Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Positive For Antinuclear Antibodies (Ana)

AJoy

By AJoy
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

AJoy Rookie
AJoy
Posted

I just got a call from the dermatologist who did blood work because I keep breaking out in Petechiae. Apparently I am testing positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Has anyone else gone through this? What can I expect to happen next???

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Greenling Newbie
Greenling
Posted

I've tested positive several times (more than five over the past few years) on ANA tests. My guess is that they may refer you to a rheumatologist.

Don't know if this will make you feel better.... I actually just had this test done again in May (with a positive result again) which is when I was finally diagnosed with Celiac. I'd only been Gluten-free for four weeks at that time. My GI and Rhematologist docs said it's quite possible that the ANA reading might be due to the Celiac and once I'm further along the healing process, the ANA may test normal. Or it could signify another auto-immune condition on the horizon. Obviously, I'm hoping for the first option. I have to repeat the test in a year. But if you've not been Gluten-free for very long, the positive ANA might resolve itself.

cassP Contributor
cassP
Posted

dont worry so much about it. it's my understanding that a positive ANA points to an autoimmune disease or more. i had positive ANA by age 14 (or earlier)... because i had a butterfly rash on my face- they sent me to a Rheumy to test for Lupus. because my ANA was speckled- she also tested me for Sjorgens. i was never diagnosed with either.. and just left as a mystery.. sure would have been nice if they would have tested for other AI antibodies- they could have saved me years of temporary and permanent systems. i dont know if it's buerococy (cant spell?) but our doctors dont seem very interested in solving our puzzles...

i may not have had celiac abs at that time- but i suspect i would have tested positive for Hashimoto's.

are you a Celiac?

and what was that skin thing u mentioned? i havent heard of it yet?

Roda Rising Star
Roda
Posted

are you a Celiac?

and what was that skin thing u mentioned? i havent heard of it yet?

Open Original Shared Link

jebby Enthusiast
jebby
Posted

A positive ANA is usually associated with an autoimmune disease (it can also be elevated in certain infections and it is not unusual for it be a false positive either). My ANA is always positive due to my celiac and Hashimoto's disease. It is a test doctors will run if there is a concern about some type of autoimmune disease, but by itself, it does not mean very much. If you have petechiae, they are probably looking to see if your platelet problem is related to autoimmunity.

Skylark Collaborator
Skylark
Posted

Mom's is positive. It has made her very sun sensitive so that's something to watch for. She hasn't developed any other autoimmunity so you can have ANA and be OK.

Marilyn R Community Regular
Marilyn R
Posted

I just got a call from the dermatologist who did blood work because I keep breaking out in Petechiae. Apparently I am testing positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Has anyone else gone through this? What can I expect to happen next???

I came back with high ANA too. It's freaky when you get the results and research what that means. Be prepared for more weird blood tests if you experiment with alternative grains and you're sensitive.

So my advice is, relax, chill, keep with the diet. Easier said than done. I've actually learned to ask the doc to take the same blood test six weeks later before I get all worked up. (They've told me I could have mixed connective tissue disease and sarcidosis in the past year.) I have neither, it just turned out that I had a few more food bugs.

That said, that's my experience. Your experience could differ.

Good Luck!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


AJoy Rookie
AJoy
Posted
  • Author

Thank you everyone who responded. It definitely helps a little to know that some of you got a positive test and it didn't mean anything. I go to the rheumatologist is two weeks. Not looking forward to all of the tests and dr appointments, I just went through the Celiac diagnosis last fall, so not even a year and it was a huge pain. Still wondering if the petechiae is related but the weirdest part is my platelet count came back just fine...? Anyway, thanks again and good luck to all of you!

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Jess270
      - Jess270 replied to AnnaNZ's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      29

      Bitters for digestion?

      This sounds to me like histamine intolerance. Some foods have more or less histamine. processed or aged meats, fermented food like yoghurt or kimchi and bread (yeast), spinach, eggplant and mushroom are high in histamine. Other foods like tomatoes are histamine liberators, they encourage your mast cells to release histamine, which can also trigger the reactions...
    2. cristiana
      - cristiana commented on Jefferson Adams's article in Origins of Celiac Disease
      7

      Why Bananas No Longer Cure Celiac Disease

      I missed this article when it was first put up. It is interesting to read, as my old neighbour who sadly passed away a few years ago was a trainee midwife during WWII. Bananas disappeared from the shops in Britain during the war, but she told me that those that did get to the UK were kept back for infants with coeliac disease. I didn't realise that...
    3. trents
      - trents replied to Dawn Meyers's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      23

