Positive ANA Lupus??????

Autoimmune diseases are extremely confusing. I've been where you are so I can try and help.

Firstly, your blood tests. Blood tests should never be looked at independently of symptoms and vice versa.

The ANA test is a difficult one, it can be negative if a small proportion of people with Lupus, it is positive in other diseases like Sjogren's, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Autoimmune Hepatitis, BUT the biggest problem is that you can have a positive ANA and nothing wrong. Generally higher the titer, the more likely you are to have an autoimmune disease. It's measured 1:40, 1:80, 1:160, 1:320, 1:640, 1:1280, 1:2560 and so on. So your ANA would be considered 'mild-moderately elevated'. The pattern can give a good indicator of what's going on. The speckled pattern is the most common and the least specific. The conditions it suggests are Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, Scleroderma and Sjogren's Syndrome

Your SED rate is pretty low. Generally in connective tissue diseases, you'd expect to see an elevated ESR/SED rate, but not always. Generally anything under 18-20mm/h is considered normal. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is also used to measure inflammation. Generally in Rheumatoid Arthritis, the CRP is elevated and the ESR is normal. In Lupus, typically the ESR is elevated and the CRP is normal. Your CRP value is presented differently to my lab, but I have seen it written that way before, and your result doesn't appear elevated.

Your rheumatoid factor would probably be considered negative too. My lab states that anything under 20 is negative. I'm unsure about your anti-dsDNA, but that looks like a low number to me too. The anti-dsDNA is elevated in some people with Lupus, but not everyone. There are other blood tests they should order like anti-SM, anti-SSA, anti-SSB, anti-u1RNP, anti-Jo and many more that your doctors will order

As for your symptoms, they are suggestive of an autoimmune disease, specifically your rash on your face. There are rashes that mimic the butterfly rash such as rosacea. I would strongly suggest you keep a journal of your symptoms. If you have swollen joints then take a photo and also take a photo of your rash on your face. Things can disappear when you have your appointment, it's happened to me and it makes it really difficult.

Before your appointment with the rheumatologist I'd suggest you write a history of your medical history, try and keep it brief but detail enough. I'd also ask your family if they know of any autoimmune diseases in your immediate family. Any family history of an autoimmune disease puts you at risk of developing an autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune diseases aren't easy to diagnose and connective tissue diseases especially overlap a lot. Don't expect to go into your first rheumatology appointment and get a diagnosis and don't expect them to start treating you right away. You should be comfortable and if you're not, you should ask your doctor. Make sure you aren't taking Prednisone within a month or so of your appointment. It can cause negative blood tests and cause your symptoms to go into remission.

Learn all you can, go to your library and read everything you can find.

Good luck, if you have any questions or want to talk, my email is open on my profile.

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Lupus is an autoimmune inflammatory disease. The tests look for antibodies that are attacking normal tissues (ANA and DNA Antibody) and tests that show signs of inflammation (C-reactive protein and sed rate). The autoimmune tests are typically elevated when a person has an autoimmune disorder, and the inflammation tests are typically elevated when a person has inflammation. None of these tests are specific to lupus. A person with a viral infection that takes some ibuprofen or Tylenol could have all positive results, and a person with lupus may have a negative result on some of the tests.

Look at your printout to see if your test results are high or low, or positive or negative. The lab reports usually contain you results along with the normal range and some type of indication whether your results are + or - compared to the range. Even without the lab tests, you symptoms look pretty much like lupus.

Your doctor could prescribe a brief round of a steroids or other anti-inflammatory drugs to combat the inflammation and pain between now and the time you see a rheumatologist; however, the treatment could interfere with tests the rheumatologist might need. Your doc could also consult with the rheumatologist to discuss an interim treatment until you March visit. You can ask your doc to do this if you want. You might be charged a consultation fee from the rheumatologist in addition to your doc's charges.

This could be lupus, but Lupus cannot be diagnosed unless you are physically examined which none of us can do here.

It takes a while usually to get into see a Rheumatologist, so the wait you have should be expected. But nothing can be done until you see one so it is worth the wait.

I am not a doctor so I do not know what all your your blood results mean. Sometimes an elevated ANA does not indicate anything at all! However some times it does. Try not to worry so much until you recieve a diagnoses and opinion from the Rheumatologist it will help you relax trust me.

Best of luck!

xoxox

It is hard to say. Lupus is hard to diagnose. The signs and symptoms are often very general. First, follow up with you rheumatologist. He/she is the better resource for your possible diagnosis. Also, you may wish to keep a journal of what is going on with you physically and emotionally. This may help your health care providers in making a diagnosis. If you do have lupus ( I was diagnosed over 25 years ago), your long term outlook is good. The usual rules for good health (adequate rest, exercise, healthy diet) are good ones for you. Your doctor can also help guide you. I have found an open, honest dialogue with my physicians has been very important. Know you body and how it feels. This is often the best guide. Good luck.

Yes Lupus is definitely high on the list of things you may have, but unfortunately a positive ANA just indicates that it is probably some sort of autoimmune disorder and not necessarily lupus. Most doctors are not well trained in deciphering all of the other tests required to attempt to determine which autoimmune disorder you are dealing with. This is why he/she is sending you to a specialist. Not only will they be better able to interpret the tests but they will also be better able to direct you to the proper treatment.

You really need to read "Rosacea Free Forever" by Laura Taylor (also available in electronic format here: http://www.rosaceafreeforever.info/ ). It's about how to permanently cure your Rosacea naturally. I cured my Rosacea permanently in only 4 days after reading this.

Stop paying paying each month good money on creams. This is exactly what the pharmaceutical industry wants you to do! They want to milk money from you each month.

The ANA result doesn't indicate a specific disease at all. Mine is (+) and I have MS. It could be a lot of things, but don't worry about getting a label, just try to feel better and control your pain.