So the results of my blood test came back, mixed feelings
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karliexrose
Posts: 57 Member
in Chit-Chat
My blood test came back positive ANA, which is bad. (So wait, why do I feel happy? I'[ll explain...) Long post, read if you want to, I would like to share as I don't have a lot of family support system and y'know, sometimes need to share. I'm young, and I'll be quite honest with you I am scared as *kitten*, but that is not fun to talk about so let's carry on about why I feel happy about this positive ANA result... first
What does Positive ANA test even mean? A positive ANA test means autoantibodies are present.
The immune system makes an abundance of proteins called antibodies. Antibodies are made by white blood cells (B cells). The antibodies recognize and combat infectious organisms (germs) in the body. Sometimes these antibodies make a mistake, identifying normal, naturally-occurring proteins in our bodies as being “foreign” and dangerous. When these antibodies make incorrect calls, identifying a naturally-occurring protein (or self protein) as foreign, they are called autoantibodies.
Autoantibodies start the cascade of inflammation, causing the body to attack itself. The antibodies that target “normal” proteins within the nucleus of a cell are called antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Most of us have autoantibodies, but typically in small amounts. The presence of large amount of autoantibodies or ANAs can indicate an autoimmune disease. ANAs could signal the body to begin attacking itself which can lead to autoimmune diseases, including lupus, scleroderma, Sjögren’s syndrome, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, drug-induced lupus, and autoimmune hepatitis
This can appear in 10% of healthy people, I however, am not what I would clinically consider a healthy individual. I have worked closely with my doctor and I found out recently (since I am trying for disability) that it has been 6 years now that I have been going to him. I was 18. I began experiencing extreme chest pain, I thought honestly I was having a heart attack. It turned out to be muscular, and as I aged other symptoms beginning to appear, cluster headaches, facial numbness, eye twitching (>8months) hitting my entire body with widespread pain and inflammation, palptations, involuntary muscular twitching, it started in my arms and has now progressed into my wrist, ankles, fingers, shoulders, hips. As you can imagine it makes it hard to move, I used to be very active, honor student for fitness and health promotion and now... well, there is some crazy *kitten* going on with my muscles, inflammation to the point of debilitation & pain and I am young it has been very difficult to get the proper help I need and have faced financial and other barriers as a result. Claimed bankruptcy this year as a result, and Doc is still not clear on what's going on. . So, this was a year ago came back positive ANA (antibodies in your body) I am in WAY worse shape than I was last year, inflammation in my shoulders, fingers (for month consistently), into my hips, now some days I can walk properly, some days I cannot, etc... so my awesome doc sent me for another one and it finally came back, and positive (which is bad but I am glad there is some evidence here to help because sometimes I feel like I am losing my mind.)
Anyway if you read all that, thank you, you have a kind heart for letting me confide in you.
What does Positive ANA test even mean? A positive ANA test means autoantibodies are present.
The immune system makes an abundance of proteins called antibodies. Antibodies are made by white blood cells (B cells). The antibodies recognize and combat infectious organisms (germs) in the body. Sometimes these antibodies make a mistake, identifying normal, naturally-occurring proteins in our bodies as being “foreign” and dangerous. When these antibodies make incorrect calls, identifying a naturally-occurring protein (or self protein) as foreign, they are called autoantibodies.
Autoantibodies start the cascade of inflammation, causing the body to attack itself. The antibodies that target “normal” proteins within the nucleus of a cell are called antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Most of us have autoantibodies, but typically in small amounts. The presence of large amount of autoantibodies or ANAs can indicate an autoimmune disease. ANAs could signal the body to begin attacking itself which can lead to autoimmune diseases, including lupus, scleroderma, Sjögren’s syndrome, polymyositis/dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, drug-induced lupus, and autoimmune hepatitis
This can appear in 10% of healthy people, I however, am not what I would clinically consider a healthy individual. I have worked closely with my doctor and I found out recently (since I am trying for disability) that it has been 6 years now that I have been going to him. I was 18. I began experiencing extreme chest pain, I thought honestly I was having a heart attack. It turned out to be muscular, and as I aged other symptoms beginning to appear, cluster headaches, facial numbness, eye twitching (>8months) hitting my entire body with widespread pain and inflammation, palptations, involuntary muscular twitching, it started in my arms and has now progressed into my wrist, ankles, fingers, shoulders, hips. As you can imagine it makes it hard to move, I used to be very active, honor student for fitness and health promotion and now... well, there is some crazy *kitten* going on with my muscles, inflammation to the point of debilitation & pain and I am young it has been very difficult to get the proper help I need and have faced financial and other barriers as a result. Claimed bankruptcy this year as a result, and Doc is still not clear on what's going on. . So, this was a year ago came back positive ANA (antibodies in your body) I am in WAY worse shape than I was last year, inflammation in my shoulders, fingers (for month consistently), into my hips, now some days I can walk properly, some days I cannot, etc... so my awesome doc sent me for another one and it finally came back, and positive (which is bad but I am glad there is some evidence here to help because sometimes I feel like I am losing my mind.)
