ANA pattern and positive ANA titre

[PinkFootstool]

DH has had recurrent pericarditis for the last ten years or so, starting in his early 30s.

Cardiology have always been blasé about it - it won't kill him, it's not life threatening or going to affect his life expectancy etc. The cause each time is put down to a viral infection as it usually follows a chest infection, a bad cold or similar respirator condition. His dad is also prone to chest infections.

He's still in the military though so they are twitchy about his frequent and debilitating illnesses although they didn't medically retire him a few years ago as the bouts do resolve with medication and rest. We also think he has scalp psoriasis, and he's got lots of pain in his back and his knees etc although most of that is probably attributable to a physical career of over 20yrs!

The last cardiologist we saw ordered immunology tests which were done in Jan 23. We've never seen the results but he was verbally told by his military GP that the results were "fine".

We finally got a copy of the full test results via cardiology, and he has actually testes positive for a ANA with a speckled pattern and an ANA titre recorded as 1:80.

The other ANA / ANCA results were negative.

Has anyone had this? Any advice on what to ask for now? He's speaking to the GP next week as he's still awaiting a decision on whether to put him forward for medical retirement again and needs some understanding of what's going on!

I had this in 2015, also speckled variety. I was referred to a top Rheumatologist in Germany (where I was living at the time). They ran a lot of tests. MRI's, CT scans etc. I had a lot of joint pain, liver and kidney issues. He said that they would monitor me but couldn't give an exact diagnosis at that point. Only that I had an auto immune disease, most likely Scleroderma and Sjogrens but would have to wait and see what symptoms present later down the line. I believe it's common for Autoimmune diseases to take a 10-15 years to be diagnosed. Since then I have gone into remission and had two healthy children. It took around a year to settle but I still have small flare ups but I know how to manage them better now.

That's interesting @Osakaflowers, thank you. I don't think he has huge signs of a immune disorder at present other than what looks to me like scalp psoriasis.

I don't really know what he needs to ask about next week, although I'd like him to have some more testing.

He's due to retire from the military in the next few years, so I'm worried about future employers as few can be as flexible as they are. Needing to be on bed rest up to 2 months a year just won't work in most jobs!

Do your bloods still show markers?

Psoriasis and heart issues are a common problem for those with Sjogrens or Scleroderma but they can be notoriously difficult to diagnose so can be overlooked. At least you're aware of it now in case other symptoms present. Hopefully next bloods will be normal.
My bloods are pretty normal now. No positive ANA for years. Adjusting my diet, plenty of rest, keeping hydrated, exercise and reducing stress (as much as possible with two young children) has helped no end.

1:80 is an extremely low positive result which is often found in healthy people too so I wouldn’t set too much store by it.

@itme, Agreed however he is getting pericarditis approx every 6-12 months, with an average of about 2 per year for the last decade. He's very young for this and it's very unusual, especially when he's unable to work for weeks at a time. The military are spectacularly forgiving about this, but no other employer would tolerate this level of sickness. We need to know what he's up against and look at modern treatments which he'd currently be unable to access due to military rules on medication / treatment in which case they'd medically pension him out.