Positive anti-SM antibodies anyone?

Hi Razzle,

I have never had a positive ANA, but I did get a positive smooth muscle antibody test a few years ago. Nothing ever came of it diagnostically, because all other blood work was good.

Prior to being dx'd w/ Lyme/babs, my previous GP thought I may have Lupus. My Lupus panel (blood work) was OK in '07, so he said to check it in one year. Thank God I stumbled upon a locum in his office later that year who sent me to the only LLMD in BC, Canada - who dx'd Lyme/babs.

I've been on Plaquenil as a cyst-buster since '08 and I do believe it is helpful for my spinal osteoarthritis. You poor thing, what with all you have on your plate health-wise, I certainly wouldn't want to hear that you have Lupus, too! I hope you feel better soon.

Just to clarify, anti-Sm antibodies are part of the ANA panel and the "Sm" is "Smith" and not "smooth muscle."

Spaztik, thanks for your post.

Lupus has been tossed around as a possible diagnosis for me by various MD's I've seen over the last 5 years...that's how I got the "Secondary Lupus-Like Syndrome" (some of the doctors called it Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disorder) - because at one point, I had a SED rate of 102, a positive ANA with speckled/homogenous pattern, a rash on my face that resembled the Malar rash classic to Lupus, and the "arthritic" hands (but no redness/swelling of joints, just stiffness & pain). So they put me on Plaquenil and after about 3-4 months, it did help reduce the severity of the hand pain, but did nothing else for any of my other symptoms (this was in 2005-2006, before I was diagnosed with Lyme).

I later discovered that the rash was actually an allergic reaction to the soap I was washing my eye-glasses with - haven't had the rash since switching to a different soap. The hand pain seems to improve with abx, and the ANA had come down to "normal" by the time I was dx. with Lyme...and I never expected to see it elevated again. So I guess that's why this test result has me scratching my head and questioning what connection, if any, there could be between the anti-Smith antibodies and Lyme.

Thanks,