Pos ANA, Bacterial Infection, Anemia, nephritis & Neg lupus tests!!!

Hey Brit, I'm sorry you are frustrated but look at it like this. You are in great company! Ok first I'm just gonna throw my thoughts out at ya and you can take it or leave it. In my humble opinion you should be seeing a rheumy not a pcp. you shouldn't have to tell the dr. what needs to be done all thought there is not a thing wrong with being aggressive about your health care. Also weather it be Lupus or somthing else it sounds like you still have some time of auto immune disease. Which is totally normal in as much as there are so many of them that can cause so many of the same symptoms as lupus. You really need to see a rheumy. I can not inficize this enough. Also a second opinion is always good. You didn't mention what your pcp said about the test. Also there are many tests for lupus and there is not a single one by itself that can rule in or rule it out. So yes even with the neg strans you could still have lupus, or scleraderma, or connective tissue, or pbc, or anything. That is why it is so hard to figure out. I have been trying for over 2 year years and I have a big fat goose egg for a dx so far.
you know a lot of times lupies and others can't always get things like iron supplements to break down in the blood stream. you may need shots. or some other alternative. Your anemia could be from the bleeding in your urine or even the C word causes anemia, also a vitamin difficiancy. Don'
t worry about the C word it's just a word and probably not anything to do with it. I hope the doctor is treating you for your infection or if you have fatique. most dr's will put you on plaquanil or prednazone in small doses. pain meds if nessessary. I hope your dr. is at least doing that much for you.
My suggestion is you could be waiting for years to get the right diagnosis. I have been diagnosed and undiagnosed and had 3 different rheumy's tell me 3 different things. Just take a deep breath and look at all you have to be thankful for. You have children and a hubby and it's christmas! Don't let this disease take away your joy. If you get tired rest, don't push yourself. that just makes flares worst and last longer. So does stress. When ever you can designate jobs don't be afraid to ask for help. At this point you may have people questioning if you are realy sick or not taking things serious. But that's ok. It's normal. It will take awhile but sooner or later they will except it.
Try to have a wonderful christmas with peace joy and love
I'm praying for ya
carol

Ty 4 the comfort. I saw a rheumy nov 12th who said i looked fine besides being double jointed which can cause more discomfort than in normal ppl. However i was not in a flare then but didnt realize it till after the appt when i noticed this flare which is the first time i noticed the beginning or end of any flare. So of course the tests done were neg. I was due to go back 6 months from the 12th. I will call & make a sooner appt then. Ty again. I will keep u informed & will look 4 another rheumy. Have a great christmas too!

It sounds like you have quite a few symptoms and with your positive bloodwork, it might be a good idea to get back to the rheumy or maybe get a second opinion from a different one since the first rheumy didn' think much was wrong with you. There are no diffinintive tests for lupus, just the criteria that Lynnwood mentioned. You don't have to have a positive anti-sm or ds dna to have a lupus diagnosis. I don't have either of those things. It took me 3 years and 3 rheumies to get diagnosed and not all rheumies specialize in lupus. If there is a local lupus support group in your area it would be worth going to to ask other members about their doctors and maybe get a recommendation there. With your anemia, it can be hard to get it to normal if you have a lot of inflammation. My son has juvenile arthritis and is always anemic and the docs said it is because of the inflammation and even iron supplements won't help much to get it back in the normal range. It looks like you got some great advice and support from others here. Hang in there and know that we arehere for you.