ANA positive, told not to worry, but immobile for 1 month +

[Mitchellaneous]

Hi.  I'm new here, and I'm just not sure what to do.  For the last year I've felt terrible.  Moody and tired, and severe back, shoulder, and neck pain off and on.  My GP keeps giving me painkillers and telling me to go to physical therapy.  PT helped for a while, but for the past month + there has been no relief at all.  The pain and fatigue are off and on, and don't seem to be triggered by anything.  The pain is so severe that I can't work sometimes and find myself lying when co-workers ask me what I did to hurt myself.  I didn't do anything.  I've had no accidents at all.  I've been feeling tired for at least 9 months on and off.  I'll be exhausted and in pain for weeks, then have several weeks of feeling just fine.  I have had 2 colds that lasted for 3-4 weeks, and my perfect complexion that I've had my entire life (I'm a 32 year old woman) is now necessitating more makeup to cover redness on both cheeks and the bridge of my nose.   Also, a few months ago, I had some swollen, painful lymph nodes that my Dr said were nothing, that my body was fighting some kind of infection I shouldn't worry about.  I don't know if the stress is making me crazy or not, but my brain has been very foggy for a while and I forget routine tasks.  

Blood tests showed that I tested positive for ANA (1:80) which my doctor said was nothing that I should worry about.  I'm just frustrated because I can't be in this much pain and this tired for no reason at all.  Some days I can't raise my arm above my shoulder without crying, and I can't pick up my child anymore.  I'm so tired of being told that there's nothing wrong with me.  Other irregular results I was told were nothing:

MCH 35.5
UREA Nitrogen (BUN) 6L
BUN/CREAT ratio 8.0 L
ALB/GLOB ratio 2.8 H
ANA screen Positive
ANA Titer 1:80
ANA pattern Homogeneous

Lithium levels are also low, although I take it daily for BP, and have for years.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Mitchellaneous, I'm glad you found us here at MedHelp. You'll find our members are informative and have lots of good suggestions and support. I am so sorry you are having pain and feeling so lousy.

Mollyrae is right. I too think your PCP is missing something. You should not be feeling this way. Sometimes your ANA can be elevated and slightly and it is indicative of a passing inflammation but given the longevity and severity of your symptoms this should not be ignored.

I would return to my PCP and tell him just what you told us. If he will not investigate your symptoms more thoroughly it is time to move on to a PCP that will listen. There are a multitude of condtions that could account for your elevated ANA and your symptoms but rather than list them or try to second guess what is going on I will encourage you to get some good medical care.  

Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. We will be waiting to here about your progross. Please take care of yourself. Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello and welcome to MH. I have read your post and I am very concerned that your PCP is wrong. A postitive ANA test is a red flag for a whole host of problems. The first thing that comes to mind is an Autoimmune Disorder followed by Lupus (Muscle Disease) or Arthritis. Then there is concern for Auto Antibodys. These are protiens produced by white blood cells that instead of fighting off invaders they attack it's own cells creating wide spread muscle and joint pain. I am definitly not a Doctor but I do know somethings about the subject as I too have been going through this. I would seek a second opinion and most likely by a Rhumatologist who are experts in this field.
Good luck with everything, I certianly hope you get to the bottom of this....Mollyrae