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So I had a consult with Dr. T. a few weeks ago who sent blood rec for entire family. I am from Canada and have been going crazy trying to get some of this bloodwork done locally. I've had a bit of luck for the more general testing, ie. ferritin, ige levels etc but when it comes to Lyme, Bartonella, etc....I am having no such luck. They do test here in Canada but you need to test positive on intial screening (which I don't believe is extensive by any means) in order to move through the tiers of additional testing, which require additional paperwork and approval....urgh!!! Sometimes I wish we had privatized health care. Anyhow, got an appt with Quest for Thursday to test what I can't test here in Canada but was told today (by Quest rep) that there is a U.S. law that allows them to draw only 30ml for children under 100 lbs. Ds8 is only 67 lbs and there are 16 tests to be drawn for. I don't believe 30ml will be nearly enough for all the tests. How do you all get around this hurdle? Do you need to draw more than once??? Ds already has to draw here for some tests and then in Buffalo for the remainder and he is freaking out!!!

 

I am also a bit overwhelmed with all these tests - the Myco, Lyme, Babesia, Bartonella and Erlichia are costing over 1,400.00 (Total for entire family is approx 3,700) and that's with saving about 1,200.00 thru Canadian testing. And with hearing quite often that these tests listed above usually come back negative; that it's not often you get a positive result, it's even more frustrating. If these come back negative, do these docs usually test further via Igenex?

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From what I've been reading on this forum, many people use Igenex for Lyme and co-infection testing. I get the impression Igenex has a better "reputation"? If I've been getting my info correct, Igenex is also more costly??? I could be totally off with this, but my concern is that I'm paying a whole lot to have these tests performed through Quest and can't help but feel that maybe the money would be better spent to do it "right" the first time and put the money towards more useful testing. I don't want to discredit Quest's work, maybe I am completely off and they're testing is just as useful and informative as Igenex. Since many of you have been down this road, you will have more experience. Any info would be appreciated.

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It's not that Igenex has a better reputation. It's that Igenex tests for certain antibodies that other labs don't. These bands are considered more lyme-specific. The other labs don't test for this because they follow CDC guidelines, which told other labs to exclude these bads because at one time, a vaccine was in the works that would've made everyone test positive on these bands. The vaccine tanked. Was pulled from the market in 2001-2. But the CDC has never added these more telling bands back into its guidelines. If you go to the lyme forum under helpful threads, there are some articles that talk about the pros and cons of various tests.

 

Igenex is more expensive in that other labs submit their bills to insurance and the insurance co pays them directly. Igenex insists that you pay them directly and then gives you paperwork to submit your own claim. In most cases, insurance then reimbursed you 60-80% of what you paid. Not sure how it would work outside the US.

 

The reason some people test thru Quest first is that it's possible to test lyme positive on Quest and your insurance could pay for the whole thing, thus saving yourself an Igenex bill. But if you tested negative on Quest, you could get different results from Igenex (because they test for additional bands) that would suggest lyme. So Igenex is a sort of second opinion. However, this whole rationale changes if you're outside the US insurance system. I would post this on the lyme forum or PM Momcap, who is also in Canada. There are two or three Canadians on the lyme forum.

 

Re: the 30ml blood draw limit - never heard of that. Here's a WHO guideline study: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/1/10-080010/en/index.html and here's an easier to understand article that mentions the 30ml limit http://www.drgreene.com/article/how-much-blood-too-much-guideline but these seem to be ethical guidelines rather than law. It seems that you should be ok even with multiple tests to be run. My kids have had 10-12 vials drawn at a time and not been turned away. Perhaps a call to Dr T or the lab would be able to give you an idea of how much blood is needed for each test. You can also look up wach test on Quests' website and it will tell you how much blood is required for each test.

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I have bumped into the limit on blood draws - don't remember the exact amount, but my guy was only 30 lbs at the time. Unfortuantely, I wasn't told ahead of time, but AS THEY WERE DOING the draw that I was going to have to bring him back again.

 

I wasn't happy.

 

Unfortunately, don't know how you could get around that...

 

As for Quest vs. Igenex, I can only share our experience. Dr. B tested our son CDc, which he tested postive for, but then went ahead and ordered Igenex anyway for co-infections that other labs don't test for, so we're still doing both. Can't make a decision for you but thought I'd share our experience.

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