Lyme Disease Blood Tests: What to Log Before and After

Updated 29 Oct 2026

A Lyme disease blood test is one date in a longer story: the bite, the rash, the first symptoms, and what happens after the result.

This guide explains what to log before and after a Lyme disease blood test: the dates that matter, how timing relates to the result, what to write down when it comes back, and what to bring to your clinician.

Why log around a Lyme disease blood test

The CDC states that when assessing a patient for Lyme disease, a healthcare provider will consider the signs and symptoms, the likelihood that you have been exposed to infected blacklegged ticks, the possibility that other illnesses may cause similar symptoms, and results of laboratory tests, when indicated (CDC). A test result is one of four parts.

The NHS notes that Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose, that it has similar symptoms to other conditions, and that there's not always an obvious rash (NHS). It also notes that a GP will ask about your symptoms and consider any rash or recent tick bites you know about (NHS).

A dated log gives your clinician the other three parts in a form that is quick to read. It also lets you place the test on a timeline, which matters for how a result is read.

In Lyme Journey, the Daily Journal holds the story in dated notes, and My Labs keeps each test with its date.

What to record before the test

Start with exposure. The NHS advises telling your clinician if you have recently been in forests or grassy areas (NHS). Write the date and place of any tick bite you know about, or of outdoor time in an area where infected ticks could be.

Then log the rash. The NHS describes a circular or oval shape rash around a tick bite that can appear up to 3 months after being bitten, but usually appears within 1 to 4 weeks, and notes it can be harder to see on brown and black skin, where it may look like a bruise (NHS). Write the date you first saw it, its size, and take a dated photo.

Next, log symptoms by date. The NHS lists flu-like symptoms a few days or weeks after the bite, such as a high temperature, or feeling hot, cold or shivery, headache, muscle and joint pain, and tiredness and loss of energy (NHS). A simple list of first dates for each one is enough.

For the bite record itself, see what to track when Lyme is still uncertain. In Lyme Journey, the Daily check-in records symptoms each day.

How to note test timing

The CDC notes that antibody tests may appear falsely negative during the first few weeks of infection, typically when a patient has an erythema migrans rash, and that FDA-cleared assays have good sensitivity after 4-6 weeks have passed (CDC). It explains that it can take several weeks after infection for the immune system to make enough antibodies to be detected (CDC).

That makes one number worth writing next to every test: how many weeks had passed since the known bite or exposure when the blood was taken. If the bite date is unknown, write the date of first symptoms instead and say so.

Also note the kind of test if your clinician tells you. The CDC recommends antibody tests that have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and follow a two-step process (CDC). The NHS notes 2 types of blood test are available to help confirm or rule out Lyme disease (NHS).

Write the test name exactly as it appears on your result, so a later clinician knows what was run.

In Lyme Journey, My Labs holds the test date, so the weeks since the bite are easy to count.

What to write when a result comes back

Record the date of the result, the test name, and the result in the words your clinician used. Add what you were told to do next, and whether antibiotics were started or changed.

If the result was negative and symptoms continue, keep logging. The NHS notes these tests are not always accurate in the early stages of the disease, and that you may need to be retested if you still have Lyme disease symptoms after a negative result (NHS). The daily log is what shows those symptoms are still there.

If the result was positive, note that too, with the date. The CDC explains that once your blood tests positive for antibodies, it will likely continue to do so for months to years, even when the bacteria are no longer present, and that these antibodies don't reliably prevent re-infection should you be bitten by another infected tick (CDC). A dated record helps a later clinician read a positive result in context.

In Lyme Journey, My Labs keeps each result with its date, and My Meds records any antibiotic course beside it.

What to bring to your clinician

Before the visit, prepare a short summary: the bite or exposure date, the rash date and photos, the first date of each symptom, each test with its date and weeks since exposure, the result, and any antibiotics with start and end dates. Put your main question at the top.

Useful questions include whether the timing of the test fits the timeline, whether a retest is needed, and what to watch for next. The NHS notes that if you have symptoms that last a long time after treatment you may be referred to a specialist in hospital for advice and more blood tests (NHS).

Be careful with tests bought online. The NHS notes that some websites offer tests and treatment for Lyme disease that may not be supported by scientific evidence, and advises speaking to a doctor before buying tests or treatment online (NHS). The CDC notes that some laboratories that do not accept private insurance may be offering tests that are not cleared by the FDA (CDC). Log where any test came from.

For the wait before a referral, see what to track while waiting for a specialist, and for the early weeks, see the first weeks after a Lyme diagnosis. In Lyme Journey, the Doctor Report builds a dated summary for a saved doctor.

How Lyme Journey can help

A notebook can hold a test result. The harder part is keeping the bite, the rash, symptoms, test dates, and treatment in one dated record, so the timing is clear.

Lyme Journey is a personal Lyme disease tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It records symptoms, notes, medicines, and test dates in one dated history. Below is what you can use and how each part helps:

• Daily check-in — A short guided pass across symptoms, mood, nutrition, sleep, exercise, meds, and external factors, including fatigue, joint pain, and brain fog, so links you would not remember on your own show up side by side.
• Daily Journal — Freer notes, including voice when typing is too much, such as rash changes, which photos you took, and visit debriefs, that add detail a score alone cannot show.
• Flare Tracker — Mark a day clearly worse than usual, so you can tell a one-off bad day from a repeating pattern.
• My Meds — Antibiotics and other medicines with timing, so you can line up start and end dates with symptom days.
• My Labs — Result dates for blood tests, heart checks, and other tests, so each result sits next to how you felt that month.
• Weekly Goals — Set one small aim, such as a regular bedtime or a paced walk, and see whether it held and whether symptoms changed.
• Learn — Short education topics on Lyme themes such as joints, fatigue, sleep, and visit preparation.
• AI companions — Clara and specialist companions already see your logged history, which helps with visit wording.
• My Care Team — A profile for each clinician, plus upcoming appointments and notes for each visit, used before, during, and after appointments.
• Doctor Report — Two views: the Appointment Planning Report helps you prepare what to ask, and Generate Report, opened from a saved doctor, builds a dated summary of your recent progress for that doctor.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins that add context about you across weeks.
• Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines, so you can line up meals and appetite with energy.
• Period Tracker — Cycle dates, so you can see whether pain or fatigue days cluster at a certain point in the cycle.
• Weight Tracker — Weekly weights, useful when appetite or activity is changing.

Everything you log builds one history. Guided forms include the key questions, and you can add custom symptoms when you need your own labels. Lyme Journey is free to download.

Sources

• NHS — Lyme disease
• CDC — Testing and Diagnosis for Lyme disease

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