If Your Ana Was Positive, What Were The Results

[jenvan]

Hey friends...just got back some blood work and my ANA was positive. I had this tested a year ago and it was negative at this time. Results are: 1.80 with a speckled pattern detected. I know these tests are indicators and don't often tell you one way or another on disease. If you had a positive ANA what were your results and/or what did it mean? Have you been diagnosed with lupus, scleorsis etc? Thanks friends...any extra input would be great https://www.celiac.com/uploads/emoticons/default_wink.png' alt=';)'> I had this test done b/c of feeling very poor again. (My post on this if you want the context: Open Original Shared Link So, I don't want to make something of these tests, b/c getting a positive ANA doesn't necessarily mean you have a disease per se, but b/c of how I've been feeling I don't want to automatically discount or ignore the results either.

[marciab]

Hi there ... I deleted the first one. So much for rushing ...

My daugher's ANA was 1:80 at age 10. All tests came back negative. And 1:640 at age 18. All tests came back negative again.

So, we were told that there is nothing to treat her for. Just to keep an eye on her and if she gets very sick to bring her back.

Hope this helps. Marcia

[Nancym]

I also had a positive ANA (Slightly speckled). But the follow up test (anti-DS? forget the name) was negative. They diagnosed me with ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune arthritis that causes tendons to fuse together. I have it very mildly though.

[jenvan]

Thanks Marcia for the input. I wonder how much these numbers can change for individuals...ie. if mine could go back or up down again in the near future. Hmph. I'm glad she is doing alright...but sort-of doesn't sound quite good enough yet...

Nancym- So you did have a follow-up... I haven't had that yet. I think I am going to take this to my internist. I remember you getting diagnosed with AS now. Glad it's only mild...

Thanks ! Hope there are some others out there...

[marciab]

Jen,

We must have been on at the same time. I changed my first post to read a little easier. Marcia

[Nancym]

I remember you getting diagnosed with AS now. Glad it's only mild...

Mild is bad enough! Basically all my joints hurt at times, tendonitis, TMJ, random muscle spasms. I think sticking to a low-starch, paleo-type of diet is helping. I hope you test out ok! I think finding a good rheumy is very important.

[jenvan]

Mild is bad enough! Basically all my joints hurt at times, tendonitis, TMJ, random muscle spasms. I think sticking to a low-starch, paleo-type of diet is helping. I hope you test out ok! I think finding a good rheumy is very important.

Yikes...sorry to hear...

Hi there ... I deleted the first one. So much for rushing ...

My daugher's ANA was 1:80 at age 10. All tests came back negative. And 1:640 at age 18. All tests came back negative again.

So, we were told that there is nothing to treat her for. Just to keep an eye on her and if she gets very sick to bring her back.

Hope this helps. Marcia

Yeah, that is probably the situation I'm in too...

[jcc]

Hey friends...just got back some blood work and my ANA was positive. I had this tested a year ago and it was negative at this time. Results are: 1.80 with a speckled pattern detected. I know these tests are indicators and don't often tell you one way or another on disease. If you had a positive ANA what were your results and/or what did it mean? Have you been diagnosed with lupus, scleorsis etc? Thanks friends...any extra input would be great https://www.celiac.com/uploads/emoticons/default_wink.png' alt=';)'> I had this test done b/c of feeling very poor again. (My post on this if you want the context: Open Original Shared Link So, I don't want to make something of these tests, b/c getting a positive ANA doesn't necessarily mean you have a disease per se, but b/c of how I've been feeling I don't want to automatically discount or ignore the results either.

I had a low positive of 160 homogeneous, and 80 peckled (less 40 negative). My only known autoimmune disease is Hashimoto's thyroiditis (anti-TPO > 900). They did look for some other antibodies, but none turned up for me. Celiac Disease and Hashimoto's can cause an elevated ANA from what I've read. as well as many others.

