Positive ANA result - please help

[Caramel78]

I have had an ANA blood test done twice over the last 4 months and they have both been 1:320 speckled pattern. I have no idea what this means and google is not giving a lot of clear information. I have an appointment with my GP to discuss and hopefully get a referral to rheumatology. I can’t see GP for two weeks though so was wondering if anyone can shed any light on this.

Symptoms -
Extreme fatigue
Dizziness
Cold hands and feet all the time
Dry skin
Blurred vision
Aches and pains

I’ve also got very low ferritin levels which I’m treating (could explain a lot of my symptoms).

I had a brain and spine MRI two years ago which was normal.

Thanks for your help

@caramel78

I had a positive ANA test in July 1:320 nuclear coarse and speckled. I didn't really have many symptoms (although I get the cold hands and feet), I got checked as my mum has lupus SLE and I had a miscarriage in the April ( and knew there could be links between the two).

I saw a rheumatologist in September and had a few more bloods taken, at the moment my diagnosis is an inactive autoimmune disorder, I have no lupus markers or inflammatory markers but do have some antibodies that mean my current pregnancy is closely monitored.

Google can be a nightmare!! See the rheumatologist and they may run more tests. Mine was initially looking for lupus or Sjögren's syndrome. They will be the best people to advise you and try and get a diagnosis. I decided to get a private appointment with a rheumatologist and that was about £250 for the initial sessions and a bit less for the follow up.

Thanks for your reply.
Sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I also had one a few years ago so maybe whatever’s going on with my health was linked to that too.
Was the rheumatologist you saw concerned of a 1:320 result? Thanks

@Caramel78 given that I announced I was pregnant to him on the first session he was more worried about me having sticky blood (he tested and luckily I was negative) and RO antibodies (which I do have).

I think the ratio gives a score of some kind. I think it's a middly type score, but he ran some more tests to see if I had specific lupus markers (I don't), then checked my eyes for dryness and looked at my feet and felt my abdomen.

My GP had run some tests (thinks it's routine after the positive Ana that they do them on your blood). Which showed everything else was normal. I don't think the ratio alone is a worry, they will look at symptoms and then your ENA results

My ANA is 1:640 and is not a problem to the rheumatologist at all. She treats it as an indicator rather than a diagnosis, hence doing lots more blood tests and discussing my symptoms. Everything is very individual - treatment is too. I am on no drugs at all and manage what symptoms I have through lifestyle (eg resting when I'm fatigued and pacing myself).
Don't panic!

@FuzzyPuffling thanks that’s reassuring. So does she think you may have a higher risk of an autoimmune condition further down the line but at the moment it’s just about managing symptoms and keeping in good health etc?

She thinks I have a connective tissue disease, probably SLE with borderline APS, but at the moment as it isn't causing me too much unhappiness, she's happy to monitor me and see what happens! I see her every year (just been extended from 6 months as there has been no change) but if I'm troubled can speak to the nurse or get a sooner appointment whenever I need one.

I had a positive ANA result a couple of years ago during investigations for multiple symptoms. The follow up testing the GP did for common autoimmune diseases (Lupus, RA, etc.) didn't reveal anything. My GP isn't in the slightest bit interested (even though I still have symptoms of something) and just said that positive ANA on it's own doesn't mean anything / can be normal...

They should follow this with an ena blood panel... this detects more specific antibodies. Ana can be normal, but not usually at those levels.

A speckled pattern can indicate Systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, Polymyositis/dermatomyositis, Systemic sclerosis/scleroderma.

I'd be asking for specific tests for lupus and sjogrens syndrome based on your symptoms.