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Ok tests are coming in my ANA was positive from what I understand and they mentioned polymyositis so far. Has anyone treated this with minocin or does anyone here have this? I need info please. Thank you.
@mkay wrote:
Ok tests are coming in my ANA was positive from what I understand and they mentioned polymyositis so far. Has anyone treated this with minocin or does anyone here have this? I need info please. Thank you.
Hi Mkay,
Yes, if you type in “Polymyositis” in the search box at the top of the General Discussion forum, you will find many posts from others with this condition who are treating it with abx therapy. When you find these discussions, you can try PMing the posters as they may not frequent the forum daily and see your post.
Mino alone may or may not be enough (in some cases it is), but it’s a place to start and possibly, later, to add in other abx to the mix, as well as supportive adjuncts, as needed. 🙂
@mkay wrote:
Ok thank you. Not even sure yet they are saying this all because of an elevated ana….?
ANA has been known to be elevated in some healthy individuals, too…do you have symptoms of polymyositis in addition to RA?
I don’t think I do! Everything is back test wise….
sed rate 3
ana nuclear 1:80
lyme neg
RF 1:8so there we go. Now she is just kinda acting like the ana is elevated because of the rf factor. I’m confused.
@mkay wrote:
I don’t think I do! Everything is back test wise….
sed rate 3
ana nuclear 1:80
lyme neg
RF 1:8so there we go. Now she is just kinda acting like the ana is elevated because of the rf factor. I’m confused.
Mkay, you’ll find info on what ANA and its various patterns mean at labtestsonline:
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/ana/tab/test
“Nucleolar – associated with scleroderma and polymyositis”
The ANA test, as I understand it, is a test run in doubled dilutions. So, the next level up would be 1:160, then 1:320, then 1:640, etc It’s easy to get freaked out by this test, especially if it goes up one or two dilutions during repeat testing.
These are the different ANA patterns and what they mean as per link above:
“Homogenous (diffuse) – associated with SLE and mixed connective tissue disease
Speckled – associated with SLE, Sjogren syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, and mixed connective tissue disease
Nucleolar – associated with scleroderma and polymyositis
Centromere pattern (peripheral) – associated with scleroderma and CREST (Calcinosis, Raynaud’s syndrome, Esophogeal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia)”
However, as the website mentions:
“A positive ANA test result may suggest an autoimmune disease, but further specific testing is required to assist in making a final diagnosis. ANA test results can be positive in people without any known autoimmune disease. While this is not common, the frequency of a false positive ANA result increases as people get older.
Also, ANA may become positive before signs and symptoms of an autoimmune disease develop, so it may take time to tell the meaning of a positive ANA in a person who does not have symptoms. Most positive ANA results don’t have significance, so physicians should reassure their patients but should also still be vigilant for development of signs and symptoms that might suggest an autoimmune disease.”
Now she is just kinda acting like the ana is elevated because of the rf factor.
RF is a globulin test….meaning, an antibody (antibodies are usually produced in reaction to infection!). RF can be elevated in any number of conditions and not just RA, though a diagnosis of RA may be made if symptoms match criteria for a diagnosis of RA (e.g. morning stiffness, bilateral joint swelling and pain, etc). If there are no symptoms indicative of RA, then it’s unlikely as a diagnosis. Not sure what ref range your lab is using or how it translates to Quest….in the US, a positive RF is anything (greater than) >16.
http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/rheumatoid/tab/test
The ANA test is sort of a “first-line” test to check for AI diseases and sub-type…were any further tests run to exclude other diagnoses? If not, you may wish to ask for these, because there are specific labs to test for each rheumatic disease and these are usually run after the ANA to differentiate them, if ANA is positive and depending on the pattern type.
As mentioned before, a standard “lyme neg” result doesn’t say much of anything, because these tests are notoriously inaccurate, missing half of all cases. 🙁 More sensitive lab testing is worth pursuing if it’s suspected.
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