| Re: my ANA test is 62 could it still be lupus? what is normal?
Hi. Here are some thoughts, but I'm merely a patient!
1. Is your dr. a rheumatologist?
2. ANA is only a threshhold test. In & of itself, it isn't diagnostic of anything, because it can be positive in a *multiple* conditions (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, scleroderma, ETC.); and also due to a passing virus, to a family tendency, to aging, etc. So, were more *specific* autoantibody tests done? e.g., anti-ds-DNA, anti-Sm, anti-Ro, anti-La, anti-RNP, ETC. In his lupus hardcover, Dr. Daniel Wallace provides a *basic* list with *sixteen* such substances, and there are *others* possible in "close cousin" conditions. Look for Dr. Wallace's hardcover in your local library. Dr. Robert Lahita is another good choice.
3. Lupus isn't typically a diagnosis of only 2 criteria. (And symptoms aren't the same as criteria.) See the "sticky post" (permanent info post) at the top of the thread list for the accepted diagnostic criteria. In a similar vein, I think Rheumatoid Arthritis is also Dx'ed via multiple criteria.
4. Did you ask what normal range is for RF? I think when it's positive, a dr. probably considers Rheumatoid Arthritis, as well as lupus. Sorry, I don't know if RF can be positive in anything else...you could ask.
5. Did you get copies of your labs? (It's smart to keep a personal file.) You could see if any other values on your basic bloodwork are out-of-range.
I hope you can compel any dr. you consult to SPEAK & EXPLAIN, not merely pat your head (Grrr!) & prescribe pain meds. And I hope you post more & that others chip in soon, too. Best wishes to you, from Vee
P.S. I got the head-patting, too, and was called names and sworn at. I had many tests by many specialists, for TWO+ DECADES before I was told that lupus was even a possibility. Obviously I was "subacute", or it couldn't have gone on that long, but....gee! (And, duuuuh!) I finally saw a teaching hospital rheumatologist & have improved a lot. Hang tough & persist, OK?
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