Pos ANA, Neg ENA - joint pain, rashes, no confirmed dx

[cepenney]

Hey guys - so long story short I've been seeing a rheumy for an as-yet to be determined auto-immune condition and thought you guys could help.

Main symptom is joint pain/inflammation - especially in the mornings. It also 'flares' if I'm very run down, tired, etc. - it recently got so bad I could barely walk, couldn't get my rings off, etc. My ANA always comes back positive 1:80 (admittedly low) - homogeneous and speckled, ENA negative.

I also get a scaly/red rash on my hands. Both the joint pain and the rash are photosensitive and get worse when I'm tired/not eating well. I also have elevated ALP levels (bony processes - bone scan shows hot spots in all my joints, RF negative though), elevated urea, low total protein, and now elevated CK levels. I have some redness on my face - across the nose and cheeks but it's not particularly significant.  

I take naproxen every day which seems to help somewhat but what it doesn't help with is the flares (for lack of a better word if it's not lupus). My rheumy doesn't seem to take me all that seriously because when she sees me I'm not that bad and whenever I get my blood work done I've been feeling mostly fine (and staying out of the sun). She thinks I have an auto-immune condition but hasn't really tried to narrow it down and doesn't seem concerned.

I have a significant family history of auto-immune conditions on one side including a father with MG and pernicious anemia, and 3 other aunts/uncles with diagnosed conditions.

Any thoughts? For my next blood work, I'm going to hang out in the sun first and see if my ANA levels come back higher, I suspect they will. Should I be concerned about the ALP/bone scan results? I'm 30 and otherwise healthy, eat well, exercise frequently, etc. so I'm quite concerned about this joint pain slowing me down. Any ideas as to if it could be lupus?

[TheLightSeeker]

You ANA is considered negative at 1:80 and most rheumies will not considerANAs until their over 1:160.
There's nothing very remarkable from a clinical point of view.
Can you post your ALP levles including lab ref. range?
Have you ever had your thyroid function checked?
If not, I suggest you ask for Free T3, Free T4 AND Reverse T3 Thyroid tests, even if some tests may not be covered by your health insurance in Australia.
I have studied the work of Dr. Barnes, the top expert
to my opinion in thyroid research and treatment.
From all the thousands of patients treated by him with natural desiccated thyroid, NONE developed Lupus.
The ones who had already been diagnosed with Lupus,
had no further organ involvement!
This is an incredible achievement, however, modern medicine has mosly ignored his work :(
Best wishes,
Niko