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Positive ANA result...What now?

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Posted 3/29/2011 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
I just got my bloodwork results from my doctor... ANA is positive.

I don't know the titers level yet. He wants to tell me in person and not over the phone. shocked

He's not an rhumy, but my allergist. He was testing for allergies and decided to do an additional screen for autoimmune diseases.

I've been in pain for a month now from my inflammed joints. My face looks terrible from the red rash.

What will happen now after all the crying is done? cry

Posted 4/1/2011 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
Found out my titers is 320. Is this very high?
I'm seeing a rhumy in a month for further testing.
Posted 4/1/2011 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
No, that's not very high. But experience from all our members has proven that how you feel is not really related to the ANA numbers.

Lupus is not easy to diagnose, and a positive ANA can mean any of several auto-immune diseases, it is NOT a test specific to lupus. Don't get ahead of the horse, let the drs due the diagnosing. I know it's tempting to read up on everything having to to with ANA, but it's better to let the drs use their experience. We've found that when you tell the dr what you think it is, they then are predisposed to look for that thing and will sometimes skip over looking for something it may eventually turn out to be!

While your rheumy may choose to do further diagnostics, most will put you on some initial medications to ease your symptoms asap.

In the meantime, ibuprofen can help a great deal with joint inflammation. Hope you feel better soon.
Posted 4/1/2011 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
Doing heating pads and tylenol. I trouble with ibuprofen and my GI tract.
Pain's down to a dull ache except my elbows... feels like I banged them against something. Hands are achy, too. :(
Posted 4/4/2011 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
So sorry to hear that you don't feel well! A positive ANA can mean lots of things. What are your symptoms? The aches and pains can be Sjogren's, RA, lupus. . . it will depend on your other symptoms and maybe on further blood work.

This is a difficult time, so definitely reach out here and to those you love!

Best wishes,
C.
Posted 4/5/2011 12:27 AM (GMT 0)
I wanted to slap a co-worker today....
I told her about how the last few weeks I'd been hurting all over and that I had some bloodwork done and the positive results for AI. I thought she was my friend. Instead to my complaint of my hands bothering me extra painful today, she said, and I quote, "Is it all in your hands or all in your head?" UGH!
She has mild arthritis, but she shrugs her discomfort off and puts down any suggestion of pain someone has. She always says, "Oh, I have joint pains but I just push on."
Another Co-worker started preaching at me. I'm a PK (preacher's kid) and I know what I need to do.
Why does everybody think if their pain is tolerable then yours is not that bad?
Posted 4/5/2011 5:41 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know why so many people need to "one up" everyone, but it seems to be the way of many people. I think some really do think they feel the worst or that your pain is always equal to theirs. There is no way to really know, I guess. They might be in quite a bit of pain, or you might be in more. I'm not sure why people think it matters, though.

I just try to model the response I'd like to receive in the world--listening when my friends are in pain and saying, "That sounds difficult" instead of "Me, too!" I'm not sure that I knew to do that before I got sick, so I try to be understanding when others get it wrong (even when they are super obnoxious about it!).
Posted 4/5/2011 6:13 PM (GMT 0)
You mean your titers was 1:320 I believe and yes that is high. They look more toward 1:640 as being high enough to be Lupus. Anything over 1:160 is considered high enough to warrant attention. I had that titer for many years, now it's 1:640.
Posted 4/5/2011 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
I found out the pattern now: Speckled :(
That means it's one (or more) of six things:
SLE
Sjorgen's
sclerodrema
polymyositis
RA
Mixed Connected Tissue Disease

I won't know which one exactly until they do further genetic testing at the end of the month. Meanwhile I'm suffering with hand and foot pain right now.
Posted 4/5/2011 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure if you can take the pattern into consideration. From my understanding, you can get different patterns from the different flourocent lights that the doctors use, these vary with different labs and can't really mean much because they do, unless you are getting the same result from multiple labs, then maybe it does. Mine started at 1:320 homogenous, after 10 years it was rechecked, and is 1:640 homogeneous, 1:640 nucleolar, and my RNP antibodies are high. I would think I should have a speckled pattern. I'm being evaluated for mctd.
Posted 4/6/2011 10:03 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sure he'll want to run his own blood tests and confirm the levels.
Posted 4/6/2011 11:30 PM (GMT 0)
And you might look up the symptoms of each of these diseases and see if you seem to fit into one more than you do another. This website is pretty cool, you can take online quizzes to some of these diseases. Mine was highest with fibro and MS.

http://arthritis.about.com/od/lupusthebasics/l/bllupusquiz.htm
Posted 4/7/2011 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
I did it and it scored highest in arthritis. (16 out of 22)
Posted 4/8/2011 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
i found out my ana is 5150 i was told it is very high. i have joint pain muscle pain hair loss, hives on my face and neck..does anyone know??
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