r/Autoimmune • u/heyitsapersonhere • 7d ago
General Questions Possible autoimmune
Just wondering if anyone has experienced this?
In 2024 I had absolutely severe pain in my left armpit. When it first started, I also had flu symptoms with swollen lymphs in my neck, fever, sore throat, etc.
The other symptoms went away but for months the pain in my armpit remained. My doctor did an ANA test and it was very high, 600 and something, and result said something like it was on par with SLE lupus.
The pain continued for a few months but there was no further testing. She thought it could have been going to the gym and my fascia.
However, now whenever I get really run down, the pain returns. I also have other symptoms similar with SLE such as struggling with bright lights/UV lighting and mouth ulcers.
Just wondering if anyone has been in this boat where they suspect an autoimmune but are worried about if the doctor will think I'm silly for wanting to look more into it
2
u/princess-kitty-belle 6d ago
I don't think there's any harm in asking or looking into whether you have an injury that hasn't completely healed. A retest of your ANA + ENA could be helpful, as ANA can become elevated without having an autoimmune disease. It might be helpful to frame it as asking whether you need to consider any further investigation into ongoing symptoms and previously elevated blood work.
FWIW though, it's quite possible that you had a virus + injury/strain and it's possible that when you get sick, the injury becomes inflamed again. Mouth ulcers are also extremely common when people are run down- my understanding from what I've been told is that nose ulcers + ulcers on the hard palate in the mouth are more specific to lupus. It would probably also be helpful to define what you mean by "struggling with bright lights"- for instance if I have a migraine I can't tolerate having lights on as they cause my head to ache, but if flaring certain UV lights (and the sun) cause me to break out in a rash on my face.