Anyway if you read all that, thank you, you have a kind heart for letting me confide in you.
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Replies
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I'm sorry you're going through this and I send you positive vibes.
Do you eat a lot of anti-inflammatory foods? Curious if this helps combat symptoms.
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Hang in there. I hope you feel better and have a speedy recovery.1
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ClubSilencio wrote: »I'm sorry you're going through this and I send you positive vibes.
Do you eat a lot of anti-inflammatory foods? Curious if this helps combat symptoms.
No I don't think I do, I definitely have some diet tweaking to do now that I'm not as active.
I'll have to look into anti-inflammaory foods more.0 -
briansolomon7863 wrote: »Hang in there. I hope you feel better and have a speedy recovery.
Thank you, you're a sweetheart.
Doc told me looks like were on the uncurable end of the spectrum, more "pain management" since there is no known cure for what he thinks this is.
Days will get better I'm positive
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If your on any kind of health plan perhaps take a look at a acupuncturist? They have a different perspective on health. For my allergies my acupuncturist suggested dietary changes as opposed to medications and it worked out for me.0
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I have a dear friend who manages her auto-immune disease through diet. She eats no processed foods, none. She didn't want the various medications, so she went the diet route and it is working for her.
It does make things like vacations, and eating out virtually impossible for her, but she tells me it beats the pain she was in before changing her diet. She even grows her own vegetables.
Hope you can find something that works for you.0 -
I completely understand your mixed feelings. I have lupus, and I went through ten years of doctors telling me my assorted symptoms couldn't possibly be connected, and even marking me down as a hypochondriac, before one blessed day when one doctor did a sed rate test just to shut me up and prove there was nothing wrong with me. Well... the sed rate was seriously elevated, so off went the ana test and I finally had a diagnosis. It's weird to feel like jumping for joy when you learn you have an incurable disease, but I was just so happy someone believed me at last! That was twenty years ago.
I'm sorry you're having so much trouble right now and hope you will get a break soon. One thing about autoimmune diseases is that you never know what might happen next. That's not always bad news - sometimes symptoms that have lasted for years just suddenly go away.
As far as anti-inflammatory foods, I have had good luck with ground flaxseed. I put it in smoothies. Fatty fish are also good. Recently I've been trying turmeric with black pepper, which is supposed to be good, and it hasn't really been long enough to determine whether it has an effect on my lupus but it does seem to be helping my blood sugar (I am also a diabetic.)
Do you have a physical therapist? I have found that sometimes they know more about managing muscle pain than the doctors do. Mine assigned me some exercises that greatly improved my neck pain and headaches.
Hoping you get the help you need, and wishing you good days!0 -
I have a dear friend who manages her auto-immune disease through diet. She eats no processed foods, none. She didn't want the various medications, so she went the diet route and it is working for her.
It does make things like vacations, and eating out virtually impossible for her, but she tells me it beats the pain she was in before changing her diet. She even grows her own vegetables.
Hope you can find something that works for you.
Thank you for your well wishes, that is great information. I am glad she has found something that works for her. My diet does need some tweaking, the pain - especially now in my fingers, makes it so difficult to make food, prep and cook and the clean up. It's difficult for me to do now, and sometimes I get discouraged from that and get food prepared for me. All in all, I don't pick up a lot of garbage or processed foods when I go grocery shopping, I do however like to snack. I used to snack a lot but I was active so it was a non issue. Now it's an issue. ughghg if only the prep wasn't so hard now, it was hard for me before always my biggest barrier was prepping and now it hurts to prep, what a deterrent. Then the dishes ontop of it! Oh my goodness. Thinking about it is exhausting me lol.
That is so cool, growing your own vegetables. Have you tried it before? I never have... but I have seen seeds at the stores for less than a dollar. I've never had a green thumb, I only own a single air plant tiny guy named sleepy gary.
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rheddmobile wrote: »I completely understand your mixed feelings. I have lupus, and I went through ten years of doctors telling me my assorted symptoms couldn't possibly be connected, and even marking me down as a hypochondriac, before one blessed day when one doctor did a sed rate test just to shut me up and prove there was nothing wrong with me. Well... the sed rate was seriously elevated, so off went the ana test and I finally had a diagnosis. It's weird to feel like jumping for joy when you learn you have an incurable disease, but I was just so happy someone believed me at last! That was twenty years ago.
I'm sorry you're having so much trouble right now and hope you will get a break soon. One thing about autoimmune diseases is that you never know what might happen next. That's not always bad news - sometimes symptoms that have lasted for years just suddenly go away.
As far as anti-inflammatory foods, I have had good luck with ground flaxseed. I put it in smoothies. Fatty fish are also good. Recently I've been trying turmeric with black pepper, which is supposed to be good, and it hasn't really been long enough to determine whether it has an effect on my lupus but it does seem to be helping my blood sugar (I am also a diabetic.)
Do you have a physical therapist? I have found that sometimes they know more about managing muscle pain than the doctors do. Mine assigned me some exercises that greatly improved my neck pain and headaches.
Hoping you get the help you need, and wishing you good days!
