ANA titres

[wtay]

Good Day,

What is considered a high ANA? I understand the higher the ANA titre the less likely that it is some 'other disorder' and is likely to be Lupus.

My ANA titre was 180:1 which is just one level above normal if I read all the sites correctly but how high does ANA go?

Also, why would I have a negative ANA titre 4 years ago and then a positive one now. Has anyone else had their ANA change?

Thanks,
Wendy

[Edited to change title and replace references to SED rate with "ANA titre" ]

[raggedyann1]

Wendy,

Do you mean sed rate or ana. The ana is expressed as a titer like the 180:1 you listed in your post. I think maybe you mean 1:160 unless your doctor is using a different way of testing for the ana. When a patient as an ana of 1:160 it is usually enough that the GP would refer on to a rheumatologist. When an ana is at 1:1280 or higher, one rheumatologist says, there is a definite rheumatic disease.

The sed rate is a measure of inflammation in your body. There are many reasons to have an elevated sed rate/ESR including infections like bronchitis. Most lupus patients do have an elevated esr when they are flaring but not all of us.

Let us know how you are doing.

Karen

[wtay]

Oops,

I am very sorry! I meant to write ANA. I don't know if I can change the heading on a message or not.

You are correct it is an ANA of 1:160. I did have a high sed rate 8 years ago when I had erythema nodosum but I don't believe my sed rate has been up since.

My doctor has not referred me on yet but if the ulcers I am getting continue at the rate they have I am going to force him to do something.

Thanks for your feedback,
Wendy

[shopgirlsw]

After being told I had sle and so on by several different doctors, and after asking very nice for a referral not once but several times with no action. I finally told my GP that If I did not get the referrals I asked for now that I would take legal action. I got the referrals that day! And yes I do believe that insurance plays a big part in all of the big picture.

Good luck, and be dilligent and no is not an answer!

Sincerely,

Shopgirlsw
:love:

[Raglet]

Generally most rheumies like to see a good strong positive on an ANA. Up to 1:160 can be false positives (ie occur in people who have no illness), so 1:320 and over is a good strong positive.

It's not necessarily the higher an ANA the more likely it is to be lupus - the highest ANA's of all tend to be found in sjogrens syndrome rather than lupus

cheers

raglet

[Clare.T]

If there are enough other signs and symptoms, 1:160 would usually be quite enough to do other tests on the lupus panel as part of eliminating possible causes for obvious illness.

This might mean a referral to a specialist depending on what tests the GP is prepared to do.

Good Luck !

Be persistant

Clare

[pukeko]

:wave: Hi

My ANA came back at 1:2560 - that got me to the front of the line to see the rheumy ! :P Had to be some benefit ...

As it turned out I didn't have lupus but MCTD - (mixed connective tissue disease) so I agree the higher the number doesn't mean the better chance it is lupus

My rheumy doesn't even test my ANA anymore - he feels it is more of a dx tool.

Cheers Pukeko :flowers:

[tintagel]

Hi, I must echo what pukeko said. I too had an ana of 1;2560 initially, it is now 1;650. My first testing was incredibly high, I am told. My rheumy says I have a mctd for definate and he believes it to be lupus, but wont quite commit 100% to that. I also have dx of fibro and raynauds. Rheumy doesnt test ana any more as he feels it is just an aid to diagnosis and not neccessarily indicative of disease activity.

Hope this helps, love Tintagel. x

[peonyprincess]

My SED rate and ANA have been all over the place. They are never the same twice. Talk about frustration! Fortunatly I have a rheumy and a primary doc that believes is LOOKING at the PATIENT as opposed to what the tests say, and have been treating me that way for a long time. I must say that I am feeling a little better ever since the Plaquinel and Flexeril along with the other meds. My doc says that the tests will climb when you are in a flare and sometimes will go down when you are not flaring. However, he does say that he has seen people in a flare with normal labs only to go out of a flare and their labs spike. Go figure!

[bklynmom]

dear crtkl rn

You are so right the doctors today need to listen to thier patients. :D No one knows what your body is going thru but you. :thumbs: You know your symthoms better than anyone. My son has a journal he writes down the symthoms day to day and he dates the entries this is how we found out how his body cycle works. By doing that we were able to pinpoint which time of the year his symthoms became worse and the progression of the sympthoms. As a result this year he was able to stay out of the hospital for a long time. :nurse: Last year he was in for a month and a half. :sigh: The doctors were not listiening to him then.

Hang in there. Tests don't reveal everything.