infections

[kellym]

I am a 29 yr female who has been having multiple symptoms for 4 years. my symptoms started like the flu x 1 mo, extreme fatigue, migraines, muscle and joint pain (at one point could barely walk or even hold gallon of milk) and recurrent infections like sore throats, eyes, uri, uti. I have been to a million dr's, 2 said lyme disease and fibromyalgia. i have had recent test which came back positive and the dr said they dont mean much since not that elevated. can you help determine what they mean and what type questions or physcian i should see?? I have had sore throats infection and uri x 2 months and anti's and steroids didnt help either.
below are my tests that came back positive:
Immuniglobins - igg (1217) on 11/20/08 and (1323) on 12/8/08, iga (163) 11/20 (174) 12/8, igm (218) and then (231) ON 12/8/08. IGE - (152), EBV EARLY (5.), EBV-EBNA EIA - (47.7), Sed Rate (25), and cmv and vca are negative. please explain to what they mean, all my normal bloodwork was normal. I am really scared they are missing something and my 3 kids are suffering having a mom who hasnt felt well in years.

Thank you!

[Maria RN]

Are you sure that you typed the IGE result correctly? Was the unit in mg/dl? The normal range for adults is .002 - .2 mg/dl. High level may indicate allergy or presence of parasitic infections. Immunoglobulins are antibodies formed by the plasma cells, the play an important role in the immune system.

[kellym]

yes except it is k u/l for ige. i just had another series of tests and my sed rate is now 30 and my urine was abnormal and I am still waiting for all the other results, they are now checking for lupus and other diseases. I think I may have found a really good dr this time after 4 years i hope so. he was so thorough and spent 3 hours in the room with me........what dr ever spends that much time with a pt. thanks for the response though.

[Maria RN]

So your IgE is also within normal range, but the ESR is high. Good thing that you've found a good doctor. Aside from lupus, a high sed rate may be associated with conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lymphoma, Chronic kidney disease, Grave's disease, kidney and heart valve infections. I hope you could find time to update us about the test results.

[kellym]

thanks for the reply, my dr says the ige is not within normal limits but its not that high either, who knows. my other tests still didnt come back but about my urine it is high for esterase, epithelial cells and wbc??? i know my dr will explain but I am not to see him for another 3 weeks and waiting just drives me crazy and its nice to hear 2nd opinions so i am able to ask more questions when I do see him. So what does my urine test mean since abnormal?

thanks for all the help.

[Maria RN]

When leukocyte esterase is detected, it indicates a sign of inflammation, which is usually associated with urinary tract infection. Epithelial cells, on the other hand, are generally of very minimal diagnostic use. The cells that line the urinary tract may slough into the urine. Even cells from the genital tract can appear in the voided sample.