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Positive ANA blood result - any ideas?

I'm a 24yr old female, I injured my right Achilles tendon 6 months ago and got a blood test after my physiotherapist recommended it (she was concerned that I wasn't healing at a normal rate & suffering unexplained muscle pain). I got my results on Monday, I have a positive ANA speckled pattern result (1:160) and my doc has referred me to a rheumatologist, who I see on the 30th of Jan. I'm pretty stressed about what this could mean, I've read that positive ANA results could indicate lymphoma (my sister was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2011), not to mention other possible diseases.
Anyway, these are my symptoms, any advice from people who have similar symptoms would be appreciated!

For nearly 10 years I've had problems with my calf muscles - they flare up every now and then and become extremely swollen, inflamed, stiff and painful, sometimes so bad that I can't walk properly. My calves often twitch/spasm too, though it's not painful, just annoying. It isn't related to overuse/exercise because it seems to come on completely randomly. I used to think it had something to growing/puberty but now I know it's unrelated. I sometimes get numbness/pins and needles in my legs too.

I also get severe pain in my wrists/arms, like an ache in the outer side of my forearms. It's significantly worse in my right arm, and my right wrist clicks and cracks painfully and often. The pain sometimes feels like tightness and aches up to my elbow, and in the past it has been so bad that I can't move my arms properly.

I sometimes have stomach problems - I had a gastroendoscopy in 2012 that found mild gastroparesis, but not much else (no coeliac or crohns) and my gastro diagnosed me with IBS and put me on motilium which helped the symptoms ease up and now I only get occasional bouts of stomach trouble.

In terms of cognitive symptoms, I have struggled with depression and anxiety for many years, and more recently my anxiety has become significantly worse. I have been feeling very foggy and my memory has gotten really bad, sometimes I struggle to remember simple words/adjectives when I'm talking, and I often forget which drawer the cups/plates/bowls are in, which way to turn the shower knobs to turn them off/on etc. I have been getting headaches and often feel extremely fatigued despite being fairly sedentary.

I have researched a few diseases that have positive speckled ANA's, but I don't think my symptoms are typical of any of them?

Any advice at all or personal experiences would be appreciated! I'm extremely anxious about what this could mean and I really just want something to help with my muscle pain! and other symptoms!

Thanks!
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1530171 tn?1448129593
H alarni.

FYI Leaky Gut Syndrome is not an established medical diagnosis.
You need a very open MD or Gastro to consider such an investigation.
There's a simple urine test  for this and it's is called PEG or  Lactulose/Mannitol Test. Gastroscopy does not test for LGS

PTSD-LIKE illness is difficult to know if you have it,
but if you have been through any challenging emotional situations or had any traumatic events in the past, whether you are aware of this or not,
is a viable possibility.
Hidden chronic stress -or experienced- is a hugely under-investigated area of health affecting millions and linked to many serious diseases. Look up adrenal fatigue and you will understand what it entails!
Again this is not an "established" medical diagnosis and it's not recognized until it becomes a crisis at stage 4, called adrenal crisis, adrenal insufficiency or Addison's disease.
You can see now why so many people are in limbo with their health,
but please read on, as this is just part of it!

For your thyroid tests did you get the standard T3, T4 and TSH serum testing? Guess what. They do not reflect accurately CELLULAR thyroid function. They must test for Free T3, Free T4 and reverse T3.
It's a little like insulin resistance in diabetes type 2.
Actually Dr Mark Starr, come to think about it, has written a book titled
"Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic".

To rule out candida just do the saliva test for candida. It only takes minutes.
Just do a YouTube search, and please note it is only indicative , but at least it will give you a good indication and you can proceed from there.
Again this is something that your doctors wouldn't normally check.

Many rheumatic type of illnesses are caused-at least in part- by underlying infectious conditions and Lab tests for infections are not always conclusive.
In a study of 168 confirmed cases of acute infectious arthritis, increased
white blood cell count was found in ONLY 40% of the cases!
Blood cultures failed to show infection 50% of the time!

I know that you trust your doctors and the lab results, however, when there's an  absence of diagnosis and a lack of effective treatment, then it is time to start questioning the validity of their work and
the accuracy of the testing.

One more thing you could do is an elimination diet, starting with grains.
Eliminate all grains and please make sure you study all the labels and also learn the hidden or disguised presence of gluten (even if you don't have celiacs).
You must adhere to a strict elimination diet in order to produce useful results.
The second food group to test is dairy. These are the two most reactive food groups.

If you suspect that you cannot endure such a regimen, you may download Dr. Cocoa's Pulse test, which only takes a week to do and it will reveal with an acceptable degree of accuracy any foods/drinks you may have a negative reaction like allergy, intolerance or sensitivity even if it is a delayed reaction ( this is one of the most difficult  to establish usually as it cannot be linked to the the offending substance.
It's a free download.

Please consider to deepen your knowledge, as this will likely increase your chances of getting better.
You are very young and you have a very good opportunity under the right guidance to turn your health around. But please don't waste your time with  conventional doctors, if you're not getting results.
I would recommend you seek a reputable Naturopathic Doctor, who will be able to treat you holistically and more naturally and also would be very familiar with the suggestions and tests I offered you, unlike conventional doctors.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me.
You may also at any time message me directly.

Best wishes.
Niko



Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I looked up the symptoms to those disorders but I don't think my symptoms are typical of any of them, hence putting up my question seeking suggestions for other possibilities?
Thanks for your reply though!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for your reply.
All of my other blood work including haematology, serum chemistry, rheumatoid factor, thyroid, glucose, cholesterol, vitamin D & kidney function tests came back normal or negative. I don't think I have leaky gut as I would've thought my gastroenterologist would have looked into that during my gastroscopy? As for candida and other infections I'm pretty sure I don't have anything like that, and I definitely don't have PTSD.
Do you have any other suggestions that might apply to me?
Thanks!
Helpful - 0
1756321 tn?1547095325
Excerpt from Family Practice Notebook - ANA staining pattern...

"III. Speckled Pattern

Most common, least specific

Disorders
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
Scleroderma
Sjogren's Syndrome

Further evaluation
Smith Antibody (Anti-Smith)
Ribonucleoprotein Antibody (Anti-RNP)
Scl-70 kD kinetochore (Anti-Topoisomerase I)
Anti-La (Anti-SSB)"
Helpful - 0
1530171 tn?1448129593
Hi alrani and welcome to the forum.

There are a few possibilities that need to be ruled out beore anything else as they are fundamental. Why conventional medicine does not address these, is still beyond my ability to explain.
Please ignore the ones which may have been already addressed.

1. Nutritional and mineral deficiencies  (serum testing is not sufficient nor accurate in many cases, so tissue levels must be checked  ie. magnesium)
2. Candida
3.Leaky Gut Syndrome
4. Thyroid function
5. Adrenal fatigue/adrenal imbalances. (re: chronic & hidden stress)
6. Underlying low grade pathogenic infectious conditions.
7. PTSD -like illness. Traumatic events and negative experiences.

There are more, but these are the main ones I can think of right now.
Please post again or message me for any details you may need as some of these are difficult to get tested properly through conventional doctors.

Best wishes.
Niko

PS Most doctors in ANA titres of 1:160 and down , even if positive,
they don't consider them as useful for diagnosis, as it is not specific enough and also the percentage of healthy people in lower titres is higher.
These tests are largely based on mathematical and statistical models.


Helpful - 0
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