Need some understanding

Hi all!

I'm new to the whole auto immune disease world. Last week I received a referral from my doctor to see a rheumatologist because I have a slightly high anti rnp level. Infact the test results on a negative scale of 0.0-0.9 was 1.1 so just slightly higher. Everything else was less than 0.2 and other blood tests came back normal. I do not have any symptoms. The reason my dr ordered the test was that I was having fast heart rate randomly. I've been checked out by a cardiologist and all the tests seem to be normal and this could possibly be psvt.

A little history...

2009 I did get Lyme disease. It took about a month and half for symptoms to show up (mainly fatigue) and then I was put on anitbiotics which took care of it. I think the only remaining symptom I had with that was achy feet but I have done research and that could take a while to subside. My feet only hurt when I'm on them all the time.

Most mornings when I wake up, my fingers are slightly swollen but the swelling subsides. I have absolutely no pain. I do have highly sensitive skin which I've had for about 10 years now so I have to be careful about soaps and lotion.

Could this be a false positive? has anybody experienced a similar situation? I see the rheumy next week. ANy insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

We can't really help diagnose you. Please keep your appointment with the rheumotologist and answer the questions they'll ask. They are the guys with the knowledge about auto-immune diseases, and will help you figure out if this is something that you might want to take preventative action against or if the things bothering you are totally not related.

Sometimes it just really varies -- what can be a mild irritation to one person can be a big deal to another. When the Dr asks detailed questions often things come up that we never would have considered to be part of the equation.

Some Dr's want to take some preventative measures when tests are low or inconclusive, some are more cautious in their approach. It just varies so much that anything we say is just a stab in the dark! Some dx using only bloodwork, some will dx based on symptoms without bloodwork, some require both be present. These auto-immune diseases are impossible to dx based on just one discrete thing...they are much more sneaky!

I would recommend that you don't try to self-diagnosis based on a single blood test. Rheumy's are equipped to understand the test in light of everything else going on with you....everything from weight to amount of stress to how often you get headaches to...who knows? Maybe those achy feet have to do with weak muscles associated with something....it's all a big puzzle - Lupus is known as the disease with a 1000 faces as its so tricky to dx, and the other auto-immune diseases just as tricky.

A slightly elevated ANA can a false positive, or relate to some other kind of inflammation you might have....there are just so many possibilities. Try to stay in the moment and if you don't feel poorly then don't anticipate feeling poorly -- our minds do control some of our physical state!

Hang in there!

Anti rnp positive results are usually associated with MCTD and sometimes lupus.  You need to discuss the results with a rheumy...one blood test does not a diagnosis make.  MCTD symptoms can include those from lupus, scleroderma and polymyositis.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1541873/

Bill