Lupus????

In July 2008 I had a postive anachoice screen w/refl ifa.   I also had a ana titer and patter - anti-nuclear ab titer ana pattern of 1.40.  (1.80 elevated antibody level)  My rheumatoid factor is 7 and c-reactive is 0.4.  I have chronic pain and stiffness in my knees, back, hips and wrist. My fingers also swell up and get red.  I am 36 yr old male in reasonablly good health.  I have been going back and forth to rhemo and she again did further testing.  This time my rnp came back 2.45 which is high.  She started me on plaquen (??sp).  I just went to eye dr and am aware of the eye risk with this med.    What can these test suggest and where do I go from here.  She said it can be lupus or syrgonsesn (sp??)  She also said it can tak a while to come out (she said up to 10 yrs)  Just a little concerned and wondering if there are any men with these disease tha can give me some advice and suggestions.  Is there any other test that can help.

[lion919674]

What other test should I be asking for. Also I keep tearing muscles.  I tore my right calf in nov and my left 2 weeks ago. I dont know if that has anything to do with this

[karajo]

What exactly is MP stand for?  Did you mean MPV?  MPV stands for Mean Platlet Value.  When this is high, it indicates that your bones are producing more platlets than needed.  I've tried to find info on MPV, but can't seem to find much on the inernet.  But pltlets are cells that plug up holes in blood vessels and prevent bleeding.  And I'm not sure if a high MPV would cause a high platlet or low platlet.  Maybe someone else on MedHelp might know better than I.

You ANA is not very elevated.  I'm sure your dr. explained that other tings can cause an ANA to be elevated.  The nucleolar patter is seen in Scleroderma and polymyositis.  The polymyositis can cause problem in the muscles.  Do you have "torn" muscles or do they just feel like they are tearing?  What were you doing when this muscle torn in your calf?

Maybe your dr. said sjogren's .  Sjogren's is where the eyes and nose are dry and gritty feeling.  They can do a test to see if that is what you have.  Your dr. is correct in that autoimmune diseases are usually progressive.  They seem to become more evident as time goes by.  Be thankful that she was willing to try Plaquinel to see if it helps.  It takes a few months to see the full benifit of the medicine.  If you do have lupus, please note that the sun can affect not only the way you feel, but also your inner organs.  It causes an inflamatory affect on your body.

Yes, men can get lupus and other autoimmune diseases.  And you could possibly just have RA.  But plaquinel can help with that too, if that is what you have.  

FYI - if your dr. plans to repeat the ANA, spend time in the sun prior to your test.  If you do have lupus, it will cause your ANA to jump up...which will improve your chances of getting dx.

We are here to help.  
Praying for you, Kara