lupus and Ra

[Guest guest]

I see that many of you have lupus along with RA - how hard that must be - I had

a lot of signs of lupus - mala r rash - ulcers etc but the tests were negative .

is this conclusive or can results change at a later date - I have much bigger

butterfly rash than I did then about two years ago when the tests were done . I

do have clear signs of autoimmune disease especially fingers and eyes but I

still wonder about lupus tests

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[Guest guest]

It's rare to have both RA and SLE - it's usually one or the other. It's not

unusual to have some lupus-like symptoms if you have RA or RA-like symptoms

if you have lupus.

Unfortunately, a lot of physicians are confused about the labs, place too

much weight on nonspecific results, and are giving out the dual diagnosis a

bit too freely. A positive ANA doesn't mean one has lupus; it is not

specific to lupus. In fact, possibly as many as 30% of RA patients are

ANA-positive (but don't have lupus) and up to 30% of lupus patients may be

RF-positive (and don't have RA). Up to 10% of the normal, healthy population

tests positive for ANA.

One good use of the ANA test is to rule out lupus. If it is negative, it is

very unlikely that one has lupus.

It's true that lab values can change over time. For example, someone in the

early stages of lupus may be ANA-negative at first but become positive

later.

For most of the rheumatic diseases, the clinical findings are more important

than the labs.

Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

[ ] lupus and Ra

>I see that many of you have lupus along with RA - how hard that must be - I

>had a lot of signs of lupus - mala r rash - ulcers etc but the tests were

>negative . is this conclusive or can results change at a later date - I

>have much bigger butterfly rash than I did then about two years ago when

>the tests were done . I do have clear signs of autoimmune disease

>especially fingers and eyes but I still wonder about lupus tests

[Guest guest]

It's rare to have both RA and SLE - it's usually one or the other.

I have to disagree with you on this one. I not only have Systemic Lupus with

RA overlap, but also Auto-immune Hep and Primary Billiary Cirrohis. All within

one year, How long I actually had any of them, no one can say but I was

carefully monitored for years. Once you have ANY auto-immune disease you are a

perfect candidate for others. The first dx for me was the Lupus (histone

anitbodies showed up first), then my RA factor soared and crippling pain

followed, within 2 months my liver enzymes began to climb and AMA anitbodies

showed up. I was a mess. Now I am doing fine, thanks to a good rheumy, THREE

hepatolgists (because I couldn't believe it either), and a caring PC. My sister

also has Lupus and RA which is why I was monitored so closely.

Patsy (63) AZ

DX 2005 Stage 1 PBC

AIH/SLE/RA

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[Guest guest]

By the way, my 'final' opinion on all 4 disorders came from Dr. at

Mayo Clinic in sdale, AZ. I didn't believe the other doctors (good old

denial), but I took his dx as gospel! He just oozed confidence and that gave me

confidence in him. He was so thorough and he explained everything so well, all

the labs and what they meant; as well as what they didn't mean. I knew he was

right. So here I am, feeling well most of the time. In my case, it's the

fatigue that still isn't under control, but the pain is being managed. I take

Plaquinel, Prednisone, Ursodiol, and Imuran; plus some other 'stuff'.

Patsy (63) AZ

DX 2005 Stage 1 PBC

AIH/SLE/RA