Boxer, my surgeon disallowed me from having my tissue tested. Just as well, 99.9% of the labs only test for one strain of Borrelia Burgdorferi -- and there are 100+ strains documented. Equally as important, there are many other microbes that have been identified in spinal discs since the 1970s. Non-culture based molecular methods are the best to use (e.g., PCR).
By now, I am sure you've seen a topic on this issue that is ignored by doctors -- it's well-documented:
http://www.adrsupport.org/forums/f44...l-causes-9218/
This is multiple pages, have a quick look through them all. Bugs bugs have a proclivity for joint and nerve tissue, I've been studying this for years! This excerpt say it all:
Nine of 10 patients with positive disc cultures had negative blood cultures.