Fry Labs Goes Deeper

Good news!

Fry Labs is now offering PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing for twenty-eight species of babesia, four species of borrelia (burgdorferi, afzelli, valaisina, and garinii); a whopping seventy-two species of mycoplasma, and a
smaller handful of bartonella species. I could not find an exact number on the latter, but quintana and henslae are at least included. It's possible that, since they test for so many species of babesia, that they also test for a
larger number of bartonella species as well.

Last I heard, most labs could only identify three to four species of babesia, so twenty-eight is quite an improvement, and if you have tested negative for babesia microti or duncani, but suspect that you might have some other bizarre breed of the organism due to babesia-like symptoms, then Fry's PCR test may be for you.
Personally, when a doctor at the LIA Conference this year ran an Asyra test on me and found frequencies for five species of babesia, I had to wonder if I had really kicked the infection, despite an absence (or near absence) of babesia symptoms. And though I can hardly afford to spend money on expensive tests anymore, I'm tempted to blow a few hundred bucks to find out whether in fact these five species are in my body.

Indeed, the only gripe I have about Fry is that they don't accept insurance, so you'll have to dig deep into your pockets if you want these prestigious PCR tests, which look for the actual presence of Lyme and Lyme-related organisms in the blood. To test for the presence of any one type of bug will cost you $265.00; however, if you do more than one type of PCR, the cost is incrementally cheaper. Two PCR's cost $395, and four, $495.

Testing for these organisms with an energetic device such as the Asyra would probably be cheaper, but with a blood test, you get an absolute confirmation that the bugs are present, instead of just a frequency reading suggesting that they might be there. Also, be aware that some types of energy tests only measure whether infections are currently active; they can't always detect whether the bugs are in dormancy.

On the other hand, PCR tests can also miss the bugs, because some, such as borrelia, prefer hanging out in the joints and tissue, rather than the bloodstream. Yet, they can be useful, and especially when combined with an IgG or IgM test, which test for antibodies to infections. Fry Labs also offers this test, and it is slightly cheaper than the PCR test, at $250 for the Lyme western blot, and $200 for bartonella IgG and IgM. Ironically, you can also get a Babesia microti IgG for $100.