Does covid cause a positive aps results?

[Charts]

I had covid in January 2022, tested positive for beta 2 glycoprotein 4 weeks later, then doc tested another week after that positive again and then 12 weeks after ther last one which was positive and numbers nearly doubled with the 12 week after test.

So then the rheumatologist says I see u had covid in January and covid can cause people to test positive for aps. So i said I had covid in January and the latest test for aps again in May I wouldn't still be testing positive due to covid. Am I right? That's like 4 months after covid. So he didn't want to diagnose me with aps!

So i have to have another test and just recovering from a cold which I'm now paranoid was covid and feel like I'm back to square 1 as if its still positive on my next test im going to think its from my recent cold (in case it was covid again) and never feel convinced that I actually have aps. Surely if this next test is positive it will be my fourth test, that should mean its aps besides all the covid business.

I thought I read some people may have tested positive but they were the ones who were hospitalised with severe covid. I had it mild and was fine

[Star13]

Being diagnosed with APS is not just about having positive blood tests 12 weeks apart. You need to meet the diagnostic criteria which also says that you should have had a blood clot or 3 pregnancy losses in the case of obstetric APS. Sometimes you can be dx with some of the manifestations of APS without a clot if you also have high antibodies and are triple positive.What symptoms do you have and have you had any clots?

[Charts in reply to Star13]

My symptoms seem to be neurological, twitching, spasms, movement disorder/seizures, off balance. I had 2 early miscarriages and an ectopic about 10 years ago and since had two children. My 1st successful pregnancy my liver stopped functioning towards the end so he was induced 3 weeks early.

[KellyInTexas Administrator]

I agree with star 13, and a history of your journey will be important.

12 weeks between positive test results is to rule out transient false positives from infections. That’s the time line,

[MaryF Administrator in reply to KellyInTexas]

Agreed, and it is a good idea to write out your medical history in bullet points, for any medical appointments and also include relatives past and present who have had miscarriages, or strokes/heart attacks and at early age and other autoimmune conditions including thyroid disorders. MaryF

[Charts in reply to MaryF]

I wrote down everything and he didn't ask me anything about history or my symptoms to be honest

[GinaD]

Antibodies go up and down depending on viral, bacterial and allergen exposure. So yes, having positive blood tests by themselves is not necessarily indicative of APLS. Your body brought out the gatling guns when you contracted covid. Those guns should be safely housed when your immune system gives the "all clear" immuno - siren. In my case, I had multiple cases of mono, (aka glandular fever) then years of blood clots and mni strokes before I was diagnosed. Finally, after an APS diagnosis I was given warfarin, which stopped the clotting but my APS numbers remained high. Then (almost by accident) I went on a gluten free diet in 2004 and since them all my APS numbers have fallen to a level one hematologist called "boring." So, in my case, the gatling guns were brought out to fight mono, but then my immune system confused gluten with the epstein barr virus and the gatling gun firing continued with my own blood cells as the unintended victims. I remain on warfarin but my APS numbers remain low to the point that a couple of hematologists (I only saw them once) suggest I come off warfarin. No. The exact details of autoimmune reaction to APS are still in a state of flux, so I want to stay on warfarin. But if you have no symptoms, then the gatling guns, while maybe still in preverbal position, seem not to be causing any harm. If so, then with time, the immune system will house those guns without any need of additional meds.

[Charts in reply to GinaD]

Yes I think changing my diet is something I will try when I finally get to the bottom of all this.

[Ray46]

Even people with milder covid can have significant auto-immune response afterwards, especially if prone to auto-immunes (I know a crohn's sufferer who was fine with that actual covid but the chrons flare up after was very serious). APS antibodies are just one of the auto-antibodies covid is known to trigger.

AS others have said though, more important is the complete history and why you are being tested for APS anti-bodies in the first place, as just a positive test result (or two or three...) is not enough for a diagnosis.

[Charts in reply to Ray46]

But even if covid did trigger the antibodies surely they would go back to normal range a few weeks after if that person didn't have aps? Especially by the 12th week.

[Jumper99 in reply to Charts]

I think that’s a big assumption, no one knows what Covid can or will do yet. There still not enough long term data. There are people who have had long covid for a couple of years but no one knows why, as one example. But even if your antibodies have been permanently triggered that is not the same as having the full APS. There are people who always test positive but do not go on to clot and don’t have symptoms requiring anticoagulation. I think is termed antiphospholipid antibody positive rather than APS. This maybe what you have.

[GinaD]

There might be a food a heavy metal , etc, etc, that your immune system associates with Covid.