I tend to write in retrospect, because often times I have to work through difficult times before I can share experiences publicly. This is solely for the purpose of not sounding whiny to readers. Some weeks are just shitty, plain and simple. In time, solutions present themselves, and I like to be able to report positive outcomes if at all possible.
That in mind, I’m happy to report that Wyatt’s cord blood test results came back negative! Not a single trace of Lyme!
Yes, I’m sharing this 9 whole weeks after his birth. A failure in communication delayed the results--(it’ SO important to keep on top of all your doctors). I was told that no news was good news, so we went along thinking all was fine with the test results. Then I learned at my 7 weeks OBGYN checkup that the results never came in.
That sent me into a brief panic (OMG, what if he actually has Lyme and two months have already gone by!). After a lot of back and forth with IGeneX and the doctors, we got it all cleared up.
Three things to know:
Your OBGYN will have to sign a release form that IGeneX faxes over after they receive the blood sample to ensure that the test results are going to a “secure location,” whatever that means. Make sure the OBGYN office knows that this isn’t a junk fax (that’s where we ran into problems, as we think the forms were accidentally thrown away).
Once IGeneX receives the blood samples, it takes only 7-10 days to get results. If you haven’t heard anything by then, follow up. They’re super nice and helpful when you call.
3. If your LLMD agrees to look them over, have your baby’s results faxed to him or her as well. In the end, it was my LLMD who delivered the results, because I felt he was the only one qualified to read them properly. Note: I don’t know how the results are presented, as I haven’t seen them on paper. They could just be a simple positive or negative, in which case, your OBGYN could also share the results. I just remember looking over my initial Lyme test results two years ago and asking my LLMD to explain them because I has no idea what any of it meant. I just assume cord blood is presented the same way?
Above all, I just want you to know how helpful this cord blood test was for piece of mind. Of course, all Lyme tests can be unreliable, but an initial 100% negative reading took a huge weight off of our shoulders. TOTALLY worth it to have the cord blood sent in. If in twenty or so years we find that the whole congenital Lyme transmission thing is actually bogus like many doctors say, in the end we lost out on $250 bucks. I’d pay that once a month to be able to sleep soundly at night.
Speaking of sleeping soundly, holy crap--rest up mamas! Babies don’t care if you’re symptomatic or exhausted. I fantasize about the days when my biggest complaint was getting up a lot to pee! Good thing the frustration fades when they smile that gummy smile at you.
