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Not sure what to do? ANA negative but RNP repeatedly high
Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Dec 28, 2023 | Replies (12)Comment receiving replies
From the other post it seems this is not true:
"Testing for RNP antibodies is not useful in patients without demonstrable antinuclear antibodies." (Mayo Clinic Labs)
Did you have an Elisa or Western Blot Lyme test. It should be a Western Blot because Elisas have false negatives. Docs use the Elisa to screen and if positive go on to a Western Blot, but you can request a Western Blot.
Next problem is interpreting the Western Blot which is controversial. CDC wants a certain number of bands and a lot of Lyme docs go by whether bands are Lyme-specific, even if just one band (like 23).
I had your symptoms with a negative Lyme test and once I went on antibiotics the test turned positive! Diagnosis is pretty complex. You can try lymenet.org to find a doc (there are some extreme views on there though, in my view).
Replies to "From the other post it seems this is not true: "Testing for RNP antibodies is not..."
I’m Curious…
Do you understand why your Lyme test would turn positive after an antibiotic course ?
Keep in mind when you see things posted on a public website (like Mayo) where it says “it is not useful to test for RNP without a positive ANA”. They are trying to say: in general, it is not the best idea to order this test for everyone if you have a negative ANA. But clinically… there actually might be people out there that have these rare results with discrepancies! Or their specialist feels there is a specific reason to do a certain test. That message is for the 95% or so of people who will probably not need an RNP antibody test after a negative ANA.
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Interesting about the Lyme testing. I had ELISA screening and now plan on asking my doctors about Western Blot. Probably worth looking into anyway.
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply!