Mommyjen, I'm sorry to hear of all that you are going through. I don't know a great deal about lupus or the antibody test, but as far as the 2 autoimmune diseases I have had, Graves' Disease, and Myasthenia Gravis, my Graves' didn't show up in blood work for about 10 years and I am negative for the MG antibodies. I did find the following info on lupus antibodies after a very quick search: "How common are antiphospholipid antibodies? Like other autoantibodies in systemic lupus, antiphospholipid antibodies can come and go in an individual. There are many ways to measure these antibodies, and different methods may not always give the same result.
These antibodies were first discovered in people who have lupus, but it is not necessary to have lupus to have these antibodies. In fact, in most studies, more than 50 percent of people with these antibodies do not have lupus. We do not yet understand why a person's immune system begins to manufacture these antibodies."
I don't know if this is the type of antibody they checked for, but I think it shows that a negative doesn't necessarily mean you are free of the condition. You might ask one of your doctors if it possible to have lupus without the antibodies, or if it is possible for the antibodies to develop later.
Hugs,