Blood test - antinuclear factor

[ForTheLoveOfCakes]

I'm waiting to hear from my gp. Have had bloods taken and was advised by receptionist that all good, except, the antinuclear factor.

Anyone had this? Getting a bit worried and google hasn't helped.

It's not very helpful of the receptionist to tell you a measure is unusual if she/he isn't going to give you an explanation of what this will mean for your next consultation with the GP.

I presume this is antinuclear antibodies (ANA). It doesn't tell you much, though, if nothing else is abnormal. It's a screen for certain autoimmune diseases but if blood markers of inflammation (e.g. erythrocyte sedimentation rate [ESR], C-reactive protein [CRP]) aren't elevated and you don't have clinical signs of one of these conditions I'm not sure anyone is going to make a diagnosis based just on elevated ANAs. In the words of Wikipedia: "A positive ANA test is seldom useful if other clinical or laboratory data supporting a diagnosis are not present."

Have you had any joint pain, skin rashes, dry mouth/eyes, severe fatigue, night sweats, hot flushes, cold extremities?