many years ago I developed a couple of inch long indentations on my face. they resemble what would look like curling iron burn scars..anyway, I never really gave them a whole lot of thought, but in the right light a few weeks ago, I spotted what may be another one starting. I decided I had better see my dr. He ordered an ANA test which came back positive. nucleolar. He also did all the normal blood work which came back great. I saw a dermatologist that said the scars looked like trauma scars to him. I went back to this dermatologist this past Friday and had him do a punch biopsy..I see him again next Friday for the results. I am also getting ready to make an appointment with a rheumatology dr. I want to know what is wrong..there is definitely something going on. I have been on the internet and looked at image after image of different skin problems and have not found anything that looks anything like I have..the facial marks do not itch, burn, nor are they red. And I am scared to death...now I also from time to time have elbows that ache, I always thought it may be tendonitis..Does my story sound familiar to anyone? Would a biopsy show any autoimmune diseases..please help.
This is purely a guess...but since you mention a nucleolar pattern and facial scarring, the first thing that came to mind was scleroderma. I'm not saying it's what you have, but you can ask your dr. about it. Usually, with autoimmune illnesses, there are other symptoms. Other than occasional elbow pain, is there anything else going on? I'm not sure exactly what a punch biopsy would show, but a rheumatologist would probably be the one to give you the best answer as to what's going on.
I got the skin biopsy results Friday and it shows no skin problems..hummmm, I would think with an ANA of 1:1280, nucleolar (pertaining to the skin) something would come up...
I got the skin biopsy results Friday and it shows no skin problems..hummmm, I would think with an ANA of 1:1280, nucleolar (pertaining to the skin) something would come up...
I have a rheumy appt on April 14th......
That's interesting,
I, too, have an ANA titer of 1:1280 and a nucleolar pattern. I also had a homogeneous pattern at 1:160. My doctor thinks I have early lupus, but not scleroderma because I don't have the skin changes. I do have acid reflux, which started a few months ago, and I know that is a sign of scleroderma. But it can be due to a wide variety of other conditions, too. I had a barium swallow that did not show scleroderma changes. There are different types of lupus, some that affect the skin more than others. I don't know if lupus would always show up in a punch biopsy.
The anti ds-dna bloodtest is a good marker to test for lupus. Lupus symptoms vary from patient to patient, but scalp sensitivity could very well be a symptom of inflammation.
Last edited by life_is_good; 04-05-2008 at 08:25 PM.
