Difference between lupus and ra? Help with symptoms please!

How is lupus diagnosed differently then rheumatoid arthritis? I seem to have many of the symptoms of both. I have raynaud's, low grade fevers, sever muscle and joint pain, rashes on my neck from sunlight, get headaches from certain lights, I'm anemic, And lately I am gettingheadaches and feeling lots of pressure in my ears. The only things really showing my my blood tests are positive ebna at 7.000, low anion gap, 41 kda, low alt, low tbili. Idk what's goingon help please!

[teetee33055]

Please see a Rheumatologist, they could assist you with treatment. The two illeness mimic each other in many ways and if you were to see a specialist he could treat the real problem.

[karajo]

From what I have found, a person has to be referred to a rheumatologist before they will see you.  

But anyway, to answer your question.  Lupus is systemic and can affect every area of the whole body.  RA usually affect the joints.  Causes joint swelling and redness....later deformities are evident.  I know RA can affect things like eye moisture, but I'm not as familiar w/ RA as I am w/ lupus.

W/ lupus sunlight causes an inflamatory affect.  So sunlight can cause a rash, skin erruptions, joint pain, fatigue, muscle pain, etc.  

High Epstein Barr Virus might indicate that you might be dealing w/ chronic fatigue as well as the virus.

low anion gap - I'm not sure if this is significant.

low kda - I'm not sure what this is.  It appears to have somehing to do w/ lymes disease.

low tbili and low alt - From what I can see, that is good.  High means you could be having liver problems.  

There are many illnesses that  can cause joint pain and rashes.  And certain medicines that can cause a person to be sensitive to the sun.  I personally know people who are allergic to the sun.  Raynauds can have varying causes.  Did your dr. do an ANA, sed rate, CRP?  If you have your ANA checked again, I would encourage you to spend time in the sun prior to your test.  About 15 min prior to seeing your dr. should be sufficient to make your ANA be positive if you have lupus.  If not, the sun exposure won't make a difference.

Praying  for God's guidance for you. Kara