ANA

I did some blood work and it showed positive ANA (++).
I did ANA last year and it was negative, as well as three years ago, always negative.
Why is it now positive? Do I have Lupus and Lyme at the same time? Can it be elevated because of some food intolerance?
Thank you in advanced. I am very scared.

Anti nuclear antibody, is a immune response to a pathogen...a nice rhumey told me i had vasculitis but would not immunosuppress as a result of he knew the cause ...lyme hits thyroid immune response is hashimotos, lyme hits joints =arthritis,lyme hits lower nuerons its als ,mylieln shieth its ms ,sure there are other pathogens like hh6,cpn and bart and hpv but its the same same.so in the case of lupus it is just systemic..body wide inflammation cause by the immune response ...i have done some iv curcumin and maybe will try ldn and hbot as steroids are not a option of course while reducing the causative infection.please dont do chemo or suppress immune sx ...lower cytokine storm quick..per buhner .protect endothelial lining then go after ketes..hugs

My sis had lyme back in 2007 .. She had a positive LabCorp WB and a positive ANA ..

She caught it early, took antibiotics and has been doing great - no problems

Her ANA is now negative, as are her WB and lyme PCR ( without any other treatment other than the antibiotics back in '07 )

Hi blueberry! Do you know what your titre was? As well as the pattern?

When this all first started for me I tested pos for ANA too. Mine was such a low positive though they didn't seem to think it was anything. But they ran an ENA panel to rule out other conditions.

Mine was 1:80 homogeneous. Which can be seen in healthy individuals as well. I figure mine is positive because of the inflammation due to lyme bacteria.

At low titres they will usually conduct another panel called the ENA to rule out autoimmune disorders such as sjogren’s, scleroderma, RA and mctd.

At high titres that is when they start to suspect lupus. But lupus is a clinical diagnosis and you have to have 4 out of the 11(? I think) to have lupus.

Don't worry it is most likely positive due to lyme but it would be helpful to know the number and pattern as they can be a more helpful indicator in determining the cause.

Post Edited (evianangel) : 4/26/2016 12:22:08 PM (GMT-6)

Blueberry - 1:160 isn't that high of a positive. So I wouldn't get too worried. What did your Doctor say? I am going to paste an exert that explains the different patterns, also I'm leaving you a link to a helpful website that explains a lot about ANA. Try not to stress about it too much I'm sure it is just elevated from lyme.

Patterns of cellular fluorescence
In addition to a titer, positive results on IFA will include a description of the particular type of fluorescent pattern seen. Different patterns have been associated with different autoimmune disorders, although some overlap may occur. Some of the more common patterns include:

Homogenous (diffuse)—associated with SLE, mixed connective tissue disease, and drug-induced lupus
Speckled—associated with SLE, Sjögren syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, and mixed connective tissue disease
Nucleolar—associated with scleroderma and polymyositis
Centromere pattern (peripheral)—associated with scleroderma and CREST (Calcinosis, Raynaud syndrome, Esophogeal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia)

https://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ana/tab/test/

As others mentioned, pos ANA does not mean Lupus. Withh all its symptoms, then maybe yes.

Many healthy people have pos ANA. And ANA is the most common antibody to go up and down. - I,ve asked several Drs the same question.