2 questions --> 1)Is there anyone else on here who has had a positive ANA? I had a slightly positive test. It was 1:40, speckled pattern. I am now stressing about "what if I have lupus or sjogren's, etc, etc?"
My IGM was positive 18, 31,34,41 (++) and 58. IGG positive 41 (++). I have been treating since the end of October and have not seen improvement.
2) I just got the results of my adrenal testing in the mail and I have NO IDEA what they mean. My next phone consult isn't until 3/24. My DHEA results look normal. But my corisol levels are as follows
*7 am level = 10.76 (normal result for this time range is 3-6 ng/ml)
*12:30 pm = 1.00 (normal)
*4:45 pm = .89 (normal)
*9:50 pm = 5.53 (normal result for this time range is .5 -2.5 ng/ml)
So, I understand that my cortisol levels were high in morning and at night, but anyone have any idea what that may mean???
Thanks! Posts: 200 | From Boston | Registered: Sep 2010
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Razzle
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 30398
posted
Hi,
Yes, I've had elevated ANA levels with homogenous, or with both homogenous and speckled patterns. But none of the specific antibodies were positive.
I believe that Lyme is responsible for making the test show positive, whether or not one actually has Lupus. Interestingly, some with Lupus get a false-positive on a Syphilis test...I think this is more likely due to cross-reactivity with Lyme, given that Syphilis is also a spirochete...
The cortisol being high in the morning and at night is probably from prolonged stress...at first, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol to compensate for stress...after years of doing this, then they burn out and are unable to produce the high levels anymore, and then the levels will be low, or will be low in the morning and barely normal in the evening.
Be sure to discuss this with your doctor.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
Yes! My ANA screen 2 years ago was 1:160 with a speckled pattern. They tested me for everything at the time and Lupus and RA and a few other things all came back negative. I think this the autoimmune part of Lyme.
I haven't had it tested since though.
Posts: 265 | From Oregon | Registered: Aug 2009
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IckyTicky
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 21466
posted
I had just been diagnosed with LD when my primary doc ran some tests and called me in. She said my ANA was + with speckled pattern and she was concerned about lupus or scleroderma.
I told my LLMD at my next visit and he just waved his hand and said it would go away with treatment. He has had so many patients with +ANA of every kind of pattern go away.
And mine did too. My last two tests are neg.
-------------------- IGM: 18+, 23+, 30+, 31+++, 34+, 39IND, 41++, 58+++, 66+, 83-93IND IGG: 31+, 39IND, 41+ Also positive for Mycoplasma Pneumoniae and RMSF. Whole family of 5 dx with Lyme. Posts: 1014 | From Texas | Registered: Jul 2009
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ktkdommer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29020
posted
My ANA is 1:640 thanks to undiagnosed Lyme. It just kept going up and up. It will be interesting to see where it falls post treatment. My youngest has an ANA of 1:80 which we assume is fron Lyme. A 1:40 really isn't anything in an adult. In a child it may warrant more testing. Most docs don't consider 1:40 positive and there is part of the healthy population that has this titer.
-------------------- Things are never dull. After 3 fighting Lyme, 2 are in remission. Youngest is still sick, age 22. He has new diagnosed Chiari Malformation and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Posts: 1366 | From Perrysburg, Ohio | Registered: Nov 2010
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posted
The ANA test has never been a useful tool to confirm or rule out autoimmune disease nor is it an accurate indicator of severity of disease activity.
I was told that you can have a + ANA b/c of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, that you can inherit a tendency to have a + ANA and that many healthy people have a + ANA.
Many w/LD and cos have had + ANAs with various titers and patterns over the years. One month you could have a speckled pattern 1:640+ and the next month the ANA could be completely negative.
I don't even know why docs bother with this test anymore. All this test does when it comes back positive is send people into alarm-mode that they could have lupus b/c they have a + ANA.
Screening for differential diagnoses is necessary and a good medical practice. The best LLMDs do this. I just don't understand why any doc in 2011 would order an ANA without more specific autoimmune tests like the anti-DsDNA test to help rule out Lupus. And there is a more specific test for Sjogren's as well (anti-SS---I forget the exact name).
There are other blood tests that could also help include/exlude the possibility of autoimmune disease dx such as---C3, C4, anti-cardiolipin antibodies, anti-phosphalipid antibodies.
CBC, metabolic panel blood tests and routine urinalysis are done as well (all of which I would hope your LLMD ran) which can also offer diagnostic clues.
And biopsies of the skin and kidney can also be used to help rule in/rule out a dx of lupus.
But the bottom line is you have significant + bands for LD. I would discuss your concerns about autoimmune disease with your LLMD.
I understand the frustration of not seeing improvement with treatment. But five months of treatment is not a long time in lymeworld. As many here say, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
-------------------- You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'
---Eleanor Roosevelt Posts: 748 | From somewhere | Registered: May 2010
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posted
Thank you so much for your responses!
Posts: 200 | From Boston | Registered: Sep 2010
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ktkdommer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 29020
posted
Some of us know our ANA's because of misdiagnosis. Mine only went up and up over years and then plateaud at 1:640 for the last 7 years. If ONLY someone had tested for Lyme, I wouldn't have gone done the inaccurate lupus route.
-------------------- Things are never dull. After 3 fighting Lyme, 2 are in remission. Youngest is still sick, age 22. He has new diagnosed Chiari Malformation and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. Posts: 1366 | From Perrysburg, Ohio | Registered: Nov 2010
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