Did your Dr say how would your treatment differ whether he diagnoses you with lupus or not? I wouldn't worry so much about getting the right diagnosis as I would about getting help for your symptoms.

My ANA test's only show up positive if I am in a flair. My Dr (ex Dr. ) told me once I dont have Lupus bc I had a negative ANA, yet I have had positives long before the negatives.
This disease is a tricky beast and no two people seem to have any of the same symptoms so there is no rhyme or reason imo.

Lupus is sometimes hard to get a slam dunk confirmative test. I have heard of several who it did not show up in the test at first. Sometimes I think this is given to the many facet that lupus can cause in our body to go wrong.

So, it sounds like Plaquenil helps you. I would start taking it again. If that doesn't do the trick, injecting steroids in your scalp might be an option to treat lupus alopecia.

Also worth noting that my dermatologist said my “patchy” alopecia is right in line with what she sees in SLE patients, different from Alopecia areata and also different from the discoid lupus alopecia. So much to consider. I appreciate everyone’s input. It’s been a rough few months feeling sick, now being half bald is insult to injury.