That little result in bold (1:64) means I also have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Does this bother me? No. Not at all. Why not? Because my parents kept suggesting to my pediatrician that they thought I had RMSF 34 years ago. I had a VERY rickettsial-looking rash all over my body except in my throat and I couldn't walk to the bathroom that morning without assistance because of the severe joint pain. He said not. He was wrong. He's not the first doctor to be wrong with anything that has to do with me. You can read my story of everything that's happened to me and how I figured out I had Lyme BY MYSELF under the tab "The First Wrinkle" at the top of the page.
I have seen speculation about my results which is what I was trying to avoid by saying I would answer everyone's questions in a blog post. It's easier for me to type the whole thing once than over and over. So, let me explain this result.
The presence of Rickettsia rickettsii IgG antibody that is detected (my 1:64 result in bold) is suggestive of current or past infection. We know it's a past infection.
The presence of Rickettsia rickettsii IgM antibody that is detected (which is negative according to my results) may indicate a current or recent infection; however, low levels of IgM antibodies may occasionally persist for more than 12 months in post-infection. Since IgM is negative, I don't have a current or recent infection.
Here are the answers to your burning questions...
Why didn't they test for it before?
Well...they did...at least 3 times. It was negative every time. This is why they don't just run these tests once.
So, why is it positive now?
It's positive now, because my immune system is trying to start working again. It's finally recognizing something that isn't supposed to be there and making antibodies against it. I've had this so long that my body no longer made antibodies toward it or Lyme or anything else. Again...this is why they don't do just one test, but keep re-running them every so often.
How are they going to treat it?
They've been treating it since the very beginning. Lyme and RMSF are both treated with drugs from the -cycline family. What interests me now, is that this test is positive after I have been on the Dapsone/Mycobutin protocol. Does that have anything to do with rickettsial infections? I don't know. And, since I don't know...I will research it, because that's what I do. In addition to that, I was very curious about my CBC results. They were a little off. My platelet count was low indicating thrombocytopenia. It has NEVER been low. I used to do platelet pheresis and donate whenever I was able because my platelet count was so high. Also, I had platelet clumping which seemed strange. I had never seen that before either. My hemoglobin and hematocrit (H&H) have been low, but I've been anemic off and on for years. All of that piqued my interest last night and I started researching it along with RMSF. It was no surprise to find that all of that goes along with RMSF and, coincidentally (or not) I had my first positive RMSF test.
So, while this is another little wrinkle in my Lyme story, it's not something that bothers me. That may be hard for people to understand, but it's the truth. I will put my protocol in another blog post. They upped one med and added a couple of new herbals. We'll see what that does for me.
If anyone would like my Lyme team's contact information, I will send it to you privately. Just send me a private message if we're Facebook friends or leave a comment saying you would like the information along with your email address.