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Lupus or not Lupus?

Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Feb 25 10:00pm | Replies (45)

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@covidstinks2023

thecyborgenchi, Bless you sweet lady. I understand. You have not mentioned fibromyalgia. Has that been mentioned at all? It can cause severe fatigue and pain. The doctor will palpate your trigger points and then do bloodwork to rule out Lupus, RA & MS. It is so difficult to get a diagnosis for Systemic Lupus because your numbers have to be very elevated. I have to ask, have you had COVID? Covid ramped everything up in my joints, etc., Also, thyroid issues can escalate arthritis. Please have a complete thyroid panel done. It's so frustrating when you can't get a diagnosis to go along with your symptoms isn't it? I have been there. I am still not getting a definite answer from my Rheumatologist for borderline Lupus and was told by others that is normal. I had more bloodwork done yesterday with the rheumatologist and am awaiting results. I think your numbers for inflammation have to be out the roof before they can definitely diagnose you. Sometimes, doctors need to go by symptoms versus numbers and"look outside the box". A low D3 can cause pain and fatigue and I would definitely get on a good Vitamin D3. If you B12 is low you can been exhausted....that happened to me as well. Praying for you and I am so sorry you are going through this. Don't lose hope. Keep me posted. I care.

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Replies to "thecyborgenchi, Bless you sweet lady. I understand. You have not mentioned fibromyalgia. Has that been mentioned..."

I had 28 tests done. I'll list them as I see on the paperwork, many apologies - it's lengthy 😀 I will also put the results of any of them that showed up as anything other than normal in parenthesis. I was never tested for Covid when I believe I had it, but that is included in the blood work below. Side note: I don't know if I'm allowed to throw this info out there, but at this point I don't mind that people see my info, so... *shrug*

TSH, serum or plasma
CBC w/auto diff (of the 20 parts of this: platelet count was high)
T3, free, serum or plasma
T4, total, serum
vitamin B12, quant, blood
SARS CoV 2 IgG Ab, QN IA, serum or plasma (1 part: high - confirms I had Covid, if I'm not mistaken)
estradiol, serum
progesterone, serum
dhea-sulfate, serum
testosterone, total, serum
Ih + FSH, serum
lipid panel, blood (of the 16 parts: HDL cholesterol low, LDL particle number high, LDL small high, LDL medium high, LDL peak size low, hs CRP high)
HbA1c (hemoglobin, A1c), blood
insulin, serum
C-peptide, serum
CMP, serum or plasma (of the 18 parts: urea nitrogen [BUN] low)
urinalysis, dipstick
CK (creatine kinase), total, serum
magnesium, serum or plasma
vitamin D, 25-hydroxy, total, serum (1 part: low at 23 - but I knew this already)
iron + TIBC + ferritin, serum
uric acid, serum or plasma
erythrocyte sedimentation rate by westergren method
ANA (antinuclear antibodies) panel, serum (of the 3 parts: ANA screen - ifa positive/abnormal, ANA titer - 1:40 high, ANA pattern - nuclear, speckled/abnormal)
rheumatoid factor, qualitative, serum
CRP, high sensitivity, serum or plasma
anti-C1Q Ab, serum
systemic lupus erythematosus profile
lupus anticoagulant, plasma (of the 4 parts: anticoagulant not detected, drvvt screen high by 1 point)

And there you have it. Again, I'm not a professional by any means, but I like to think that I am intelligent enough to understand things, especially when I do the research that explains what it means. I've looked up the results of every one of these and the one that worries me the most is the ANA panel - it does NOT say normal, soooo... ?! According to what I've read, those results are indicative of lupus, if nothing else, further testing. I just called my doctor's office (they never answer) and left a message, telling them I want a referral to a rheumatologist, and provided the name and location of the one I chose that my insurance covers. She is 2 hours away, but I expected that.

Thank you for responding, by the way. I am finding that the support I'm receiving here is helping tremendously. I start crying every time I see someone has responded with kind words, encouragement, resources... it doesn't matter. My feelings of "I must be insane" start to go away, and that's important to me. I'm NOT crazy (not in this regard anyway lol). I'm NOT imagining these symptoms. My quality of life has tanked and I just want answers and some goals to work toward getting better, you know?