I had a blood test done recently - non MS related and it cam back as positive for Anti Nuclear Antibody activity. My GP wants me to ask my Neurologist if this is as a result of my MS or if not maybe I have another auto immune condition to worry about. Has anyone else had a positive reading for ANS and had MS but been told this is nothing to look further into? I have found a little on line suggesting that people with MS can show positive for ANS but not enough to stop me worrying. I have been diagnosed with MS for 2 years.
Hello Trev I don’t have personal knowledge of this. But I do know that the ANA test is used as part of a Lupus screen. Have a look at ANA Testing - Testing for Lupus | Lupus Research Alliance What is tells me is that you can have a positive ANA test and not have Lupus, it could be just showing some inflammatory activity. But it’s likely that you might have to have further tests to rule out Lupus. It is possible to have more than one autoimmune condition unfortunately, so it’s possible to have both Lupus and MS. But in the short term, don’t panic about it. The one thing the Lupus site shows is that many people have a positive ANA and not Lupus. Sue
Hello - I was diagnosed with MS in 2012. Sometime after a neurology appointment in 2016 I got a letter for an appointment with a rheumatologist. Was really puzzled about this. Discovered at the appointment that I had a positive blood test for ANA and for another blood test(can’t remember what is was). A very high percentage of people with a positive ANA have lupus. I was told that blood tests can show up a false positive, so another test was done, which was also positive. If I recall correctly a new method of testing blood was sometimes giving these false positive results.
At the next rheumatology appointment I was told that despite having these two positive blood tests for both ANA and another blood test that there was not enough other evidence for me to be diagnosed with lupus. I didn’t have enough typical side effects. I understand one can have lupus and MS, but don’t think it is that common. It was a worrying time, as like most people I wanted to know what I was dealing with. I trust that you get the answers you need and that you don’t have lupus.