Antibody testing thread 2

[Egghead68]

Thread for people thinking about, doing, or awaiting results of COVID-19 antibody tests.

I got a negative for my test done by London Medical Laboratory. Find it baffling as am so sure I had it (early March). There is nothing about antibodies waning after a couple of months. We can't all be in the 20% who don't produce antibodies, can we?

No - seems unlikely.

@OhYouBadBadKitten my local private Gp did a blood draw and test for £95. Might be worth seeing if there is one near you?

I've managed to find one that now has appointments. Thanks :)

I had an antibody test through the nhs trust I work at (not a finger prick test). I tested positive for IgG antibodies which isn't a surprise as everyone I shared an office with (apart from another colleague who also was asynptomatic) went off at some point with confirmed covid.

I'm feeling relieved even though we don't know what it means yet. One colleague had antibodies a while ago (was tested due to working on ICU), but their recent antibody test came back negative.

Just to add I was asymptomatic/ had the mildest symptoms which could have been anxiety or hayfever.

One colleague had antibodies a while ago (was tested due to working on ICU), but their recent antibody test came back negative

Oh dear. Presumably the tests were less than 3 months apart. This sounds like it might not bode well for immunity that lasts any significant time.

@LatinforTelly maybe we produced IgG but it didn’t last.

@Egghead68

One colleague had antibodies a while ago (was tested due to working on ICU), but their recent antibody test came back negative

Oh dear. Presumably the tests were less than 3 months apart. This sounds like it might not bode well for immunity that lasts any significant time.

We still don't know enough about the virus to make assumptions like that yet. It's been a while since I studied the immune system so apologies for the lack of scientific terms.

Just because those antibodies aren't detected, It doesn't mean you don't have any other immune surveillance going on if that makes sense. I did also read something about potential t-cell mediated immune responses playing a part and they wouldn't show up on the antibody test.

Yes, @Egghead68, maybe. I'm a bit pissed off about it actually. 1. It was a waste of money (but I guess if I'd got a positive, it would've been a relief) 2. Maybe I didn't have it and am deluded, but I had all the symptoms! As we've discussed before, it is the oddest bug, nothing like a cold or flu for me. 3. Just pissed off generally today

I can't find anything in the literature of the Abbot test about antibodies falling off after 50 days, but only 8 people were in the 41 - 50 group, and 1 of them tested negative. Anything after day 50 is just not considered.

I think they should investigate this more tbh. I took blood on day 80 so it was a fair time from infection. Sigh, I suppose I won't know for now or ever.

Good luck with your test results from today, Egghead. And interesting about your colleague, @Floraflower3

Yes agree @Floraflower3. I wrote “might” not bode well but yes perhaps even that is a bit strong.

@Latinfortelly I don’t blame you for being pissed off.

It’s ridiculous that Abbott got away with a sample size of 8 in any part of their data.

@LatinforTelly I think this paper discusses IgG antibodies falling off after the first month although I don’t think it’s specifically for the Abbott test:

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.15.20066407v2

My clinic blood draw test was negative. I still think I had coronavirus despite a negative swab and 2 negative IgG tests.

I really should have gone to a clinic to have my blood drawn. I attempted to do the finger prick test again today and I got one measly drop out before it clotted. I moved around and had my hand under warm water for a bit etc but to no avail. I'm annoyed. I'm going to try again later after a glass of wine or something to see if it works.

@wonderTweek do it on the side of your little finger. i found i barely bled anywhere else but there i bled like crazy.

@bells3032 Thanks! I'll definitely give it a go. I'm prepared for a full on session later on.

@egghead68 sorry to hear that. I do think venous versus fingerprick is a red herring.

I had a negative on venous but interestingly on my PCR swab i was negative for covid but positive for adenovirus and rhinovirus. However all my symptoms were covid - i fell ill just before lockdown and still at 11 weeks struggling to recover back to my old self. My GP is convinced I had covid on top of these other viruses. I also read a US study that many people with covid also were suffering from other viruses concurrently.

@egghead68 I'm sorry that your second antibody test was negative as well. It is reassuring in one way that the fingerprick tests seem to be giving the same results as venous testing, but very frustrating for you I'm sure, especially with the costs involved.

I hope as more information comes out there might be better understanding of the IGG antibodies produced and who produces them. I am really hoping that in the future there might be a test for the Tcell response that would give a definitive answer as to whether we have all had Covid19 or some other illness with very similar symptoms.

Thanks everyone. It wasn’t unexpected. I’m not spending any more money on this! I will have the free Roche one when it is available but fully expect this to be negative too.

Out of interest has anyone with long-tail covid symptoms (over 6 weeks) had a positive swab or antibody test?

@user34254356 other viruses can be pretty awful too, I know of someone who was in ITU with an adenovirus, but in others it can be just like a cold. And there was influenza going around at the same time.

I remember during the swine flu outbreak DH and I were both really unwell, and from clinical signs it looked likely we had swine flu. But we got a private test, and it showed no swine flu or any influenza at all, so it must have been another illness

@Oaksideboard that is interesting to know! maybe then I had adenovirus after all. I am still struggling and worried how my body would deal with it if i were to catch covid now!

Perhaps I had adenovirus too then. I see it can attack heart muscle and I have had a lot of cardiac symptoms. I’m going to see whether there are tests available for that.

@Egghead68 I have only just now seen your results. Sorry to hear it wasn't a positive. I still reckon you could have had it. Testing at this stage seems very hit and miss as we just don't know much about Covid yet. I'm also interested in this adenovirus as I'd never heard of it before, so I will research it too.

Still waiting on my results...think the clinic needs to learn the meaning of 24 hours.

Sorry your result wasn't positive, @Egghead68. I think it's baffling at the moment, but in time it will become more clear. They will have the data for how long the antibodies stay detectable and they may even have a test for the t cell thingy. Then we will either know we had some mysterious other virus or covid.

Tbh I believe we've had it (though obv we socially distance, hand wash, etc etc) so I am not anxious about getting it, even with this result. However, I understand if you're in the vulnerable/shielding category how much of a relief it would be to know quickly.