VeeJ

Kimberley, Hi & welcome. Obviously I'm only a patient, but what you posted did rings bells with me. But first, I'm not sure what's meant by an "ANA pattern" being SSA/Ro. I've read that ANA patterns are such things as homogeneous, speckled, and rimed.

However, from how you phrased it, your labwork is somehow suggesting anti-Ro is positive, right? This is an autoantibody that is seen in several autoimmunes: (1) in lupus (very often in the SCLE "subset" & also sometimes in classic SLE, too); and (2) in Sjogren's syndrome. FYI, you could use the SEARCH BOX in the upper left corner of this screen to search for more on SLE, SCLE, and Sjogren's Syndrome.

Where do you hurt? Do you get rashes, particularly after exposure to sun? Were there any other bloodwork abnormalities that you spotted?

I had many yrs. of episodic problems (GI, migraines, joint pain, anemia, urinary problems, fatigue, hair loss, weight loss, etc.) After many yrs. of this nonsense, I started getting recurrent targetlike, nonscarring arm/torso rashes. But even then it took some yrs. for my bloodwork to show that I'd turned positive for anti-Ro; and deep skin biopsies with immunofluorescent stain tests proved that my rashes were "lupus-specific".

My end result: I was Dx'ed with subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (abbreviated SCLE), which tends to be a somewhat milder form of SLE in many people, with the odds of major organ involvement thought to less than in SLE. Major photosensitivity is common in this type of lupus. (I do have to be very careful to avoid sun---and hate that!)

As for meds: where there is no major organ involvement (kidneys, CNS, heart, lungs, etc.), the DOC is for lupus is Plaquenil, an antimalarial. (By lupus standards, this medication is considered the mildest, by the way.) Many people also take anti-inflammatories for additional pain relief.

I did NOT have classic symptoms of Sjogren's, such as dry eyes & mouth; so I never had tests for it. FYI, some people DO have both Sjogren's and lupus.

Perhaps the most important points, though, is that these diseases are treatable, that many people remain reasonably mild, and that a good rheumatologist can make all the difference if you do end up with a Dx in this ballpark. So until you can see this specialist, you hang in there, OK? Yes!

I'll stop here for now. I hope others chip in soon---we do have others here who've also tested positive for anti-Ro. And post more when you can, OK? Bye for now. Sincerely, Vee