Can you test positive for Lyme disease even after a course of antibiotics?

Question

Hi doctor,

My 26-year-old daughter had a tick bite and tested positive for Lyme disease this summer. She took a month-long round of Doxycycline. She re-tested last week, and she was still testing positive for Lyme antibodies on the Western blot test. Her first antibody test was 1.91 antibodies. The recent test was 7.34.

Her general care cannot tell us what the significance of the test results are. He recommends taking another cycle of oral Doxycycline, and he has referred her to an infectious disease doctor, who has yet to call her back after two weeks. Do you have any recommendations for her? As a mother, I am concerned because I realize that Lyme is a very serious disease.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

There is no need to take one more antibiotics course because Lyme disease antibodies may stay in the body for years. Only antibody detection is not confirmatory for diagnosis. Few false-positives may be seen in viral fevers, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections. So if the patient develops any symptoms like fever, body pain, icterus, or generalized weakness, then there is a need to take antibiotics. So please consult your physician. He will examine and treat you accordingly.

Take care.