      Vaccines

      @GeoPeanut, milk is one of the better sources of iodine. Iodine is known to exacerbate dermatitis herpetiformis. Many people find that a low iodine diet helps them avoid dermatitis herpetiformis outbreaks. So, maybe the fact that you have limited your dairy intake of late is helping with that.
    4. GeoPeanut
      - GeoPeanut replied to Dawn Meyers's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      23

      Vaccines

      Hi, I'm new here. Sorry for your troubles.herenis a thought to mull over. I recently was diagnosed with celiac disease, and hashimoto's and dermatitis herpetiformis after getting covid 19. I eat butter, and 1/2 cup of Nancy's yogurt daily. I stopped all other dairy and dermatitis herpetiformis is gone! I also make grass fed beef bone broth to help with...
    5. trents
      - trents replied to KRipple's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      Welcome to the forum, @KRipple! Sorry to hear of all your husband's health problems. I can only imagine how anxious this makes you as when our spouse suffers we hurt right along with them. Can you post the results from the Celiac blood testing for us to look at? We would need the names of the tests run, the numeric results and (this is important...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,054
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Carlie
    Newest Member
    Carlie
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.6k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Jess270
      Bitters for digestion?

      By Jess270 · Posted

      This sounds to me like histamine intolerance. Some foods have more or less histamine. processed or aged meats, fermented food like yoghurt or kimchi and bread (yeast), spinach, eggplant and mushroom are high in histamine. Other foods like tomatoes are histamine liberators, they encourage your mast cells to release histamine, which can also trigger the reactions you describe, flu like symptoms, joint pain, urinary tract irritation, rash, stomach upset, nausea, diarrhoea & fatigue. I had liver pain like you describe, as part of the intolerance is usually a sluggish liver that makes processing all the histamine difficult. There are multiple possible root causes of histamine intolerance, usually it’s a symptom of something else. In my case, leaky gut (damaged gut wall)caused by undiagnosed celiac, but for others it’s leaky gut caused by other things like dysbiosis. Some people also experience histamine intolerance due to mould exposure or low levels of DAO (the enzyme that breaks down histamine in the gut). I’d try a low histamine diet & if that doesn’t improve symptoms fully, try low oxalate too. As others have suggested, supplements like vitamin d, b, l-glutamine to support a healthy gut & a good liver support supplement too. If you’re in a histamine flare take vitamin c to bowel tolerance & your symptoms will calm down (avoid if you find you have oxalate intolerance though). Best of luck 
    • trents
      Vaccines

      By trents · Posted

      @GeoPeanut, milk is one of the better sources of iodine. Iodine is known to exacerbate dermatitis herpetiformis. Many people find that a low iodine diet helps them avoid dermatitis herpetiformis outbreaks. So, maybe the fact that you have limited your dairy intake of late is helping with that.
    • GeoPeanut
      Vaccines

      By GeoPeanut · Posted

      Hi, I'm new here. Sorry for your troubles.herenis a thought to mull over. I recently was diagnosed with celiac disease,  and hashimoto's and dermatitis herpetiformis after getting covid 19. I eat butter, and 1/2 cup of Nancy's yogurt daily. I stopped all other dairy and  dermatitis herpetiformis is gone! I also make grass fed beef bone broth to help with myopathy that has occurred. 
    • trents
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @KRipple! Sorry to hear of all your husband's health problems. I can only imagine how anxious this makes you as when our spouse suffers we hurt right along with them. Can you post the results from the Celiac blood testing for us to look at? We would need the names of the tests run, the numeric results and (this is important) the reference ranges for each test used to establish high/low/negative/positive. Different labs use different rating scales so this is why I ask for this. There aren't industry standards. Has your husband seen any improvement from eliminating gluten from his diet? If your husband had any positive results from his celiac blood antibody testing, this is likely what triggered the consult with a  GI doc for an endoscopy. During the endoscopy, the GI doc will likely biopsy the lining of the small bowel lining to check for the damage caused by celiac disease. This would be for confirmation of the results of the blood tests and is considered the gold standard of celiac disease diagnosis. But here is some difficult information I have for you. If your husband has been gluten free already for months leading up to the endoscopy/biopsy, it will likely invalidate the biopsy and result in a false negative. Starting the gluten free diet now will allow the lining of the small bowel to begin healing and if enough healing takes place before the biopsy happens, there will be no damage to see. How far out is the endoscopy scheduled for? There still may be time for your husband to go back on gluten, what we call a "gluten challenge" to ensure valid test results.
    • kate g
      Are they close to a drug that will help celiacs with cross contamination

      By kate g · Posted

      Ive read articles that there is stage 2 research being conducted for drugs that will limit damage to celiacs through cross contamination- how close are they to this will there be enough funding to create a mainstream drug? 
×
×
  • Create New...