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Autoimmune Disease?????
by Female1, Jul 15, 2006 12:00AM
Does anyone have an idea if I have a specific autoimmune disease? I have chronic anterior uveitis (5yrs now). I think I have chronic lightheadedness because I have been lightheaded very often for the past year. I have recently been exhausted and had a swollen knee and headaches...joint pain. My eye doctor and primary care physician did blood work and almost everything has been negative. I did have a positive ANA (not very high) and borderline (but considered nevative) rheumatoid factor for IgG. My white blood cell count was low, but still within range. I had a CT scan that was normal. I've been having heart palpitations - I've been wearing a 30 day monitor and so far I've had pre-mature heartbeats and a few arrhythmia’s, but the echo came out fine. My jaw bothers me almost every day and sometimes I feel like the skin over my jaw is swollen. My ears ring every day too, but not very badly. During the past few months, I've noticed small white bumps under my skin on my hands near my knuckles. My primary care physician said they look like little cysts and I should not worry about them, but my fingers always seem very tight. I also haven't had my period for the past 4 months, but I am not pregnant (all home tests are negative). My back is also soar. I have been feeling much better the past few weeks as far as not being tired, but the bumps in my hands seem to very slowly be getting worse. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?????
As far as symptoms, they all started 2 years ago. A couple of months after having my baby I had what seemed like my usual sinus/bronchitis. After 2 months of antibiotics and no improvement, it was decided I had viral bronchitis. About a month after that I started getting swollen lymph nodes. I would try to get sick but everything would go away shortly after that. This repeated itself a couple a times after that, about once a month. By the third time I was worried about cancer and went into get checked. Blood test were run and they said everything looked normal. A month after that I went in again this time I was a little more sick. My co-worker was diagnosed for strep, so I checked for that but was told no. The med care could link into my DRs. records and saw the blood test. He said that my monocytes had showed high and that he suspected mono. Did a mono test. Within 3 days I ended up back in the med care with extreme weakness and tonsilitis. The results were not back in but the Dr. was still convinced it was mono. I got the results back and was told I had tested positive for Epstein barrs virus carrier(what usually causes mono-all people have been exposed by age 30). Given prednisone and much better. Back in a couple of weeks later and was treated for sinus again. By then I was only healthy for one week out of every month. That DR in the same med care had looked at my test results and said I could have had mono five years ago. 3 DRs later, one says fine, the other says mono and the third said they don't know what I had but they only treat the here and now. Found a new PCP got a regular check up and filled him in. He believed I had mono during the 3 months of bronchitis but then had reoccuring when I had tonsilitis. Went in again a month later with once again sinus/bronchitis and pain in upper right chest which wrapped around to the back. Treated for allergies and diagnosed with pleaursys (swelling of the lining of the lung). Given singulair (treats leukotrines instead of histamines). Singulair helped me improve the sinus bronchitis alot, have not had major problems with that since just normal flair ups. The pleaursys he thought stemmed from the mono. However 6-9 months later it still had not completely gone away. Went back. DR. did not believe it to be systemic said it was stress related. I made sure he took an x-ray anyways which came out clear. Started me on lexapro for stress even before I got the results of the x-ray. 3 months later still having problems with pleaurysis. Went to my annual GYN (who also is required to have 4 more years than a PCP) appt. and he suspected more and sent me to the infectious disease DR. GYN suspected my immune system was low since I could not get better. That brings me to the point we are now. By the way the Inf. dis. DR. said my test results confirm that when my blood tests were taken that mono would have occured at least six months prior and that what I had now was no way mono or effects of. In addition to that, I have had the following things: Constipation, for 2 years bloating and diarhia (sometimes what seem almost the inability to hold it until I got to a restroom), lately severe abdominal cramping (having a severe baby like contraction) and not necessarilly around a bm, weight loss, acne like never before on shoulders and back, lightheadedness, nausea, fainting like systems with abdominal pain (also hot flashes), lines of demarcation on face that I thought was from years of sun damage and appeared to come out more during pregnancy, very very extreme exhaustion which worsened on lexapro (had to take myself off of it), racing heart with an almost passing out feeling-twice, my blood pressure is usually 95 over 50 or lower and even during pregnancy never topped over 112/70 made it to 120/ (which they still consider in the normal rage but I believe is elevated for me, my temp works the same, I am normally 97.6 and feel sick in the 98's (still normal) but it has been elevated also, sat out in sun with suntan lotion on and a got red anyways with what looked like a raised chemical rash, sweating more (never really used to do that), lastly, continuous headaches have started along with laryngytis and no usual sinus issues and now lower right back soreness along with muscle/joint pain in neck and shoulder areas.
What symptoms have you been suffering with?