Offers multiple tests that detect different bacteria associated with Lyme disease
resources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/lyme-disease#symptoms

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20374655

https://igenex.com/the-igenex-advantage/

https://dnaconnexions.com/lyme-disease/

https://www.arminlabs.com/en/services/tick-borne-diseases/lyme-borreliosis

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