Why Your Lyme Test Was Wrong: The Truth About the Western Blot

Lyme Disease / Mystery Illness

If you’ve been suffering for years with chronic symptoms, searching for answers, and somehow still told your Lyme test was negative… this post is for you.

Because here’s the hard truth:

The Western Blot is not a reliable test for Lyme disease.

And I learned that the hard way.

It Started When the Right Side of My Body Went Numb

I went to the doctor after the entire right side of my body suddenly went numb. An MRI revealed that a disc in my neck was pushing into my spinal column so aggressively, it was flattening it like a pancake.

I was rushed into emergency spinal surgery.

Diagnosed with “Degenerative Disc Disease” in My 30s

I had never been in an accident. I was in my early 30s and otherwise healthy. Yet I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease—a condition that didn’t make sense for my age or history.

Right after surgery, the neurologist told me he didn’t like how my bones looked. He said the disc in my neck had disintegrated into mush in his hands.

Still, no one questioned why this happened or suggested further testing. I was sent home with a bag full of prescriptions and no answers.

7 Years Later, I Finally Got a Lyme Test

My body continued to fall apart. I was in constant, debilitating pain. My GP told me I was probably just “dehydrated.”

It wasn’t until seven years after my spinal surgery that a friend suggested Lyme might be behind it all.

The first test—a basic Lyme panel—came up positive. That got me in to see an infectious disease doctor, who then ran a Western Blot.

It came back negative.

The doctor congratulated me for testing negative and sent me on my way.

Meanwhile, it felt like my spine was crumbling and my muscles were about to tear from my bones.
I was literally falling apart.

The Western Blot Failed Me

The only thing the test did pick up was active Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).

When I asked the doctor what I could do about it, he shrugged and said:
“Nothing you can do about that.”

But he was wrong.

There is something you can do about active EBV, and it can be a major driver of chronic fatigue, pain, and immune dysfunction. I explain what you can do about it in this blog post (link coming soon).

When I Finally Got the Right Test…

After being dismissed by the conventional system, I took my health into my own hands and used a more accurate panel from trusted labs.

My Lyme chart lit up like a Christmas tree. I tested positive for:

  • Borrelia (Lyme)

  • Babesia

  • Bartonella

  • Anaplasmosis

  • Brucella

  • Ehrlichia Chaffeensis

  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

  • Tularemia

  • Powassan Virus

I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t delusional. I was just completely misdiagnosed.

Why the Western Blot Is an Inaccurate Lyme Test

Let’s break it down:

  • It’s a blood test that looks for antibodies—not the actual bacteria.

  • But Lyme doesn’t stay in your blood. It hides deep in your tissues, joints, brain, and biofilms—places where it’s hard for the immune system to detect and respond.

  • It’s a stealth pathogen that can morph into different forms and suppress your immune system.

  • If you’ve had Lyme for a long time, your immune response may be too weak to produce detectable antibodies.

  • The test also uses outdated CDC criteria that require specific bands—some of which aren’t even Lyme-specific.

Bottom line?
You can absolutely have Lyme and still test negative.

And that’s why thousands of people are being misdiagnosed or dismissed every single year.

Better Testing Options

If you’re serious about getting real answers, I recommend skipping the Western Blot entirely and testing through one of these labs:

  • Vibrant Wellness

  • Igenex

  • DNA Connexions

These labs test for the actual bacteria or DNA fragments—not just your immune system’s reaction—and have far greater accuracy, especially for chronic and complex cases.

I personally use Vibrant Wellness in my practice to accurately test clients for Lyme and co-infections.

Lyme Isn’t Just From Ticks

Another misconception:
You don’t have to be bitten by a tick to get Lyme disease.

It can also be transmitted by:

  • Mosquitoes

  • Fleas

  • Mites

  • Lice

  • Biting flies

Which makes you wonder…

How Many People Are Out There—Sick, Misdiagnosed, and Still Searching?

If this resonates with you, you may have been misled by an outdated system.

If you think you might have undiagnosed Lyme disease, I want to help you get real answers.

Let’s talk.
You deserve to be heard—and healed.

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