Hi Mel...

Having antibodies to Borrellia Burgdorferi is like having antibodies to Chicken Pox, or measles or flu.

It could mean he COULD have an active case.

It could mean he had it long ago, and still has antibodies.

That is the basis upon which we base all immunizations....growing antibodies to a given disesase....this is why we need tetanus shots every 10 years....our body seems to make antibodies for about 10 years then we don't have enough...so we need a shot...

Lyme antibodies can mean an active infection, and they need to look at Alan and do more tests....or it can mean he had Lyme at one time, is over it and now has antibodies to it. PN and GBS are linked to Lyme.

There is incredible controversy regarding Lyme and I wish that when I had it, in 1994, I had insisted on IV. There are downsides to IV treatment, one being gallstones and other issues as well. It is possible that the new oral antibiotics are better than back then...I am not going out on a limb here...I really do not know.

It is conceivable that if you live in NY and have been in any natural areas, you sure could get Lyme. We have it pretty bad here in WI too.

They likely will do some PCR testing....just to make sure...they probably already have done it. I would think that it would show in a lumbar puncture as well.

Now, you have the issue as to when Alan was exposed...is it recent, is it active? That is what the docs need to sort out.

Lyme is a huge mess...I believe diagnosed inappropriately in a lot of people, and missed in just as many. I wish I could give you more direction on it...but doctors have lost licenses for treating it, some should have, others should not have. Most docs won't touch it with a ten foot pole unless you have definitive proof you have it.

The lab is obeying HIPPA regulations...they have no choice. They can't give you results...what if you were not who you say you were. They would get sued. Wednesday is fine, unless Alan has severe symptoms, such as fever or Bell's Palsy or change in consciousness.....then call the doc, it is a medical emergency. If he doesn't feel much different, Wednesday will be fine. Lord, I have lived with the specter of the disease for 14 years, and yes, it creeps me out to think it could be lurking, then on the other hand...it might be gone same as the measles.

Lyme does cause a great deal of havoc with the immune system and I have to laugh after two series of Hep B shots I never seroconverted. I am the seronegative queen!