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I've Had A Lot Of Strange Symptoms For Over 6
Question: I've had a lot of strange symptoms for over 6 years, including extreme fatigue, swelling/stiffness in both knees, costochondritis, anemia, leukopenia, and fingers turning blue when cold. My gastroenterologist recently referred me to a rheumatologist to rule out "seronegative lupus" because my ANA test and GI work-up were negative. This was my first time seeing a rheumatologist. He ran a bunch of tests which all appear to be negative (CCP, SM, RNP, C3, C4, SS-A, SS-B, haptoglobin, rheumatoid factor). The only test that was marked as "high" was DNA (DS) ANTIBODY, which was 7 (5-9 = indeterminate). I saw the rheumatologist today for follow-up and he said does not think I have lupus even though my symptoms have been consistent with lupus. I do not feel I was heard and want a second opinion because I have been very sick for a long time and just trying to get some answers.
Brief Answer:
we need to keep you under follow up
Detailed Answer:
hi,
a lot of symptoms that are associated with SLE may be general symptoms, like fatigue, joint pains , blueness of fingers , and rashes.
however in absence of any hard evidence for lupus, like raised inflammatory markers, strongly positive ANA or ENA, low complement levels, or some severe symptoms like nephritis(inflammation in kidney) or serositis(inflammation in the coverings of lung and heart), it may not be possible to pinpoint a disease as lupus.
since lupus is a severe connective tissue disease , and the medications given for it may have more side effects than positive effects, a doctor needs to be absolutely sure before labelling u as lupus.
so I would say that even though you have many symptoms pointing towards lupus, they are not enough to confirm lupus.
we need to keep you under follow up
Detailed Answer:
hi,
a lot of symptoms that are associated with SLE may be general symptoms, like fatigue, joint pains , blueness of fingers , and rashes.
however in absence of any hard evidence for lupus, like raised inflammatory markers, strongly positive ANA or ENA, low complement levels, or some severe symptoms like nephritis(inflammation in kidney) or serositis(inflammation in the coverings of lung and heart), it may not be possible to pinpoint a disease as lupus.
since lupus is a severe connective tissue disease , and the medications given for it may have more side effects than positive effects, a doctor needs to be absolutely sure before labelling u as lupus.
so I would say that even though you have many symptoms pointing towards lupus, they are not enough to confirm lupus.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
What if I also had a positive ANA in the last (80 speckled) even though the current ANA is negative? Isn’t it possible that I do have lupus, CTD or MCTD?
I meant a positive ANA in the past*
Brief Answer:
It still seems unlikely
Detailed Answer:
an ana of 80 would still b considered a very low titer, so the probability of lupus goes down.
regards
It still seems unlikely
Detailed Answer:
an ana of 80 would still b considered a very low titer, so the probability of lupus goes down.
regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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