This lists some of the other possibilities~

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Cara

P.S. Can they go away? YES! I know somebody who was diagnosed with Sjogrens and had a high anti-ANA. She totally reversed her symptoms and her antibodies by dietary changes, removing gluten, casein, soy, corn, and possibly a few other things I can't remember.

[jenvan]

I had a low positive of 160 homogeneous, and 80 peckled (less 40 negative). My only known autoimmune disease is Hashimoto's thyroiditis (anti-TPO > 900). They did look for some other antibodies, but none turned up for me. Celiac Disease and Hashimoto's can cause an elevated ANA from what I've read. as well as many others.

This lists some of the other possibilities~

Open Original Shared Link

Cara

P.S. Can they go away? YES! I know somebody who was diagnosed with Sjogrens and had a high anti-ANA. She totally reversed her symptoms and her antibodies by dietary changes, removing gluten, casein, soy, corn, and possibly a few other things I can't remember.

Thanks for the thoughts... I met with my internist yesterday and at this point we're just going to retest later to see if it increases. I just wondered as it was negative previously and has gone up....post gluten-free. Oh well ! Hopefully it will stay or go back down again.

[happy4dolphins]

HI, I 've had a high ana for a longggggg time too. It's been as high as 640 with a speckled pattern as well, but all tests have come back negative. SO I don't know either. I"ve been going to rheumatologists for years and they don't know either.

Nicole

[jenvan]

HI, I 've had a high ana for a longggggg time too. It's been as high as 640 with a speckled pattern as well, but all tests have come back negative. SO I don't know either. I"ve been going to rheumatologists for years and they don't know either.

Nicole

Wow...that is quite high. My doc was saying around 360ish is usually lupus. Are you feeling poorly too? Or just the high numbers?

[Judyin Philly]

HI Jen

Why don't you run these numbers by Dr O on Daily Strength?

I bet she could give you some insight.

Good luck

Judy

[celiac sucks]

Hey friends...just got back some blood work and my ANA was positive. I had this tested a year ago and it was negative at this time. Results are: 1.80 with a speckled pattern detected. I know these tests are indicators and don't often tell you one way or another on disease. If you had a positive ANA what were your results and/or what did it mean? Have you been diagnosed with lupus, scleorsis etc? Thanks friends...any extra input would be great https://www.celiac.com/uploads/emoticons/default_wink.png' alt=';)'> I had this test done b/c of feeling very poor again. (My post on this if you want the context: Open Original Shared Link So, I don't want to make something of these tests, b/c getting a positive ANA doesn't necessarily mean you have a disease per se, but b/c of how I've been feeling I don't want to automatically discount or ignore the results either.

Hi, I had an ANA of 400 (<40 is normal) that was in July 2005. I went to a rheumotolgist he reassured me that 1 out of 100 people have a postive ANA for no reason. He did alot of tests for lupus, which i was having every symptom in the book at the time and currently I still am. The test he ran came back saying that I had a slighlty elevated DNA and another test was postive for lupus, but he told me that I did not have lupus becuase you must have 4 out of the 11 tests come back postive. So, my doctor labeled me with "Lupus like symptoms" ,all he said to do was to reduce my school schedule by half and when I needed to sleep then sleep. He also told me that I should be better by October. Well I wasnt doing any better, acutally I was alot worse so he repeated the tests and everything came back normal expect for the ANA which came back this time at 100 (<40 is normal). He told me again to give it until December and I did and I was not doing any better so he repeated the test once again and this time EVERYTHING came back normal inculding the ANA.

My doctor does not know why I had all the test come back postive at one time and come back negative another, but in the end I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia becuase I had the lupus symptoms. Hope this helps!

[2kids4me]

I am always amazed that we can find out answers, when a rheumatologist says " I dont know why its positive". The answers I find are on medical sites!

