Primary vs. Secondary Sjogren's

[gsmraxe]

I have primary Sjogren's and my dryness isn't that bad.  My issue is joint pain....I have positive SSA but the ANA was just barely positive 1:640 I think. 

[Babs659]

Actually, I wouldn't call 1:640 barely positive.  That's a significant result.

[Joy Cox]

Jules, In your post you mentioned you have a lumbar puncture because the doctor thought you might have MS. Just wondering...is this problem or a procedure? Another question: as I am about 10 yrs older than you,have you had any symptoms that might be neuropathy related?

I seem to have had a lot of the same health issues all 'along the road' of life.  Joy

[gsmraxe]

Actually, I wouldn't call 1:640 barely positive.  That's a significant result.

Hmmmm, maybe I'm confused.  I thought 1:640 was the lowest possible positive, like a negative positive.  It was over a year ago, so I could be mistaken.

[Nans]

I was under the impression that 1:160 was the lowest positive titer that was considered significant.

[sboller]

This is an interesting thread!  I looked online for the 1.640 reading and seen one site that said it was high, but the readings below do not include it.  So  I am not sure where it would fall into the below readings.  Mine was  a positive ANA with a 1.160 speckled pattern, and with  SS-B antibody of 25.85 amoung other high stuff when I was diagnosed.  I have osteoarthiritis to, and I have not idea if I have primary or secondary the doctor never said.  Sometimes I have wondered if my diagnosis is even correct.  Does anyone know anything about Neutrophils, adn Lymphocytes tests?  Mine always come in high on the Neutrophils, and low on the lymphocytes.

How is the ANA titer determined?
A titer is determined by repeating the positive test with serial dilutions until the test yields a negative result. The last dilution which yields a positive result (flourescence) is the titer which gets reported. For example, if a titer performed for a positive ANA test is:
1:10 positive
1:20 positive
1:40 positive
1:80 positive
1:160 positive
1:320 negative

Happy Holidays!

Best Regards,
Sheri

[DragonflyC]

>1:40 is the lowest "positive" result for ANA.  It's possible to be healthy and have 1:40, but for people w/ symptoms it can be considered positive.

ANA can also change.  When I was diagnosed w/ Hashimoto's, mine was >1:40.  A few years later it was >1:160.  When my first big SJS flare hit, it was >1:640.  

[Jules48cats]

Jules, In your post you mentioned you have a lumbar puncture because the doctor thought you might have MS. Just wondering...is this problem or a procedure? Another question: as I am about 10 yrs older than you,have you had any symptoms that might be neuropathy related?

I seem to have had a lot of the same health issues all 'along the road' of life.  Joy
Yes Joy
I was having neuropathy problems with my right leg.   I had gotten really sick the end of 2005.  So my rheumy did some tests.  One of them was an MRI.  It showed I had plaque on my brain.  That is what prompted my lumbar puncture.  I am somewhat better now, but I still have a lot of issues and the neuropathy with drop foot.
Jules

[BeckyG]

Ah yes my ANA was 1:40 and so those results didn't prompt an appt with the Rhuemy until my SSA came back as an 88! Guess that was a definitive answer enough!  But I was told 1:40 could be normal in people with infections- so not necessarily is it considered a "positive" and at the time I was dealing with a parotoid gland that made me look like a chipmunk and an abscessed tooth! Right now they are considering me as "primary sjogrens' Though it is early in my diagnosis, only a couple months and if not for the abscessed tooth I prolly wouldn't have been diagnosed for years.  My symptoms are not very bad at this time at least in the dryness- drinking water helps and eye drops once or twice a day.  I am dry in other areas  that cause some trouble and I have problems with my skin breaking out after showers or exertion or going in the sun.. lots of things!  But for the most part my joint pain and partoid glands are the worst. 

Becky