General Medicine

» lolly47 - Subject ANA testing

Elaine
3 years ago nearly to the day,I devolped an embolism in my Left hand.(The fingers became ischamic)and I nearly lost 3 off them.
I underwent 2 Angiograms and was Thromblised.
Heparin pump-tinizaparin and warfarin.
After spending time in the hospital I saw numerous Doctors and specialists,underwent echo-cardiogram,and eventually I was tested for LUPUS.

The reason I found your blogg very interesting is I never got to the resons why I suddenly developed this thrombosis.
I saw a top cardiologist from a London hospital,he asked alot of questions,about my health.
Then he asked if I had ever had or been treated for Cancer,or ever had an abortion.

I felt these question were very strange,as I had neither had cancer nor an abortion.
I asked why,he proceeded to say that my antibodies were turning on me,and causing me problems.
The good antibodies were confused and are attacking healthy tissue and organs,and that he had seen it before in cancer patients or patients who have had abortions.

This has been on my mind for years.
When leaving hospital I was sent to a haemotologist for bloods to be redone as the first test hadn't worked.
This included Antiphoshelipid antibodies?Lupus/phf?/ANA/ANCA.

I was told in the outpatients department that I hadn't got Lupus,but I was still a mystery.
I was then sent to the orthopaedic clinic after having an MRI scan on my neck.As the vascular Dr thought the clot could have come from my neck.

The ortho doctor said it was just a degenrative neck problem and will require physio from time to time,this has been an ongoing problem for years.And that Dr said she didn't think the thrombosis had anything at all to do with my neck.

I was on warfarin for a good 6 months and I'm now on clopidgrel to thin the blood.

I see all of this as a connection somewere,but have never got a definative answer from the experts.

I now have Graves Disease with TED Diagnosed in october 05 is this the connection?
I ask myself this every day?
Was the testing I had correct especially the ANA test?
Had I got Graves Disease then or some form of thyroidism and it went undetected?.
Or could Rheumatoid Artheritis be the culprit?.
It certainly wasn't Lupus.
Yours Lorraine

-- posted by lolly47