It's unfortunate that it is so hard to find a good rheumatologist that is a lupus specialist

I had 4 out of the 11 with no positive lab work. After going through several doctors I enlisted the help of the Lupus foundation of America who referred me to a rheumatologist that was a lupus specialist......he diagnosed me

Yes. It is ridiculous how some of us get a confirmation of lupus pretty quick either from lab results or observations of good specialists and others get the run around of whether they have it or not. I haven’t been able to understand that for years.
And yes also trying to find a rheumatologist lupus specialist is so hard. And as Chels said you only need 4 out of the 11 criteria to say it’s lupus.
I feel sometimes it should be a curriculum study for our medical students so they are all educated about lupus when they graduate.
To me its like the best managers of any company started with cleaning the toilets first.😁
Blessings everyone.🥰

I'm having a hard time getting diagnosed because of labs. It's rediculous.

You don't technically need any specific lab results for diagnosis. You only need 4 out of the 11 below criteria for clinical diagnosis:

1. Malar rash: butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose

2. Discoid (skin) rash: raised red patches

3. Photosensitivity: skin rash as result of unusual reaction to sunlight

4.Mouth or nose ulcers: usually painless

5. Arthritis (nonerosive) in two or more joints, along with tenderness, swelling, or effusion. With nonerosive arthritis, the bones around joints don’t get destroyed.

6.Cardio-pulmonary involvement: inflammation of the lining around the heart (pericarditis) and/or lungs (pleuritis)

7. Neurologic disorder: seizures and/or psychosis

8. Renal (kidney) disorder: excessive protein in the urine, or cellular casts in the urine

9. Hematologic (blood) disorder: hemolytic anemia, low white blood cell count, or low platelet count

10. Immunologic disorder: antibodies to double stranded DNA, antibodies to Sm, or antibodies to cardiolipin

11. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA): a positive test in the absence of drugs known to induce it. A special note on the ANA test