Bachelor Nation’s Kelley Flanagan reveals how finally receiving a tick-borne disease diagnosis through IGeneX Lab changed her life for the better
Like hundreds of thousands of Americans, Kelley Flanagan developed mysterious health symptoms with, seemingly, no answers, that began in fourth grade but increased after her season of The Bachelor. After a diagnosis of Lyme Disease in 2021 via IGeneX Lab, she joined the over 300,000 (Bay Area Lyme Foundation) new patients each year that contract Lyme Disease, and began to discover just how deeply tick-borne disease can affect each facet of your life. Further, without effective diagnosis and treatment, symptoms can often worsen and progress into severe and even life-threatening health issues.
“[My brother] started doing so much evidence-based research, whether it was reading books, podcasts, documentaries… anything he could find that pertained to Lyme disease. That’s when he figured out that [he] most likely had Lyme disease. [My brother] was the one to say, ‘I think you have Lyme.’ After I came back from the show, I just knew something was wrong. It was around 4th grade when I noticed something was wrong- my digestion was off. It actually took my brother, Tom, to figure out that he had Lyme… because he goes hunting and got bit by a tick,” Flanagan told IGeneX recently.
Speaking with IGeneX in May of 2022 during Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Flanagan opened up about why she chose to be tested for Lyme with IGeneX: “The test that I found was the most accurate when I was doing all my research was, IGeneX. When it came to me getting tested, there were essentially no other options. I knew what was out there… IGeneX is the best on the market.”
IGeneX prides itself on testing for not only more relevant strains of tick-borne pathogens than any other lab, but even for pathogens that exhibit Lyme-like symptoms but arise from a different tick-borne disease. These often require different treatment paths- like common co-infections Babesiosis, Bartonella and Relapsing Fever. Fortunately, IGeneX’s ImmunoBlot boasts a sensitivity rate that is nearly double that of the standard two-tier testing protocol.
Flanagan has been on the up and up since her initial diagnosis in 2021. Flanagan recently told IGeneX that mindset is key in her health journey: “I knew I was in a space where my body wasn’t doing well. I know that it gets a little bit hectic to talk about it [Lyme Disease] constantly and that is something that I struggle with. Mindset is a huge thing for me and I want to focus on being a little bit more healthy instead of focusing on the downfalls.”
“Without accurate, multi-species tests that detect infection at all stages of disease, patients are unable to receive a correct diagnosis and cannot begin to get better. I speak for the entire IGeneX team when I say that we are grateful for Kelley’s continued advocacy around accurate tick-borne illness testing,” said Dr. Jyotsna Shah, PhD, President and Laboratory Director of IGeneX.
Founded in 1991, IGeneX is at the forefront of Lyme and tick-borne disease research. The two-tier ELISA/Western Blot testing recommended by the CDC uses outdated result criteria developed in 1994, leading to many missed infections and preventable suffering. In contrast, the IGeneX ImmunoBlot, which detects eight strains of Borrelia, produces a higher sensitivity, and remains the most comprehensive testing for Lyme disease antibodies.
