Did you ever had a false-positive RPR... - Hughes Syndrome A...
Did you ever had a false-positive RPR Test/Syphilis Screening Test in routine medical exams?
paddyandlin64 VotersPlease select one:
I freaked out & called my doctor. He said it was a false positive & I did not have syphyllis
I was told it was because I have had Lyme Disease and that I will always get a false positive
When telling me the test results, my hematologist told me it was a false positive.
same with my doc. she told me ahead of time it would come back that way-- and it did
After I confronted my husband, I had a re-test, was told it was false, but that I showed general body inflammation for unknown reasons. This was about 1983-84. No one seemed too concerned and I didn't think I had any other symptoms of anything. (had migraines, body aches, fatigue, but I was young!)
I was already diagnosed with APS and it was never considered a truly positive test for Syphilis because of that and the fact that I had been married for 22 yrs. To me it was just another confirmation that we had finally found the right diagnosis and that was more of a comfort than a concern.
Yes...and tested positive for HIV - but have neither. It has something to do with the antibody. Scared the life out of me! It was before I knew I had APS. At work the Red Cross had a BLOOD drive. They test all blood collected. They called to let me know. Then I went to my doctor and they did the Western blot test or the ELISA - I'm not sure which one - it was more advanced. It came back NEG ! They said it could be because I just had the FLU shot OR because I had the HEP B vaccine - which hospital workers all got. Now I test POS all the time for both - but now they say it because of APS.
debi in Fl w APS
Retested with my GP and told that my labs had come back normal on the retest
Test done in hospital when I was 22 years old. I almost died with shame as I worked as a nurse at that hospital at the time. This diagnosis was never explained as a false positive, just as a positive, it was years later before I realised the doc didnt know the difference!. It changed my world. Left my boyfriend, left my job, always worried about it, If only I knew then what I know now!
I was 18. After donating some blood, I was called to go to the hospital. They had something to tell me... I went with my mother and I was told: " We have checked your blood, and you have a positive in Syphilis". Imagine my face, and the face of my mother... After some seconds, they said " but don't worry, it is fake". They only told me that I probably would have a sort of reumathic issue but nothing to worry about. No a real diagnostic, no controls, no anything. 12 years later I had a DVT and got my APS diagnostic.
My baby had to be tested too bc I was giving birth in hospital at the time. So embarrassing. Baby had to be spinal tapped. Everyone was negative except me, of course. Dr treated me and dropped it. After 2 yrs, I finally got the nerve to ask my GP abt it. He said "no way" and ordered specific tests. All were negative. Later being tested to give sister a kidney is when I found out exactly what it was.
I was tested while a teenager before working at a fast food restaurant. It came back positive and my Mom immediately sent me to her gynaecologist who ran more tests. We were told that it was a false positive.
Yes, when I was 22 years old. Was told I had Syphylis. Broke up with my fiance, changed my work - I was nursing sister and so ashamed as this was told to me by doctors I knew well when I was admitted to the hospital I worked in with chronic kidney pain....dreadful. Took me years to forget and 30 years to realize the mistake they had made!!!
yes
Yes, this is what led me to my APS diagnosis. I went to Dr. For a prenatal check up and this was a standard test he ran...
My neurologist had labs done, this was 7 years ago,suspected husband had not told me everything about his out of town job! My daughter was the one that told me she had read this about Hughes Syndrome!!
I had to get a bunch of labs done for a recent job and was told that I had syphilis, and needed to be treated immediately. I freaked out and was thinking there was no way that it was true. (I'd never had any symptoms, and have never been super promiscuous) I thought the lab must have made a mistake so I went to another doctor. This doctor did an RPR test and it came back reactive again but then he followed up with a FTA-ABS test which came back negative. HALLELUJAH!!! (I didn't have syphilis) However I started researching about false positives and why they occur. I just had an ANA test for autoimmune diseases that came back negative. I'm not sure where to go from here. There's got to be a reason that I had a false positive right?!
I had a false positive for syphilis in 1977. It was devastating time. I never was unfaithful. I was 21 and had to tell my husband. I was naive thinking he would leave me, never thinking he could have gave it to me. I was treated for syphilis and nothing change, it was a false positive. My husband did not have syphilis. I went thru hell the next 10 years. At the time we were to be married and you had to take blood test back then to check for these kinds of things. They would not give you a marriage license if you had a disease like that. Every time someone take blood...when I went into the military, had my babies, jobs etc... no hassles since the mid 80's from it. I recently check on line about false positive, can't believe I did not check sooner, just did not cross my mind. I learn it could be a sign of Lupus. I am having a light case of lupus and a lot of fibromyalgia now. It is all coming together. It explains a lot of things thru out my life. I have always been very strong and energetic but had times of trouble...I was treated like a .hypercondriac. I have always been in tune with my body and the doctors tell me all my test are normal and nothing is wrong with me. Even when they could see something wrong. Having the right PH helps reducing inflammation does wonders. I always go the natural way and work most of it out. On drug leads to another and I refuse to walk that path.
Hi Essiac,
Thanks for writing this!
I wonder if you have ever seen a Doctor who understands Lupus and APS (Hughes Syndrome)? Sometimes Fibromyalgia can be misdiagnosed by a GP who knows nothing of these illnesses. APS, Lupus (SLE), Sjögrens and also Thyroidea are "cousins" in a family of rare autoimmun reumatological illnesses.
We know here from own experiences that when you meet an Expert who knows the differences between them you at last have a possibility to have the right treatment. Fibromyalgia can be Sjögrens for ex. I do no say this has to do with you, but think about it.
There is also an antibody called "Lupus Anticoagulant" that is one of the three antibodies they test in a bloodsample for APS. It is not Lupus!. It is APS (our illness on this site).
Hope you do not mind that I wrote you this answer. I know you have not written anything on this site earlier. Please stay with us.
I understand you are now over 60. I am soon 72.
Well wishes from Kerstin in Stockholm
My mother and I both had false positives. We were retested with a different test specifically for syphilis and got negative results
I had a positive syphilis test in order to obtain a marriage license in Oregon in 1969. An additional test demonstrated that it was a false-positive result. Years later I developed DVT and placed on warfarin. My doctor said that all the tests she had ordered were negative for an explanation. Most recently, a hematologist tested me for APS and I have a high antibody titre which now explains the false-positive syphilis test so many years ago! Be sure to ask your doctor to test for SLE and APS if you have a positive syphilis test. If you have APS you are at an increased risk for DVT (deep vein thrombosis). The moral of this story is to ask and continue to ask your doctor questions and to educate yourself so the questions will be well founded.
