ANA test follow up results - anyone else experience this

It is stressful to wait for follow up tests to get clarity after the initial round of results. Thank you

Trying to get a diagnosis. No insurance. Met with rheumatologist in June. Blood work done but can’t meet with anyone until Dec 30. Just want answers so I can get treatment. Can’t work. Can’t do much of anything. Worried.

Speckled pattern can be an indicator of lupus, mixed connective tissue disease, and several others. They will probably look at the RNP labs to be more specific.
It took 25 years for me to get a definitive “diagnosis”, and I worked in Rheumatology.

After my Covid vaccine, I too suffered a STEMI and had 5 cardiac stents placed. I also developed kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis (with possible lupus and Sjogrens). My ANA is speckled and the titer is 1:160. I also have elevated Sjogrens B labs. I can’t seem to get a straight answer from my rheumatologist except for the RA. I had a rheumatoid factor of 216 and symptoms. On hydroxychloroquin with limited improvement at times. Sick of it all to be honest.

And some never show positive yet you still have the disease, LOL. so my doctor used to say so. ...

Hi,
I've been in your situation too.
I was diagnosed with undifferentiated connective tissue disease overlapping with lupus, sensory polyneuropathy (axonal + demyelinating lesion), etc
Did you perform electromyography and electroneurography to see if the peripheral nerves were affected?
I feel a little better since I started treatment with hydroxychloroquine, gabapentin, and esomeprazole. At first, I was on cortisone and prednisone.
I did a lot of physical therapy, TENS, magnetotherapy, and lymphatic drainage.
Don't give up! be strong!

Hi,
I was in a similar situation to yours and and I have pretty much the same diagnosis.
I feel a little better since I started treatment with hydroxychloroquine, gabapentin, and esomeprazole. At first, I was on cortisone and prednisone.
I did a lot of physical therapy, TENS, magnetotherapy, and lymphatic drainage.

Saw my family doc because of my falls. (Had already joined a balance class.) A blood test showed a higher Ana level, so he sent me to a Rheumatologist. That doc said the level was still too low for an autoimmune disease, took another test just to make sure, that was negative also. But his nurse practitioner – out of the blue – asked me if I had a rash somewhere.
Well, I had a minor one on my butt cheek that I hadn’t even mentioned to my family doc.
Low and behold, I was diagnosed with Psoriasis!
She prescribed a steroid lotion and Leflunomide.
And I started my research!!
No one had asked me about my pains, they were temporary, fairly minor, always in different parts of my body. I thought they were normal old age related pains – am 84!
Now I have a diagnosis of Psoriatic Arthritis, PsA.
No idea of what my future will be like. Have had very severe pains since then, but thankfully they too went away.
Today is a good day. And that disease seems to be manageable, so I was told.
Hang in there, I feel for you. For me too, but at least I don’t feel like a hypochondriac anymore.
God bless us all.

Forgot to tell you, I have no idea if my falls are related to my disease of PsA at all.
Balance problems, anyone?

Yes - unfortunately it’s not uncommon to get a positive ANA and everything else looks fine. It can sometimes take a few years for antibodies to show up. It took 25 years for me to finally arrive at a rheumatologist after years and years of terrible low back pain that turned out to be inflammatory. Orthopedists, sports medicine doctors, physiatrists, etc., often ran a CRP or ESR test (inflammatory markers) which looked fine, but it wasn’t until someone ran a RF test in 2019 that we finally figured out it was autoimmune in nature. Autoimmune disease is infuriating as it can take time to show up, but meanwhile you may be symptomatic. Even more annoying, the results can change over time as well. For years I was negative for ANA. Then two years ago I was positive. Now I’m negative again but with a positive antibody for MCTD, which left me confused and unsure of what that meant long term. My rheumatologist essentially said, “don’t worry - long term it doesn’t mean much as I focus on treating your symptoms as they are now - not your diagnosis or your labs.” That sounds like what your rheumatologist is doing. She’s not focusing on your labs and your lack of antibodies - she’s trying a dose of steroids to see how you feel. If you feel better, she’ll have a good indication that your immune system might be the problem regardless of what the labs say. There are patients who are considered “seronegative” who don’t have, for example, RA antibodies, or who ultimately wind up falling into an “undefined connective tissue disease” diagnosis. Sounds like you have a receptive rheumatologist as she didn’t just send you off with a “nothing I can do for you.” Hopefully you’ll get more answers. 😊