Guest guest Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 LouAnn, You didn't say what test(s) he ordered, but, if your doctor is testing for ANA, even if it's positive, it wouldn't necessarily mean that you have lupus. Somewhere around 30% of RA patients (and maybe more) are ANA-positive. 10% of seemingly healthy people are, too. People with other rheumatic diseases are also often ANA-positive. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are not specific to lupus. In addition, the lupus criteria are, strictly speaking, supposed to be used for classification, not diagnosis. That is, they were devised to help researchers and physicians decide which people qualify for studies involving those with lupus. Here's the catch - in the " real world, " one may fulfill the criteria and not have the disease. It is also possible to not fulfill the criteria yet actually have the disease. As you can imagine, this is great source of confusion and debate for both physicians and patients. I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] Re: lupus and ra > Well from what he says I have 3 of the criteria for it. I have ra, > itp and thyroid disease. Which make it so I have well over 4 of the > 11 symptoms for lupus. I think he is just being cautious, and wants > to eliminate some stuff. so I have been trying to read up on it. > They did labs for it yesterday, so I guess I should know in a few > days. I am so hoping it comes back negative! > > > > > LouAnn, why did he want to test you for lupus? Do you have lupus > > symptoms? What tests did he do? > > > > In the absence of an overlap syndrome, the true concurrence of > lupus and > > RA is rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 No, LouAnn, what I'm trying to convey to you is that, if the ANA comes back positive, that doesn't prove that you have lupus. More specific testing and further critical thinking by your rheumatologist would have to be done before you could reach that conclusion. Many of the symptoms (and labs) do overlap. That's another big reason for the confusion. I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] Re: lupus and ra > I really don't know exacally what tests he ordered, on my slip it > does say ana,(if positive provide), tsh, crp, and of course the rf. > It is a very confusing disease, because I have a lot of > the " symptoms " yet I think its ra symptoms that just happen to be > the same as lupus symptoms..lol..so I guess my next question is, so > it comes back positive, then what? another course of drugs, no > thanks! I am getting by pretty good right now on the vitamins and > suppliments I am on and more than willing ot try more of those, but > would prefer to have no more drugs! guess I need a few good sites > for lupus to check out..lol..has anyone tried the Dhea nutrient?Its > supposed to reduce fatigue and improve memory dificulties. > > -- In , " " > <Matsumura_Clan@m...> wrote: > > LouAnn, > > > > You didn't say what test(s) he ordered, but, if your doctor is > testing > > for ANA, even if it's positive, it wouldn't necessarily mean that > you > > have lupus. Somewhere around 30% of RA patients (and maybe more) > are > > ANA-positive. 10% of seemingly healthy people are, too. People with > > other rheumatic diseases are also often ANA-positive. Antinuclear > > antibodies (ANA) are not specific to lupus. > > > > In addition, the lupus criteria are, strictly speaking, supposed > to be > > used for classification, not diagnosis. That is, they were devised > to > > help researchers and physicians decide which people qualify for > studies > > involving those with lupus. > > > > Here's the catch - in the " real world, " one may fulfill the > criteria and > > not have the disease. It is also possible to not fulfill the > criteria > > yet actually have the disease. As you can imagine, this is great > source > > of confusion and debate for both physicians and patients. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Just to clarify - if the ANA is positive, it can be a true positive (not a false positive) and not indicate lupus. Unfortunately, many physicians and patients refer to the ANA test as " the lupus test " when the test is not specific for lupus. A positive ANA may be associated with a vast array of diseases or illnesses or mean nothing at all. In a lupus investigation, the most useful result of the ANA test is if it is negative since about 95% of lupus patients can be shown to be ANA-positive. Lupus Foundation of America " My ANA is Positive ... What Does That Mean? " : http://www.lupus.org/education/articles/ana.html I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] Re: lupus and ra > I kinda figured that, so I am not too excited over that. most all > the symptoms I have are from the ra, so I really don't think it will > be positive, and like you said it could be a false positive anyway, > because of the overlapping..lol..I will let you know what they say. > But thanks for the info! its greatly appreciated! And I am passing > it on to some of my itp buddies that have been diagnosed with lupus. > > > > No, LouAnn, what I'm trying to convey to you is that, if the ANA > comes > > back positive, that doesn't prove that you have lupus. More > specific > > testing and further critical thinking by your rheumatologist would > have > > to be done before you could reach that conclusion. > > > > Many of the symptoms (and labs) do overlap. That's another big > reason > > for the confusion. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 There you have it - most of the tests currently used in rheumatology are not specific enough for a given rheumatic disease to make or break a diagnosis. That's why testing should be performed and interpreted carefully. Again, in the case of the ANA, a negative result can be very helpful. I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] Re: lupus and ra > Nothing can be easy huh? false positive, positive negative, yikes!!!! > lol...guess I don;t know what the point is of taking the test then > cause it really doesn't tell you much either way..lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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