Do I have Lupus?

[Gretna99]

I already have Graves Disease. My new consultant took bloods a couple of weeks ago and sent me a copy and has brought my appointment forward to 15th October. I am copying the tests as they are written on my letter.

Anti nuclear antibody 80 titre HI (0-40)

ANA pattern - HEp-2 shows homogeneous staining in the nuclei.

Alanine transaminase 43 unit/L HI (0-40)

MCV 80.3fl LOW (83-101)

RBC 5.08 HI (3.8-4.8)

[whisperit]

Hello Gretna99

It would be foolish of me to try and diagnose, or exclude any possible diagnosis. Only your clinicians can do that.

However, I would point out that your ANA titre would probably be considered only "borderline positive". What's more, the ANA test is very non-specific - there are lots of reasons for a positive ANA other than lupus. For example, some people seem to test positive even when nothing is wrong; others test positive only temporarily - for example, as the result of an infection. In your case, you also have Graves Disease, which is an auto-immune condition. People with auto-immune conditions often test ANA positive, so there may be no other reason for this result than your known condition.

So to be clear - I can't possibly tell what you do have, but a positive ANA need not mean lupus/SLE. Your other results mean nothing to me, I'm afraid.

Hope all goes well in your appointment x