Scleroderma

[Nanasue4]

My daughter was just diagnosed with Scleroderma.  How is this diagnosis made?  (Blood tests?).  Thanks.

[Nanasue4]

Thank you so much for your response - it made me feel better thinking that maybe she'll never get the full-blown effects of scleroderma.  She is only 27 and has 2 young daughters to raise.   (My youngest daughter was also just diagnosed with Hashimoto's - ironic that 2 of our daughters were diagnosed with autoimmune diseases within a few weeks of each other. Two of my husband's sibings have lupus as well).  

Thanks again for your reassurance. Take care.

[thinkfast]

Hello, again.  I am glad to hear that your daughter doesn't have any major symptoms of anything.  Many of my siblings and my father have autoimmune markers and/or conditions.  My Dad has hashimoto's and many lupus-related blood markers, but the only thing he has ever experienced (and he's now 83) is chronic hives, and that began a couple years ago.  He also has a B-12 deficiency (pernicious anemia).  Two of my brothers have type 1 diabetes, also autoimmune conditions.  Another brother has Raynauld's, but nothing else medically.  A distant cousin of my Dad has lupus.  Hopefully, your daughter will never fully develop scleroderma symptoms.  Or if she does, it will be a mild case of it.  (the "CREST" version) and/or a mixed connective tissue disease (which potentially could mean a milder diagnosis).  I guess the good news is that she was diagnosed now, so that she can be aware of potential symptoms and then get treatment at the earliest sign IF something develops.  Sometimes, I think the fact that we have all these tests is good and sometimes, I feel it simply causes unnecessary worry.  Again, I hope your daughter feels ok and doesn't stress too much at this time since it seems she doesn't have the major symptoms of scleroderma.  

[Nanasue4]

Hi,  Thank you for your response.  Her SCL-70 blood test came back at 6.7 (anything over 1 is considered positive), but she has no symptoms except dry skin (eczema) and tendinitis in her knee.  Otherwise, she feels okay.  She's 27.  It's worrisome, especially since there seems to be no real definitive way of diagnosing until more symptoms present themselves. What's strange is, our other daughter (who is 26) was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's - another autoimmune disease that has to do with the thyroid.

I hope you are doing well too. Take care.

[thinkfast]

I am NOT a medical professional, but having gone through a potential scleroderma diagnosis, what I have been told by many doctors is that doctors may consider blood test results when determining if a patient has scleroderma, but the patient must also have physical or systemic symptoms that would lead to that diagnosis.  There are several blood tests that are relatively, but not 100%, specific for scleroderma.  I, for example, have a high ANA and a titer pattern that often goes with scleroderma.  However, I have no scleroderma symptoms, and in fact, have many more symptoms of sjogren's syndrome.  So I have not been diagnosed with anything definitely.  I hope your daughter is feeling ok and that the blood tests are all the doctors are using to diagnose her, which means she may actually NOT have a full diagnosis of scleroderma and also may never fully develop it or any other autoimmune disease.  There are skin changes that typically go with scleroderma.  But with scleroderma, like many of the autoimmune diseases, a patient can even have a scleroderma diagnosis without skin changes (but rather other medical symptoms.)  Good luck.