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Positive ANA &.anti-SSA - ideas?
Hi all. If anyone has any insight into what is going on with me I'd sure appreciate it. I apologize in advance for the length of this post.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia years ago due to constant and sometimes debilitating muscle and joint pain. I am seeing a new PCP and she ordered some blood tests. The first was just a general screening but my c-reactive protein came back as elevated (also my platelets) so the doc ordered an ANA with reflex if positive. ANA came back positive (no titer information - it was just a positive/negative test I guess) and anti-SSA came back at 8.0 (negative range is 0.0 to 0.9). But RA factor, anti-centromere B antibodies, anti-dna (ds) qn, anti-jo-1, antichromatin, antiscleroderma-70, rnp, anti-SSB, and smith antibodies are all normal.
Besides my muscle and joint pain I have had periods of alcopecia (losing quarter to half-dollar sized patches of hair on my head), full-body rashes during especially hot times, asthma, and suspected endometrosis (currently controlled by depo-provera). I also used to never get sunburnt but my face especially gets really red now if I am in the sun for more than a little while. I have darker skin so its sometimes hard to see but lately my cheeks and nose seem constantly flushed.
All of these symptoms have been spaced out and gradual so I never thought anything of each individual symptom. The alcopecia was blamed on "stress" when I went to the doctor for it. The rashes I blamed on a simple "heat rash". My pain was diagnosed at first as carpal tunnel and then as fibromyalgia. But now with the ANA and anti-SSA tests I am thinking it all may be related. But I don't know and my doctor is out of town, and although I know she will refer me to a rheumatologist now as we have talked about that, who knows when I will actually be able to see the rheumatologist. So any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I am thinking maybe SLE (lupus) but with only that one anti-SSA and none of the others I don't know. Also I do have flares 2-3 times a month where my pain gets much worse but it constantly hurts and aches the rest of the time regardless, which doesn't seem like typical lupus. Oh and I also had severe fatigue until my doc put me on Savella which helped with the fatigue but not the pain. So now I am on gabapentin also but it doesn't seem to help too much either.
I would do almost anything just to be pain-free for even just a day. I am hoping with the ANA results now the doctors will not only maybe be better able to treat me but also will take my pain seriously.
Any thoughts appreciated. Thank you!
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia years ago due to constant and sometimes debilitating muscle and joint pain. I am seeing a new PCP and she ordered some blood tests. The first was just a general screening but my c-reactive protein came back as elevated (also my platelets) so the doc ordered an ANA with reflex if positive. ANA came back positive (no titer information - it was just a positive/negative test I guess) and anti-SSA came back at 8.0 (negative range is 0.0 to 0.9). But RA factor, anti-centromere B antibodies, anti-dna (ds) qn, anti-jo-1, antichromatin, antiscleroderma-70, rnp, anti-SSB, and smith antibodies are all normal.
Besides my muscle and joint pain I have had periods of alcopecia (losing quarter to half-dollar sized patches of hair on my head), full-body rashes during especially hot times, asthma, and suspected endometrosis (currently controlled by depo-provera). I also used to never get sunburnt but my face especially gets really red now if I am in the sun for more than a little while. I have darker skin so its sometimes hard to see but lately my cheeks and nose seem constantly flushed.
All of these symptoms have been spaced out and gradual so I never thought anything of each individual symptom. The alcopecia was blamed on "stress" when I went to the doctor for it. The rashes I blamed on a simple "heat rash". My pain was diagnosed at first as carpal tunnel and then as fibromyalgia. But now with the ANA and anti-SSA tests I am thinking it all may be related. But I don't know and my doctor is out of town, and although I know she will refer me to a rheumatologist now as we have talked about that, who knows when I will actually be able to see the rheumatologist. So any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I am thinking maybe SLE (lupus) but with only that one anti-SSA and none of the others I don't know. Also I do have flares 2-3 times a month where my pain gets much worse but it constantly hurts and aches the rest of the time regardless, which doesn't seem like typical lupus. Oh and I also had severe fatigue until my doc put me on Savella which helped with the fatigue but not the pain. So now I am on gabapentin also but it doesn't seem to help too much either.
I would do almost anything just to be pain-free for even just a day. I am hoping with the ANA results now the doctors will not only maybe be better able to treat me but also will take my pain seriously.
Any thoughts appreciated. Thank you!
Oh one more thing- my heart rate lately has been quite elevated. Over 100 resting and as high as 132 beats /minute at the doctors office when I was just sitting there. Sometimes it feels really super fast like it's going to beat right out of my chest. (My blood pressure is ok.) I have another appointment with my doc to address that; she wants to do an echocardiogram at least. I don't know if that is possibly related but thought I should mention it.
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