General Medicine

» Elaine Moore - Subject ANA testing

Hi Lolly,
It sounds like you started out with an autoimmune clotting disorder. The antibodies that cause this are collectively called lupus anticoagulant, which is a misleading term because it can occur as a syndrome on its own and in other disorders besides lupus.
I'm going to write an article on this soon (our daughter is coming to visit today for the long weekend) but the basic antibody test used to screen this are anticardiolipin antibodies and antiphospholipid antibodies, and we also run dvvt and factor v leidin tests.

These antibodies are the primary cause of stroke, clotting disorders and miscarriages in young women. The antibodies promote clot formation. Treatment is usually simle if the disorder is diagnosed. Heparin and aspirin are the treatments usually used.

And as with all autoimmune disorders, antibody production can rise and fall at different times so symptoms can vary, resolve spontaneously, or return.

You may have had a positive ANA as part of the early development of an autoimmune thyroid disorder, in your case Graves disease. Antiphospholipid syndrome often occurs in people with Graves' since we often develop more than one thyroid disorder. And anything you do to improve your immune system health, like using ATDs or avoiding known or suspected allergens, using antioxidant vitamins, and incorporating stress reduction techniques will benefit both conditions.

As in the case of the child with aplastic anemia in one of my other articles, it's not unusual for both disorders to resolve when Graves' is successfully treated. Hope this helps, and remember it's important to avoid becoming hypothyroid from Graves' treatment since this encourages autoantibody production. Best, Elaine