just diagnosed

[RosaIL]

Hello My name is rose and i was just diagnosed with lupus?well by my dermertalogist on june 17,I havent been to a rumertalogist dr.yet, till this tuesday.But my ANA came back at 300?what does that mean?This ia all new to me I'm 41 yrs old.I dont know anything about lupus.What ???? do i need to present to the Dr???also I was told that i have blood clots.I do have burning in my eyes on and off some joint pains and have lost some hair is this all part of lupus???Help
Rose :( Right now the only medication I'm on is lexapro form depression..

[Lily]

Hi Rose and welcome,

There's a lot to take in when Lupus is first mentioned isnt there? Take your time and look around the site and the pinned notices etc. Do you mean your first visit with the Rheumy will be this Tuesday? If so then I'd look at the criteria used to help diagnose Lupus in the Not Diagnosed section and see if you can identify with anything there, either from now or in your past medical history. I'd then make a brief summary in order of importance of your current symptoms, the ones that are bothering you most and any significant things that may help with your past health problems. Also if anyone in your family has Lupus or any other autoimmune disease it would be helpful to tell the Rheumy. However sometimes it presents in a person with absolutely no family history of it at all.

The ANA stands for anti-nuclear antibody which is a general screening test for a lot of autoimmune diseases. When investigating lupus there are many more bloods they use as well as urinalysis, so dont be suprised if the Rheumy runs a lot more tests. They will probably want to test you for clotting antibodies because of your problems with them. There are a few different but closely related diseases and sometimes we have several positive antibodies to different things. The doc will sort it out, going on bloods and your history and symptoms.

The ANA is usually expressed in titres 1:80, 1:160, 1:320, !:640 etc and so it goes on doubling each time.

Sometimes they are expressed as a single figure such as your is but mine never have been. Do they quote a 'normal' range on your lab results, that would give you an idea how high it is? The higher or lower the number of the ANA doesnt necessarily indicate how severe or mild your symptoms of disease.

Also they usually measure the 'pattern' of the ANA as it gives them clues as to what connective tissue disease you may possibly have- Lupus is but one. Patterns are expressed as Speckled, Homogenous etc. etc.

We are all different in how Lupus affects us and no two patients are the same. We do share some things in common though and our meds are usually the same, some require more than others depending on how Lupus is affecting them. I am sure once they determine exactly what you have that you will be started on some of the usual meds we take. And they will make things a lot more comfortable for you and help bring your disease under control.

Good luck with your appointment and let us know how things turn out for you. Please join us in chat sometime too. I know you will find the site very informative and supportive and friendly.

love
Lily

[RosaIL]

Hi Lily,
Thank you for your response,yes this tuesday I will see the reumy.
I will get back and let you know what is going on.Again Thank you, Love Rose

[tintagel]

Hi, my ana level was first expressed as a single figure, like yours, and it didn't mean a thing to me, as everyone elses seems to be expressed as a ratio. Finally, over a year later my rheumy finally shed some light on it. My figure was 400 and this, apparently, equates to a ratio of 1;2560, which is mega high, so I guess that probably means 300 is quite high ( remember I am not a medical proffessional, so could be completely wrong!)
I hope this may help a little.

Love, Tintagel.x