I AM NOT MEDICAL LITERATE WHEN IT COMES TO DISEASES. MY DOC SAID I MAY HAVE AN IMMUNE DISORDER BECAUSE OF A POSITIVE ANA AND A HOST OF OTHER SYMPTOMS I AM EXPERIENCING. I DON'T KNOW WHAT AN IMMUNE DISORDER IS. IS IT LIKE HIV OR AIDS? THOSE ARE THE ONLY DISEASES THAT I HAVE EVER EVEN HEARD MENTION IMMUNE DISORDER. DOES IT MEAN I HAVE SOMETHING LIKE HIV OR LUPUS? ARE THE TWO RELATED IN ANYWAY? HELP! I AM VERY NEROUS!

i hear the worry in your words my friend. take a deep breath, relax.....as the proud owner(lol)of several immune disorders i can tell you that no, it does NOT mean AIDS or HIV.....unless you have been tested specifically for HIV and it was positive? if not then immune disorder just means that, for some reason, your immune system works over time, so to speak, and it attacks your own cells, sees them as invaders....in other words, your immune system doesn not differentiate between true "invader" cells and your normal ones. i have yet to find anyone who knows why this happens but it does.......i have endometriosis, celiac disease, lichen planus, and spondyloarthropathy.
so,,,,did you have an appointment with your doctor and s/he said "i think you have an immune disorder", with no explanation of what that entails? or did you get this information over the phone with your doctor???

I WENT TO THE DOC BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN REALLY TIRED AND IT SEEMED EVERY JOINT IN MY BODY HURT AND WAS SWOLLEN. I FINALLY WENT TO THE DOC AFTER I WOKE UP ONE MORNING AND COULDN'T MOVE MY ARMS OR USE MY FINGERS. I HAD BEEN HAVING A LOW FEVER - AROUND 100 - FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER AND NO ENERGY AT ALL! I QUIT EVERYTHING AND JUST BEGAN TO LAY AROUND. THE DOC DID A SEDRATE, ANA, THYROID AND RA. THE ONLY THING THAT CAME BACK WAS A ANA OF1:160 AND A SED RATE OF 27. HE TOLD ME THAT HE COULDN'T DIAGNOSE ANYTHING AND THAT I NEEDED TO SEE A SPECIALIST. ANYWAY, WHEN HE MENTIONED THE IMMUNE THING, I PANICKED! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SICK OTHER THAN THE COMMON COLDS AND SINUS INFECTIONS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. I AM JUST CONFUSED ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. I KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG BECAUSE I CAN'T FEEL THIS BAD AND BE FINE. I HAVE NEVER HAD BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS AND NOW THAT IS STAYING AROUND 120/95 ALL THE TIME. I HAVE ALL THESE WIERD SYMPTOMS AND NOW I AM BEGINNING TO GET PARANOID ABOUT EVERY LITTLE THING I FEEL. I KNOW I CAN MAKE MYSELF HAVE THE VAGUE SYMPTOMS BY WORRYING BUT NOT THE PHYSICAL ONES. I WORRY THAT I AM TURNING INTO A HYPOCONDRIACH OR HOWEVER YOUR SPELL IT. I JUST FEEL SCARED AND DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON. LIKE I SAID, THE ONLY TIMES I EVER HEARD OF IMMUNE DISORDERS WAS WHEN I HEARD ABOUT HIV OR CANCER. I NEVER EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A SUCH THING AS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISORDER. I'M GLAD SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS MY FEAR AND I HOPE I AM NOT GOING CRAZY BUT I AM JUST SCARED. IT SEEMS EVERYONE THINKS I AM LAZY BUT IT IS MORE THAN THAT. THE TIREDNESS IS A BIG BIG PROBLEM FOR ME. THANK YOU FOR TAKINE THE TIME TO READ AND RESPOND TO THIS. I NEEDED TO VENT.

your doctor just said you "need to see a specialist" and didn't indicate what TYPE of specialist? that's totally weird if true. first of all, if it were me, i would find a new primary care doctor, and then take it from there. i can't even hazard a guess as to what the underlying problem is, but you need to find a doc who will listen and take the time to send you in the right direction. i wish you well.

I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH A RHEUMATOLOGIST NEXT MONTH. THANKS FOR THE WELL WISHES AND THE REPLIES!

Rheumatologists treat most autoimmune disorders so your primary care physician is sending you to the appropriate specialist.

By the way, arthritis is probably the best known autoimmune disorder and some researchers now believe that a few forms of diabetes may also be due to a malfunction of the immune system. There's been an explosion of research in the field of immunology and many conditions are being re-examined vis-a-vis the immune system.

Because of all this research and new information, you have a lot of learning ahead of you - and a lot of good people here who can help you along the way.

Here's a link to background information on autoimmune disorders to start you on your way:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000816.htm

Good luck,
Jay