I had some bloodwork done and cant get in touch w/ the Dr for a few weeks but the secretary happened to be in the office doing paperwork.
I begged her to please give me my results(to tell me if the ana was possitive or negative) and she saw how desperate I was so she said that ANA was negative.
I've been wondering, does that mean I dont have Lupus? Or is it likely I still can, if so is it highly likely??
(the only symptoms I have is joint pains but in all my joints for about 10 days now).....hands, fingers, wrists, arms, knees, feet, but no other symptoms.
It's common to have Lupus with your ANA tests being negative.. mine have been negative the past few months, but I still have SLE Lupus among many other diseases.. It could be b/c you dont' feel well, medications are causing i to be negative etc. However, its really important that you find a doctor you can rely on, it should only take no more then a week or two to get your results back it just seems obsurd that you had to sit around and worry like that.. It doesn't sound like that doc is going to be the best for you please consider getting a 2nd or 3rd opinion.. It could be that you have Lupus or not and could just be arthritis related, either way you need to be sure.. Do you get really cold hands and feet?.. If so that is most likely Raynauds which can also cause severe joint pain and swelling.. Please don't go too long without getting another opinion. There are several medications out there to help you with your symptoms, what I found to be helpful is to research onlne any and all meds to treat these diseases, then take them to your doc to speak about which ones would be best..Often times doctors wouldn't tell me about a specific med that I researched you want to know what options you have. Unfortunately were usually are best doctor in the end.
Rachel, We often read that ANA is "almost always" positive at some point in people with SLE; apparently there are exceptions. But it may not be positive at first; and it may wax & wane, I think. So if you've got things going on, I hope you get tested again. Some drs. run all the tests right off the bat, which can make a lot of sense to do.
In the "subsets", that ANA figure is a lot less. I've read figures like 2/3 for the SCLE subset, and 1/2 for the DLE subset.
Have you had joint pain in the past? I had shin pain from age 13 & joint pain from my early 20's. I was 47-1/2 at the time of DX. But I hope that this is a passing virus, or something, that's causing yours. Another thought: were you tested for Lyme disease, or do you have any reason to think you've been particularly exposed to it? Sincerely, Vee
