Positive ANA and have questions

[gramsto4]

I have a question on immunological symptoms. I have had  positive ANA's (x'3) . . . last one 1:320 speckled) with an elevated CRP x's 3 (1.2 - 1.8) a slightly elevated SED rate of 37. I have had one slightly elevated serum creatinine and several U/A elevated BUN's and creatinines. (all of this in the past 1-2 years). Often my CBC is okay and last U/A was okay and CRP was down to .8 . The problem is I keep having multiple symptoms . . . but, one of the main one that concerns me in this area is hives . . . I get them often (not always) after exposure to the sun but they will itch and bruise and stay reddened/bruised for 2-4 weeks at a time I will also get blisters (on arms) but they are not sunburn blisters (use sunscreen) they are not painful and will drain and clear up in a matter of days. Note: I had a lot of problems with hives several years ago but it went away for some time. So, the question is what could be the cause of this and any recommendations?      Thank you.

[myproblem]

Has your Dr. mentioned Lupus?

[gramsto4]

I'm in the middle of getting that question answered . . . right now I've seen a rheumatologist who's called it "undifferentiated connective tissue disease" I've only seen him twice. But there is so much more going on . . . so I'm looking for answers.  Thanks.

[myproblem]

I have mixed connective tissue disease. It's really the same as undifferentiated, but different websites may say there's a slight difference. It means you do have an autoimmune disease, but that it doesn't exactly fit a pigeonhole like Lupus, or Scleroderma. Luckily, the treatment is mostly the same one way or the other.

[gramsto4]

Thank you for the info . . . the problem is . . . where I'm from they don't really think UCTD is a problem.  The local rheumatologist (again, there's only two in town) has just recently refused to accept me as a patient because she only deals with "ACTIVE" autoimmune problems.  My GP is scheduling a spinal tap so hopefully this will give me some more answers as I am having neurological problems as well.  Thanks again.

[milebu]

I have UCTD (which is NOT the same as MCTD), as in they know I have a CTD but there is no indicator in my body that separates me into a specific CTD category.  MCTD means that your body has multiple CTDs, and generally you know which ones they are.  Since I have UCTD, I could very well have just one CTD.  It's a difficult difference to describe and I didn't understand it myself at first, but there is a difference.  Of course, like you said, treatment is so similar it matters very little.
I have hives associated with UCTD.  I didn't realize they were related until I stopped taking plaquenil, and 5 months later the hives appeared.  I am back on plaquenil, but it will take some time to get this taken care of.

I'd say it doesn't sound like your hives are allergy related and that you're on the right path with the CTD/autoimmune search.  Obviously you wrote this a while ago, and I hope by now you've found a good rheumatologist who has helped to work on treating and diagnosing your problem.

Good luck!