Lupus or what?

[wvsweetgal]

Hi ... a few months back I started having alot of pain in both arms hands and wrists that didnt go away... I went to family Dr, who then gave me shots for the pain it helped somewhat in the arms... my pain still remains in my wrists fingers , hands knees ankles and back.... Dr. tested for RA it was negative ... but Lupus came back positve , she then sent me to a Rheumatology Dr. and upon his quick examination of me he then tells me I have no signs of Lupus and he was going to retest me ... Those tests came back negative... My question is I am in chronic pain and Im to the point I cant take it and... I dont know what is wrong with me and how can this Dr. say this and in the same sentence ask me if I was on Disablity?.. what does that have to do with my pain?... I guess my question is can I still have Lups or Ra or something ? even though the test came back negative the second time? my sypmtoms include fatigue, stiff and swollen joints that are worse in the mornings, rash in the summer time on both my arms that doesnt go away for months, have had seisures for years , hearburn, migraines, hair is thinning, stomach pain , I cant even drink pop.... any replies would be appreciated ...... Thanks WvSweetgal

[Garth L Nicolson, PhD]

One aspect of this that should be considered, especially in diseases that can't be easily placed into nice, neat diagnosis categories, is that one or more chronic infections may be involved.  Infections like Mycoplasma, among others, target nerve cells and the synovia (tissue lining the joints) and cause many problems, often without yielding a complete diagnosis.

You should probably be checked for a number of these common chronic infections (Mycoplasma, Chlamydia pn., Borrelia, etc.)

Prof. Garth Nicolson

[iris986]

Lupus bloodwork can go back and forth from negative to positive one minute and bounce back again the next.

I am currently diagnosed with UCTD, but my doctor considers it Lupus like syndrome with a little Fibromyalgia because my bloodwork also was positive and one year later became negative even though all the pain and spasms are still there. I am currently being treated with 8 mg of Methyl/Prednisione a day to keep the muscle pain down and Mobic for the nerve pain in my knees that just started a month ago. my symptoms started 2 years ago and I have tried Methotrexate and Lyrica but reacted to both. New symptoms have cropped up-double vision and blurred vision and droopy eyes muscle weakness and they will be testing me for Myasthenia Gravis this coming Monday

It is the sun that causes the rashes, I believe it is called discoid Lupus when the rashes are on the body or limbs.

I have also lost more than 60% of my hair, have GERD, been diagnosed with focal seizures that only seem to affect my eyes.

I applied for disability 1 and a half years ago and have been turned down twice and my next Disability Hearing is March 2nd. The reason they turned me down the first two times was because I am only 47 years old. Getting disability is a roll of the dice. I am female and was a truck driver for 13 years before I got Thyroid cancer and had a total thyroidectomy and all these Autoimmune diseases. Now all I do is sit at home and stare at four walls and wait for the next doctors visit.