Thank you for sharing with me. I couldn't imagine being written off as a hypochondriac (what I think my first rheumatologist may have done, I feel he wrote off my symptoms and now, a year later, it's way worse.) I already feel like I am going crazy, sometimes I feel fine, then I go and move and my shoulder feels like it's a million pounds. Or now my ankle hurts because of inflammation, or hands, or everything -- oop there's a cluster headache -- it's just a nightmare! I wouldn't want to put this on anybody. I am thankful my doctor straight up told me, you're not making this up, the pain is very real. (It also helps that there is visible inflammation and I wear multiple braces when I go to my appointments just to further drive home the point of how debilitating it is. My doctor said the following at the appointment last week: "I have a couple things in mind of what it might be. If you are comfortable, first I would like you to get your blood test re-done (which I did), and then we will discuss and send you to another rheumatologist out in a nearby city, a different one than the first. As well as a psychiatrist to help us determine how much pain is being call by mental. ( I come from an abusive household and things have been very stressful, I've witness events that have caused me PTSD, but I have learned to handle all that but the pain makes it so much harder and I've succumb to self harm this very year after struggling with depression. Happy to say I've been good for a while now. That's not healthy behavior and I fully recognize that and active amd working with my docs to help me. Anyway, send me to a psychiatrist as well as a psyiatrist (people who help you with movement and finding ways to move better without pain, something positive he said because it's been 6 years of "whats wrong with you, whats wrong with you, heart doctors, xrays, ultrasounds, blood tests, etcs... I want some positive help for you" because I am telling him, and this is the truth, it hurts to do anything because of the inflammation in so many places. Brushing my hair, teeth, typing, eating, everything -- and at rest I will experience pain and fatigue(especially in my shoulders)
Ground flax seed is a great suggestion, I currently use chia seed and psyhillum husk. Tumeric! I have heard and seen a lot of pinterest things about that. Perhaps I'll try it... what is the taste like?1 -
Turmeric is one of the spices in curry, and is also used to give mustard its color. It doesn't have a strong flavor, but absorption is greatly enhanced when it's paired with black pepper, oil (requires oil to digest), and vinegar (acid stabilizes it), so I've been using it as salad dressing, with a little Greek yogurt and cucumber. If you like Indian food, it typically has a lot of turmeric.
I hear you with the depression. Chronic pain is mentally exhausting by itself even without other issues. And autoimmune inflammation can affect the brain directly - when I am going to have a flare, I sometimes get a headache which for some reason makes listening to people talking just unbearably annoying. It sounds like you are doing what you need to to take care of yourself, which is good.
Knock on wood, I'm currently not having muscle issues, but I think my worst moment was one Thanksgiving when I went to put gravy on my plate and my arm was too weak to lift the gravy boat. If it makes you feel more hopeful, I was that bad at one point, and yesterday I did an hour of Zumba with no pain. There was no medical miracle, no new medication, just one day my lupus decided to stop doing that particular thing. Like a big dog has you in its jaws and one day it just drops you and goes to chew on something else for a while. So try to stay optimistic.1 -
rheddmobile wrote: »Turmeric is one of the spices in curry, and is also used to give mustard its color. It doesn't have a strong flavor, but absorption is greatly enhanced when it's paired with black pepper, oil (requires oil to digest), and vinegar (acid stabilizes it), so I've been using it as salad dressing, with a little Greek yogurt and cucumber. If you like Indian food, it typically has a lot of turmeric.
I hear you with the depression. Chronic pain is mentally exhausting by itself even without other issues. And autoimmune inflammation can affect the brain directly - when I am going to have a flare, I sometimes get a headache which for some reason makes listening to people talking just unbearably annoying. It sounds like you are doing what you need to to take care of yourself, which is good.
Knock on wood, I'm currently not having muscle issues, but I think my worst moment was one Thanksgiving when I went to put gravy on my plate and my arm was too weak to lift the gravy boat. If it makes you feel more hopeful, I was that bad at one point, and yesterday I did an hour of Zumba with no pain. There was no medical miracle, no new medication, just one day my lupus decided to stop doing that particular thing. Like a big dog has you in its jaws and one day it just drops you and goes to chew on something else for a while. So try to stay optimistic.
Ohh I see. I think I have a mild allergy to curry, however tumeric I have used in the past seems to be fine. Perhaps I'll try some recipes with it nin the near future. Your salad dressing sounds delicious!
That is awesome, I am glad you got some Zumba in. I hear you, not every day is going to be the same. Do what we can on the days we feel best, I'm just trying not to shrivel up and do absolutely nothing.
Yikes, I wonder if the inflammation is in my brain. I experience hardcore cluster headaches, very hard to treat because they last such a short amount of time but come in painful untimeable spikes which can debilitate when they happen.
Thank you, I work close with my doctor, there is no part of me what wanted to be ill in the first place. As soon as something as wrong I would go, and I still continue to do that today, to keep record of me coming in because these problems are apparent and need to be addressed.
I could do more in terms of eating better, and adding more exercise.. The last couple of days I went out for some additional walks, so every little bit counts!
Thanks for your support, I hope you are feeling well today.1
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