Wrong, the right dr looks at the levels and checks them agains previous levels. This is why you need to go to a specialist not the local dr.
It's not that straight forward. An ELISA, which is the test routinely performed during a screening, simply reads optical density at a specific wavelength cannot distinguish between primary antibodies (IgM) versus secondary antibodies like IgG.
The only way to truly tell if the infection is recent is to do a more specific test such as a Western Blot. This test can be specific for whatever antibody calss you want to look for. Therefore, if you get a hit for IgM and not IgG it would indicate that the infection is recent. So if your doctor is performing Western blots, then perhaps you can determine a recent infection. There is alot more to it than this though and it's still not this straight forward, but I won't get into that here.
A word of caution to everyone worried about Lyme's, do talk with your general practitioner or if you prefer, see an infectious disease specialist. Don't ask any of these doctor's what their opinions are on "Lyme specialists" though, the answer you get may surprise you.
