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Posted 7/29/2007 5:28 AM (GMT 0)
Hi I hope everyone is doing ok.

I got some old labs and had a couple questions

1.  My ANA was 1:320, is this high?  It was speckled.

2.  My ANA screen with reflex titer was positive, but it never said what it was reflex to, what test they ran next.  I guess they ran titers, don't know what this means and can't find it anywher on the web.  It was done by quest.

3.  My percentage blood counts always come out normal but my absolute counts of white blood cells are always high, like I'm anemic.   Does this mean that there is something weird about how my blood cells are shaped or something that the blood count machine doesn't pick up, but the absolute count does?

4. Hematocrit high

I don't know if there are any medical gurus out there, but this just keeps happening and so I'd just like to know how abnormal I am. 

Thanks for any help you can give me.  I'm looking for any clue that can get me some kind of pills or something so I can come out of the dark.

Posted 7/30/2007 4:03 PM (GMT 0)
Me again Marji:

1. It is high. Mine is 1:640 fine speckled (significant for CTD/Lupus), originally 1:180.
2. Not sure what a reflex titer is. I think it is the type of test performed. Did they check your ENAs, IgG, etc.
3. My blood counts were weird like that for years. High whites come out with infection and inflammation for me. I do have large red blood cells but don't know why.
4. Lot of reasons could contribute to high red blood cell count. Dehydration, living in high altitudes, body needs more oxygen, etc. It may be in connection to something else going on.

Obviously not a guru here. But yes, results are normal for Lupus or connective tissue disease. Good luck with the puzzle - Kristin
Posted 7/30/2007 11:33 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Marji,

My labs also always come out similar to yours and the docs are not concerned so I am assuming it is normal for lupus. Hope this helps.

Sandy

Posted 7/31/2007 1:26 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much Kris and Sandy. Its weird but when its high, I often don't feel that bad, but sometimes I feel really crappy and its lower than that. I remember when that was done, I didn't know I had an ANA problem at all. It was just routine arthritis screening stuff.

I think you're right Sandy. Someone recently told me that the reflex titer just means that they keep diluting it until no more ANA shows up. But they can do it reflexive to other tests , like rheumatoid factor, complements Ig and all, but in my case they didn't. My rheumie does it though.

I just thought that was the regular ana. Anyway, thanks again and I hope you are all doing well.
Posted 8/3/2007 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
They do an ANA screen first and if that is possitive they Reflex to a titer which is what marji said they keep diluting it until there is a negative reaction. The titer (1:?) is the highest dilution that gets a possitive reaction.
If your white count is normal and the percent is normal the absolutes don't mean a whole lot. There are 5 different kinds of white cells and the percent is how many of each kind out of 100. The absolute is the actual number of cells the machine counts of each kind.
The white blood cells do not indicate anemia the red cells do. In anemia you will see a low Hematocrit or Hemeglobin. Some causes for a high Hematocrit are increased demand for oxygen such as in sleep apnea, other breathing disorders,high altitudes etc.
I hope this helps some.
Susan
Posted 8/4/2007 1:00 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Marji:

I just wanted to pass on my two cents here about your red blood cells. You mentioned you thought you had anemia cause your white cells where high. Normally, it's a low red blood cell count that indicates your anemic. My H/H are usually around 8.5/21, when my H/H reaches 7.0/20 they give me 2 units of red packed blood cells.

It's hard to say whats going on with your white blood cells. I know that if you have really low counts it can be related to your lupus. I hope that your doctor can give you some ideas as to whats going on. My daughters ANA is always 1:640 which is considered a really positive ANA, but she shows no signs at all for lupus, her ANA is just positive. Whereas with me sometimes my ANA is positive and then negative.

As for the rest of my blood counts, well they are truly messed up. I've got a positive CCP but my RA factor are negative. My ESR and CRP is always positive and my MCV is always high.

Anyway, just wanted to pass on the information about the anemia. I hope you are feeling better and I'm thinking of you often.

Take care,
Barb
Posted 8/4/2007 5:18 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Susan and Barb,
The weird thing about the white blood cells is that the absolute and total counts don't jive with the percents, which makes me think that the blood counter is maybe misinterpreting something. The absolute counts seem to reflect my condition more than the percentages. I have abnormally high count of lymphocytes, probably due to infection somewhere. Usually I do have high red blood cell count and I do have hypoxemia, so that all makes sense, I don't know if it is due to a problem with my rbcs transporting oxygen properly or to my lungs, cervical spinal stenosis, or sleep apnea or hypothyroid. I do snore as well. My apnea has greatly improved with the treatment of my thyroid, and I'm still undertreated so it can only get better if I can figure out a way to take more synthroid without my heart and electrolytes and stuff going kooky. Thrombocytopenia is a common post interferon problem and since I had such a horrible reaction and permanent damege from it, I may have or be prone to getting that. My CRP and complements and sedrate are usually messed up, my ferritin and B12 unusually high, and of course liver enzymes bad. I got a note because I missed my hepatologist visit and he does want to see me so I guess I'm progressing from severe fatty liver to whatever comes next. Oh well, somethings always gonna get you in the end and for me and my family, its always the liver, or liver realated complications. Not much they can do for me except tty to get me to lose weight and stay off liver metabolized drugs. Thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it. My blood work is surprisingly normal for the physical symptoms and problems I have, which is frustrating when they are trying to treat me. Thanks again for your help.
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