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Widespread Body Pain and High ANA

Posted by amykcpa @amykcpa, Jul 5, 2023

I have had periodic episodes of widespread body pain for more than 5 years. The pain is burning and aching. I have burning pain in my spine and aching in my front hip bones, front shoulder area and base of thumb. I also have heel pain for a few minutes when I begin walking in the morning or after sitting for a long period of time. I have no other symptoms and no swelling.

I am currently having a bad episode of pain that has lasted for about 3 weeks now - it is slowly getting better. The pain episode started 2 days after a routine dental visit with cleaning.

I recently had blood tests with the following results:

ANA Screen IFA is Positive A
ANA Titer is 1:320 (normal is < 1:40)
ANA Pattern is Nuclear Speckled A

hs-CRP is

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bettersleep68 | @bettersleep68 | Aug 3, 2023
In reply to @thomkat "My ANA was very high . Went to a good Immunologist whom had around 30 lab..." + (show)
@thomkat

My ANA was very high . Went to a good Immunologist whom had around 30 lab test. I have
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
Non Hiv Chemical Acquired Auto immune Deficiency Syndrome
Rheumatoid
Psorias
Raynaulds
Vitiligo
Many on the horizon
More quetionable markers
Hemolytic Anemia POSSIBLE autoimmune

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I have an ana 1:320..have vitiligo and arthritis....nothing that can be cured so I guess that is that

REPLY
erikab | @erikab | Aug 4, 2023
In reply to @amykcpa "Hi — I am reporting back from my original post. I have widespread body pain (at..." + (show)
@amykcpa

Hi — I am reporting back from my original post. I have widespread body pain (at times) and an ANA of 1:320. I had an appointment with a rheumatologist this week who ordered an Antinuclear Antibody Panel (with automatic ENA panel).

All the test results were in the very low normal range except for the anti-RNP which was 2.7.

I have an upcoming appointment with the rheumatologist but was wondering what was next given the test result.

I understand that no one is providing medical advice and you are offering information based on your personal experiences only.

I am quite scared and do not have a follow up appointment with the rheumatologist until August 28th.

I do not feel very sick right now and actually very rarely have any arthritic pain that causes me to take pause.

I know that autoimmune disease diagnosis is tricky. Do the blood test results point to any one autoimmune disease?

Will this be a progressive disease? Does stress impact the progression of the autoimmune disease?

I already had plans in place to cut back at work. Would it be best if I quit work altogether to preserve my health? I am in a financial position to be able to do so but fundamentally enjoy my work as a CPA. But the hours can be long and deadlines can be stressful which is why I am reducing my hours.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

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@amykcpa
Hi, I hear your concerns. I had a lot of fear before my fibromyalgia diagnosis, and think learning what caused the pain and fatigue helped reduce my pain and fear (unfortunately, not the fatigue). Years later when I started having systemic joint pain, I wasn't all that concerned, but my rheumatologist was. After blood tests, x-rays, and ultrasounds, I was diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease.
Like you, I searched for answers and found limited, not-very-helpful information. I teach exercise science, health, and wellness and am thinking of changing my research focus to MCTD so I and others with the disease can get some of the answers we're looking for.
If you want to talk or meet online, let me know. Sometimes talking is easier than writing. 😉

REPLY
1 reply
amykcpa | @amykcpa | Aug 4, 2023
In reply to @erikab "@amykcpa Hi, I hear your concerns. I had a lot of fear before my fibromyalgia diagnosis,..." + (show)
@erikab

@amykcpa
Hi, I hear your concerns. I had a lot of fear before my fibromyalgia diagnosis, and think learning what caused the pain and fatigue helped reduce my pain and fear (unfortunately, not the fatigue). Years later when I started having systemic joint pain, I wasn't all that concerned, but my rheumatologist was. After blood tests, x-rays, and ultrasounds, I was diagnosed with mixed connective tissue disease.
Like you, I searched for answers and found limited, not-very-helpful information. I teach exercise science, health, and wellness and am thinking of changing my research focus to MCTD so I and others with the disease can get some of the answers we're looking for.
If you want to talk or meet online, let me know. Sometimes talking is easier than writing. 😉

Jump to this post

@erikab - Thanks so much for your response. I have an appointment with my rheumatologist on August 28th. I will reach back out to you after the appointment to talk further. I am still gathering information and making a list of questions since this is all so new to me. I will be in touch soon!

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