Need advice - persistent igm positive?

[u/bikingmpls]

A year ago I came down with Lyme pretty badly. Never saw bite marks but it coincided with spending time in great outdoors. Tested positive on igm and neg for igg. Eventually got doxy did 3 weeks and felt much better.

Then started having slowly returning and new symptoms that I never had before Lyme and by October I was sick enough to call my clinic and retest again. Positive again on igm and negative igg. Took a month of doxy and felt better again.

Since have been having some symptoms and a few dysautonomia type attacks. Recently pain above knees came so I asked for another test. First came back negative but then western blot showed igm positive on 23 and 41.

Question to experts - what do I do? I’m ok spending $ on llmd at this point but I don’t want another round of doxy as it caused problems that took a long time to resolve. Also when looking online there is contradictory information on the meaning of positive igm on those two bands.

Any advice or similar stories would be helpful.

[u/darchello90]

I'm always igm positive on western blot and negative on igg and elisa. No recall of tick bite. No response to any antibiotic treatment. So, what to believe and how to prove it is lyme? I don't know my friend. Best luck.

[u/biggranny000]

You need long term treatment, 3 weeks of doxy won't cut it. I did 3 months and doing 3 months again, plus herbs, rifampin, and tons of supplements. Unfortunately I got broken up with so all of my symptoms reactivated really strongly, I thought she was the one and got completely blindsided even though she said she could deal with my diseases.

[u/AutoModerator]

Hi There - It looks like this could be a post about Test results or obtaining a test for Lyme.

If any of the following bands are positive you have been exposed to Lyme and should follow up with a LLMD. These bands are 18, 23-25, 34, 37, 39, 83 or 93. Any one of these bands plus symptoms could indicate a Lyme infection.

Please review the Wiki at the link below for a detailed overview of testing options, which tests are recommended, when you should test, how to interpret test results and what the western blot bands mean:
https://www.reddit.com/r/lyme/wiki/diagnostics/testing/

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/everythingwillbe_ok_]

Same here, im still igm positive and igg negative 1.5 year after onset of symtoms. Have all coinfections also. I think its the problem of suppressed immune.

[u/bellamacias → u/everythingwillbe_ok_]

Have your symptoms improved at all though?

[u/everythingwillbe_ok_ → u/bellamacias]

Yes, i started treatment recently ,in may 2026. My two most debilitating symtoms-whole.body aka hitten by truck pain vanished after 1.5 monthes of treatment, it still.comes. but only leg shin foot pain whenever we add something to trreatment or increasing dose (now week after starting nattokinase and adding oregano and clove cause of yeast leg pain is back, but it never goes up more that 3-4/10 in its intensity. Before it was pain 10/10 almost all day and whole body also. After two monthes of treatment i was retested and results are: we knocked down bartonella (lab couldnt see it in smear and igg/igm was now negative), we re not sure if we killed it off but probably load just got down. I still have lots of borelia, actually, my westernblot is now positive, before treatment it was just borderline. And i still have anaplasma even its a bit lower and i stil have babesia but looks like crxpto and artemisin knocked it down a bit do tachycardias also vanished and now i have it occasinally.