Dear Walt,
I recently had blood tests done as part of a check up with a new doctor. My last tests were done in June of 1997 and April of 1996. Almost all of the change was positive. Many of the results that had previously been out-of-range are now registering as normal and my cholesteral levels have dropped significantly. I attribute this to my 2 months of agriculturist diet and skilled relaxation. There are 2 tests though, that are still out of range and seem to be going higher. I'd like to get your take on this.
My Rheumatoid Factor measured 134. The norm is <25. In June of '97 it was 122 and in April of '96 it was 77. All 3 tests were done at the same lab.
My ANA is positive. Speckled measures 1:80 with a norm titer being <1:40. In June '97, my ANA was negative. In April '96, it was positive with a titer of 1:40, just on the borderline of positive.
Last year I was checked pretty thoroughly by a rheumatologist. He found no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis and was unable to explain the rheumatoid factor. He suggested steroid injections for some muscle spasms in my back. I declined and we went our separate ways. I have done some research on my own regarding the rheumatoid factor when no arthritis is present. I have come up with this list of conditions other than ra that are often associated with positive rheumatoid factor:
mixed cryoglobulinemia
Sjogren's
Mixed connective tissue disease
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Scleroderma
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
Polymyositis
Hypersensitivity vasculitis
Tuberculosis
Leprosy
Sarcoidosis
Syphilis
Subacute bacterial endocarditis
Salmonellosis
Acute rheumatic fever
Acute viral infections
Parasitic infections
Interstitial lung disease
Chronic liver disease
Primary biliary cirrhosis
I am currently finishing my second week of Nystatin for probable CRS. I'm certain I have LGS. My doctor has suggested testing me further for lupus, but I don't have the symptoms, so it seems like a wasted effort to me. As a matter of fact, I don't really seem to have a symptom match with anything on the list as far as I can tell...except perhaps parasitic infection. Even there, I have seen rf directly tied to specific parasitic infections like schistosomiasis, malaria, and trypanosomiasis. These don't fit either.
I would like your input before I call the doctor again. As always, I value your perspective. Thank you.
Namaste,
Pam
Follow Ups:
Re: RF and ANA results
Posted by Walt Stoll on October 25, 1998 at 10:40:50:
In Reply to: RF and ANA results posted by Pam on October 22, 1998 at 18:53:15:
Hi, Pam.
With LGS, you almost certainly have several parasites (besides the Candida parasite) in your colon. Parasitosis is one of the most common causes of a false positive RA or ANA test.
If you have done your skilled relaxation twice a day for at least 6 months, perhaps it is time to do several purged stool specimens to see how many of your parasites you can find.
By the way, recent research by the FDA and CDC indicates that grapfruit-seed extract is at least as effective against parasites as any prescription drug AND has no side-effects.
Isn't it interesting that nearly all of the things on your list are things that conventional medicine has no solution for? We have "treatments" for the symptoms but nothing for the diagnosis. Wonder why THAT is (grin).
Walt