can Blood work change??

[Mfuhrer]

I've had 2bloodtests done, first shows Lupus and the second shows APS and rheumatoid arthritis... (I have many more symptoms that are relevant to lupus than APS/arthritis) why does blood work change? Has anyone else had this?XXX😔. Can it only be detected if I'm having a flare??

[Jmiller623]

Bloodwork can change but we typically carry the same positive antibodies throughout our course of illness. They go up and down with disease severity.

Rheumatoid factor along with APS labs can be seen post infection as well. They may want to repeat them, esp APS ones, in 3 months to make sure they are indicative of RA or persistent aPL.

Either way, first line treatment will likely be plaquenil. If you have arthritis, they may discuss methotrexate. I wouldn’t worry too much about the diagnosis at this point as much as I would next steps and management of your symptoms.

Hope this helps. Sending hugs. ❤️xx

[Mfuhrer in reply to Jmiller623]

Thank you💜 really helpful information xxx