Positive anti nuclear factor

[BlackInk]

Hello

I've been perusing my blood test results, which came back in June, and I've just been given access to them online.

Could anyone tell me whether a positive anti nuclear factor level is significant?

The only other result that came back flagged as needing investigation was low B12 at 161 ng/L.

My GP hasn't mentioned the anti-nuclear factor result, so I'm guessing they think it's insignificant in itself?

Thank you :)

Thanks for your reply redannie118

To be honest, I can't really understand the blood test results. They seems to have tested for lots of things, but I can't see anything that looks like the results for RA markers. I can post the results here if anyone might have a better idea than me?

Main symptoms are:
Exhaustion
Poor appetite/weight loss
Nausea and stomach issues
Painful swollen joints
Stiffness
Sudden menopause (at 43)
Zero libido
Muscle twitches and tingling
Brain fog
Blurred vision
Dizziness
Anxiety

I'm fun to live with :)

How high is your ANA? If it something like 1/80 then that is classed as positive but also found in many healthy people without an autoimmune condition. Do your results give you the staining pattern of your ANA (eg speckled) as that is just as informative.

Thank you both. This is the test report (or what I can see of it online).

I think that means it was more than 1:100 but I think that's just their range for a positive/negative result? Nothing about staining patterns.

The reason I'm obsessing a bit about this is that I've been back to the drs a few times since with ongoing/worsening symptoms and this test result was never mentioned. In fact it was recorded in my notes as 'normal'. I don't know whether that's because they did subsequent tests on the blood sample that didn't show anything, so they decided it wasn't important.

I'm really scratching around as you can see!

You would probably need an appointment with Rhuematology.

I have positive ANA tests but it is always put down to Having Hashimotos thyroiditis

I’ve never seen that ANA result before. It’s always been 1:40, 1:80, 1:160, 1:320 etc (it doubles). How strange.

I have it along with Anti Ro but I'm not diagnosed with a specific condition but my symptoms were nothing like yours. If you become pregnant it is very important you tell your midwife at booking in as you will need consultant care.

Thank you, I'm beyond having more babies though. I'm 45 and my periods stopped out of the blue 2 years ago.

We have 2 DC aged 6 and 9, but I had an awful time getting and staying pregnant. It took me 7 years to get pregnant for the first time, followed by two m/c around 16 weeks.

Late miscarriages can be a sign of sticky blood which can occur with some auto immune conditions but it isn’t a given. Then again, at 16 weeks it can also be other reasons. Did the hospital carry out testing?

No, no testing as it was pre-20 weeks and 'only' two conformed m/c.

I had a miscarriage, at the same sort of time, and was automatically offered testing. The baby had Turner’s Syndrome which apparently is one of the most common reasons of miscarriage and often happens at that sort of gestation.

Where I live they only offered testing after 3 m/c or a loss after 20 weeks - the fact that we'd been TTC for several years didn't make a difference. I'm pretty sure I had multiple very early m/cs but not confirmed.

I've been back to GP and once again came away feeling fed up.

He said that because B12 is only just out of range (162 ng/L) I should just continue taking over-the-counter B12 .

Ferritin was within normal range (15 ug/L) in June as was folate (10.2 ug/L). Intrinsic factor antibody level was negative.

He did agree to another round of bloods, but I have to wait until the end of October for an appointment.

He said that the positive ANA result in isolation doesn't mean anything. I guess that's taking into account all my symptoms and the fact I have a strong family history of autoimmune diseases.

I think he just thinks I'm a hypochondriac.