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I'm a human puzzle looking for answers

Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Jul 28 5:09pm | Replies (35)

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This is what I was able to find...
ANA fluctuation is real and doesn't rule anything out. ANA titers can shift with disease activity, timing of the blood draw, medications, and even lab methodology (different labs use different substrates/cutoffs). A negative ANA on one draw after a positive one doesn't erase the earlier positive — it's not uncommon in early or evolving autoimmune disease, especially connective tissue diseases, to see this kind of bounce.
Low-positive RNP appearing consistently across two different lab draws is not nothing, even at 1.1 (just over most labs' cutoff). Anti-RNP is associated with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), lupus, and overlap syndromes — and MCTD in particular classically presents with exactly what you're describing: Raynaud's, puffy/swollen hands, and photosensitive skin involvement. A weak positive can still be clinically meaningful, particularly when the clinical picture fits this well.
Being told to "just see a dermatologist" isn't necessarily wrong, but it shouldn't be instead of continued rheumatology follow-up — it should be in addition. A dermatologist can do a skin biopsy of an active rash, which is one of the more useful diagnostic tools here, especially for things like subacute cutaneous lupus or dermatomyositis, and that biopsy result can actually strengthen your case with rheumatology rather than replace it.

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Replies to "This is what I was able to find... ANA fluctuation is real and doesn't rule anything..."

@kjoed53 Thank you! I did see a dermatologist and he didn't feel that anything was "extreme" enough to be given a definite diagnosis. He agreed that auto immune is most definitely the culprit..which one? he couldnt or wouldnt say for sure. He also confirmed everything Ive read about a diagnosis taking a long time to come about. I definitely research everything I can about why my body is going nuts. I really appreciate your feedback! Thank you