Why are some patients at risk for Blood Clots and Miscarriage?

Every time I start to research something I always end up finding out something completely different than what I started looking for. I wanted to find out the recommended Aspirin Dose for Lupus, and ended up finding the answer to the question above. Here is what I found.

People with a diagnosis such as Lupus, Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Thyroid Disease may also have a condition called Hughes Syndrome. Hughes Syndrome is also known as "sticky blood". It is basically when the blood has an antiphospholipid antibody. This can be detected through a simple blood test.

In my research on Lupus I kept coming across information that said Lupus patients are sometimes at risk for blood clots and need to take low dose aspirin. From what I understand, this is why. I have also read that they are at a greater risk for blood clots and miscarriage. Again, I imagine Hughes Syndrome- the antiphospholipid antibody- is the reason.

The different names for the same thing: Anti Phosholipid Antibody Syndrome (APS) or Hughes Syndrome or even Lupus Anticoagulant.

How common is this for Lupus patients?

According to the Hughes Syndrome Foundation, 1 in 5 Lupus patients will also have Hughes Syndrome- the antiphospholipid antibody.

So how does this apply to me?

If I have a Lupus (SLE) diagnosis, then I need to add the antiphospholipid antibody (APA) blood test to my list. If I am positive for it, then I will know what I am at risk for and how to manage "another symptom" better. I also now understand the WHY behind the causes of blood clots and miscarriages.


Questions that I ended up having after I found out this information.
(I told you that I always end up getting off track and end up looking into something else.) 

Is Fibromyalgia an auto immune disease?

How much does an antiphospholipid antibody (APA) blood test cost?

I will have to wait to answer these for now.

Until next time...

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One reason Why someone with Lupus would get a false positive for Syphillis?

Wow, I absolutely Love it when I actually figure out a Why with something. (Yes, I know I am a little strange.) But I know that there are others out there asking these same questions, so that is WHY I am making a blog about all my "fun" discoveries.

Ok, so when I did my own internet research of my symptoms, and came up with my own Lupus diagnosis, I made a list of test to get done. I had read that some individuals with Lupus will get a false positive for Syphilis. I had no clue why, but I thought that it couldn't hurt to have it done.

(If you didn't already know, I am a missionary in Tanzania, Africa.)

It was so embarrassing to go the the clinic and ask them if they could do a Syphilis test. I couldn't explain my full thought in the language of Swahili, and they didn't understand English. So I couldn't explain that I was really testing for Lupus because I was thinking that I might get a false positive on the Syphilis test. So I had to just grin and accept the fact that if I did have a false positive, they would just think that I had Syphilis. I wasn't sure how to actually feel when my test came back negative. I thought that maybe if it was positive then I would know more for sure that it was Lupus.I then wondered why only some people test positive.

Okay, follow long with me here...

Today I found out why some individuals with Lupus are at risk for blood clotting and miscarriages.
This is because of (APS) an antiphospholipid antibody that some have, which causes "sticky blood."
According to the Hughes Syndrome Foundation, 1 out 5 patients with Lupus will have this.
And according to the answer from John Hopkins Medicine, 50 % of Lupus patients will have it. 

Now I just read on the Lab Test Online website- last line:

"The reagents used to test for syphilis contain phospholipids and can cause a false positive result in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies.

So if I am understanding this right.... If I am having a Syphilis test and they are using "stuff" that has Phosholipids in it and my blood had Antiphospholipids in it. Then the Pho and the Anti ain't gonna to mix. (Do you like my Texas slag) :-) And This is WHY it causes the false positive.

There may also be other reasons, but this one seems to be the main reason.

What does this mean to Me ?

That the reason I probably Did Not have a false positive is because I probably don't have Hughes Syndrome. 

If I were to have a false positive on a Syphilis test, then I should also have an antiphospholipid antibody test to see if I am at risk for blood clots or miscarriages.

Now I may be Way off on this, and please feel free to correct me in the comments below. The more I study my Invisible Diagnosis, the more I realize the depth of all of it.

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