i think i found the info to prove i do not need a positive ANA to have lupus. lol such fun this is a site for doctors. http://www.vh.org/Providers/ClinRef/FPHandbook/Chapter06/09-6.html
any advise on wether or not to send my internist here? i mean this is the only place i have found for doctors that says a positive ANA is NOT NOT NOT necissary. i hate to be happy about finding this, but it really is the first info i have found to help. i mean the doctor's think i am insane. but when i meantioned the miscarrages and the pericarditis it was suggested that i had lupus. and i was told the rash on my face is a classic lupus sign/symptom.

You can send your internist to that site if you want to, but not many doctors these days are willing to make a clinical diagnosis. They want proof that you're ill - blood tests, x-rays, etc. I've had 2 positive ANA tests (the highest was 1:160), but I don't have lupus, so it obviously shouldn't solely be used as a tool to diagnose it.

Have you seen a rheumatologist? You might have better luck there than with an internist since rheumatologists are the docs that specialize in collagen vascular disorders such as lupus. If nothing else, you need to find a doc who listens to you and takes you seriously. Good Luck!!

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~pain and suffering is inevitable but misery is optional~

actually i never had to send my internist there. he actually admits i have an autoimmune disease and now says there isnt a blood test to tell which one i have. i have to digg in my family tree. i will see a ruemetologist in june about a week before i see my internist again. still no treatment for the pain, hair loss, or other AI problems. but at least i am sick enough for a doctor to say i am sick. the funny thing is it took a psyciatrist saying it is not in my head for him to admit i am sick.

Creeping Crud---
I LOVE the quote at the end of your post! It puts into words just exactly how I've been trying to live? Is it your orginal quote? If so, mind if I use it sometime?
Thanks,
Tina

It's funny because I live everyday with terrible itching on my face, in my scalp, in my ears, on my sholders, in my nose.....etc...etc. It is difficult not to be irritable, *****y, and depressed. It has impacted my relationships, my ability to parent etc., etc. Everyday I try to give myself a pep talk. To tell myself that I somehow must rise above this suffering and be a better, bigger person than this. It's very difficult to cope with or imagine living the rest of my life like this since I don't get an hour's break from my symptoms. So I didn't find that saying to be so cute. Maybe it's optional when you are not suffering too much.

SusanM--I certainly wasn't trying to diminish your (or anyone's) suffering. I'm new to these boards, new to being ill at all; in fact, I'm searching for the correct diagnosis. I think I'd rather have Lupus and its complications than the present alternative of interstitial lung disease. The prospect of being ill for the rest of my life...and the prospect of not having much lifetime left...is scary. I'm simply searching for words, people, wisdom, whatever, that provide comfort for me. I'm truly sorry if it hurt you but I do think it's necessary to tell others when they've said...posted...something that has intrinsic value to you.
Tina