Here are answers to most of the questions that arose on the thread - I hope:

Patients with the following disorders or characteristics may have positive ANA tests:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

Scleroderma

Mixed connective tissue disease

Polymyositis/dermatomyositis

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid vasculitis

Sjogren's syndrome

Drug-induced lupus

Discoid lupus

Pauciarticular juvenile chronic arthritis

In addition, some patients with autoimmune diseases that affect the thyroid gland, liver, or lung (including Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary autoimmune cholangitis, and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension) may have positive ANA tests. Certain chronic infectious diseases, such as mononucleosis, hepatitis C infection, subacute bacterial endocarditis, tuberculosis, lymphoproliferative diseases, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), may also produce a positive ANA test.

ANA TESTING AND SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

When physicians suspect a patient has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the ANA test plays an important role in the diagnosis. SLE is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect many parts of the body, including the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, blood vessels, and immune system. Because the severity and symptoms of SLE differ from patient to patient, laboratory tests including testing for antinuclear antibodies provide information that can be valuable in helping physicians make an SLE diagnosis. The ANA test is considered the best diagnostic test for SLE, and it is typically performed whenever a doctor suspects a patient has SLE.

In patients with suspected or diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus, additional testing may be performed to determine the presence of three specific types of antinuclear antibodies, including anti-DNA, anti-Smith (anti-Sm), and anti-ribonucleoprotein (anti-RNP) antibodies. These tests are very sensitive and considered highly predictive of SLE. Testing for anti-DNA antibodies may also alert clinicians to the possibility of disease activity in the kidneys. Some doctors monitor anti-DNA antibody levels.

Although a positive test for anti-Sm and anti-RNP antibodies supports the diagnosis of SLE, the levels of these autoantibodies are not necessarily useful to help physicians determine the progression of disease in a patient.

SIGNIFICANCE OF A POSITIVE ANA TEST

A positive ANA test is not synonymous with a diagnosis of lupus or other connective tissue disorders; it is simply a diagnostic tool used to help physicians establish or rule out an autoimmune or connective tissue disorder [2]. As noted earlier, many healthy people may have a positive ANA test.

However, 93 percent of people with systemic lupus erythematosus and 85 percent of people with scleroderma have a positive ANA test. In addition, more than a third of people with rheumatoid arthritis and nearly half of people with Sjogren's syndrome (an autoimmune disease that causes dry eyes and dry mouth) test positive for ANA. The ANA can be a useful screening test for many connective tissue diseases.

In addition to confirming a suspected diagnosis, the ANA may be used in conjunction with other laboratory tests to predict the progression of a disease. For example, if a patient has a strongly positive rheumatoid factor (rheumatoid factor is an autoantibody that causes inflammation and is elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis) and a strongly positive ANA, researchers have found that the patient will probably develop other symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, instead of lupus or another connective tissue disorder [3].

Physicians may recommend that patients who have pain and inflammation in multiple joints of the body, who have a strongly positive ANA, and who have a negative or low titer for rheumatoid factor undergo further ANA testing for specific autoantibodies ().

If a patient has an ANA titer that is weakly positive (a titer less than or equal to 1:80) and no other evidence of disease, a physician may recommend some additional blood, urine, and antibody testing. If these tests are normal, additional testing for autoantibodies may only be recommended if a patient develops symptoms of connective tissue disease, like a rash, tight skin or the Raynaud phenomenon (cold-induced color changes in fingers or toes).

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[Cottage-Soul]

I'm new to this site and was seeing if there were any posts on positive ANA tests and I see there are! I had this test about 4 months ago after I went to my primary doctor asking for some bloodwork to find out why I was having chronic headaches, was so fatigued and not loosing weight (thought I was Hypothyroid). The ANA came back positive 160 speckled pattern, everything else was okay. The rheumatologist I saw made me feel like an idiot, actually asked me why I was even there. He said I didn't have Lupus, didn't have Fibro... and after looking at the blood tests told me it was a false positive. He didn't run any other tests.

After reading several posts here it seems the speckled pattern is quite prevalent among those with a gluten allergy. I wonder if there is a connection?

I'm not presently on a gluten free diet, but I'll be starting my gluten/wheat/dairy free diet soon. Learning what I can first.