I would suggest asking what your ANA pattern was - a positive ANA is only part of the test result - the pattern will tell more about the potential autoimmune diseases associated with it - for example, SS-Ro and Homogenous patterns are seen in SLE, and centromere and nucleolar patterns are seen in CREST and scleroderma - also make sure that they the test is the immunofluorescent version which is the gold standard, and not the ELISA test, which is what they typically run, because it's cheaper. There are certain patterns that can be seen in normal individuals, and there are a lot of medications and conditions that can cause an elevated ANA titer that are not autoimmune in nature.

However, if a doctor is telling you that they have ruled out lupus based solely on laboratory tests, they are either lying or they don't know how to diagnose lupus. There is no such thing as a lab test that confirms or rules out lupus - there are only symptoms of the disease for which a diagnosis can be made more or less likely. But you can have lupus and not have any of the blood tests that are generally positive.

Anyway, just my 2 cents - I am a medical lab scientist and I find that doctors often don't fully understand the tests they are ordering, or they don't have the latest info about new levels that are considered bad - a perfect example is the fact that several years ago, an abnormally high TSH had to be above 5, whereas the new high level is 3 - ask most on-endocrinologist docs and they would have no idea, they would just go with whatever their lab reported as normal levels. And normal levels don't imply health, they just imply a mathematically "normal" grouping within given population. One persons "normal" may be disastrous for another.

Welcome to Neuro Talk. I know how frustrating it can be to go see a doctor and get dismissed. You know your body better than anyone else. I hope that you can get into a diagnostic center, or perhaps a teaching hospital. Do not let doctors brush you off. This does happen at times, and you simply have to move forward and try again. Nobody wants to be sick Elayna, and we all don't go running around to doctors for nothing. We have better things to do in our lives besides feel lousy. Consider a referral to Mayo Clinic. That is where I went and got my DX. They do get to the bottom of things. The experience is exhausting, but worthwhile. Many auto Immune dieases, pose with neurological problems. Don't give up. NT will be here for you and so will I. Take care. ginnie