Here's an interesting announcement about a blood test that uses heating of the blood to reveal the existence of various diseases the patient might have. One of the diseases that a heat profile has been determined for is Lyme disease. Check out the article.
-Bob
Thank you Bob. My husband will be paying out of pocket to get IGNEX testing for lyme and co-infections because Blue Cross upheld a 2nd level appeal due to equivocal blood work despite 4 letters from 4 doctors authorizing iv rocephin. Do you know of any other possible test that will find lyme or its coinfections. Would the attached test be considered experimental by an insurance company. This disease has turned our lives upside down and my husband a coach, former college football player and physed teacher is bedridden and we can't get the only treatment that works!
ReplyDeleteThat is unfortunate that you've been turned down a second time. Do you mean that you have resubmitted an invoice for a second time, or that you went through the whole formal appeal procedure? In CA we can write to the insurance commissioner to appeal on the state level.
ReplyDeleteIn general, sometimes I have had to send claims in a third time before I would get some pay-out from my insurance company (Blue Shield of CA).
I was turned down for Rocephin too, after being covered for a 6-month trial. Actually, compared to many patients, that was a significant concession on the part of Blue Shield. After six months, though, I received a letter from a doctor who apparently works at/for Blue Shield saying that was all they would cover. They said obviously the experiment had failed. My LLMD wrote back and explained that I had been on a very low dose (1/8th the target of 4 grams/day) for fear of worsening my Parkinson's issues, but wanted to try it now, full bore. They refused.
So, after much research and prices that soared as high as $3000/mo, I sourced the Rocephin from my local CVS for a very low price of $212 for 40 2-gram bottles of powder. I also found the tubing, flushes, saline bags, etc. here and there, typically from patients who had more than they needed. So, my costs for that aspect of the my treatment was not too onerous. It was the doctor appts and some supplements, such as IV glutathione that were more expensive.
One thought is to have a culture test done by Advanced Laboratory Services in Pennsylvania. A culture test, if positive, proves active infection with 100% accuracy. The lab is not FDA approved at this point, but they are working on it, as I understand. All the LLMDs I know seem to trust it. You could ask your insurance if they would honor a test result from there, if positive. (The test is not cheap -- ~$600.)
Frankly, I think it's ridiculous that with letters from four doctors stating the need for treatment that the insurance company has the nerve to deny it. What's insurance for, anyway? Who's playing doctor, the insurance company or your four specialist doctors?
I am a professional and certified thermographer. There are multiple good sources of infrared and thermography background and details on the internet.
ReplyDeletethanks
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