Is this lupus?

I am 26 years old and have 3 children......I have always had popping joints and fluid/swelling in joints but within the last month it has gotten vary bad to where I have landed in urgentcare/er twice!!   Here are my symptoms and I am at a loss......Fatigue,painful muscles/bones and joints, joint swelling,headaches,stiff joints,I have a weird rash on my calp does not hurt just raised bumps and red in color or flesh colored, acne flare ups every once in a while but are very bad!!, I also had some labs done and they showed my kidney function was very elevated!!......I did ave some xrays done and they were negative but did show I had some muscle spasm, I sometimes can go a few months where I have no flare ups and just a little soreness all over my body, then sometimes I have these flare ups to where I cannot stand to walk/bend or lift my children......I was in er with sudden flank pain and was told I probably passed a kidney stone..........I am  trying to get in with a new doctor asap to get a diagnosis I find that my joint pain and stiffness is the worst and most bothersome I can tell you that there is not a day that goes by that my joints in my knees,fingers,neck,back,hands and feet do not pop every time I bend or move, and the joint swelling only flares up at times and is very very painful.....what could this be?   My ana at the urgent care was normal is it common to have false negatives?   Please help!!    I also have had swollen lymph nodes in my neck for quite sometime now and have even taken abx for them and they will not go down.....

[holly20092]

I also forgot to add that I have easy bruising all over.......sometimes it is worse then others.

[karajo]

Hi Holly,
So sorry to hear that you are not feeling well.  
For starters, it is not uncommon for the ANA to be either low or negetive and still have lupus.  Many times drs. are looking for specific things and the dx is a process that sometimes takes a while.  

There are 11 criteria for a lupus dx.  You must have at least 4 of the 11 to recieve a dx.

They are:
1. malar rash over cheeks (butterfly rash) (74%)
2. discoid rash, red raised patches
3. photosensitivity - reaction to sunlight, resulting in skin rash (50%)
4. oral and nose ulcers
5. arthritis (95%)
6. serositis - inflamation (inflammation) of the lining of the lung or heart
7. reanl disorder - excessive protein in urine and/or cellular casts
8. neurologic disorder - seizures, or psychosis
9. anemia or low white blood count or lymphopenia or low platelet count
10. positive ANA
11. positive anti-DNA or anti-Sm, or antiphospholipid antibody or false pos. syphilis test

Other symptoms are:
fever (90-95%)
abdominal pain
chest pain
shortness of breath
blood in urine
hair falling out (27%)
fatigue (90%)
muscle pain and weakness (90%)
dizziness
poor memory
headaches
poor circulation in fingers and toes
tingling in extremities
diarrhea
bloating
nausea
weight loss
blurred vision
depression
palpitations
raynauds (where fingers turn white when cold)
intollerance to cold
sore throat
lymph node swelling (50%)
...to name a few

Keep in mind that fibromyalgia, CFS, MS and lymes disease also have similar symptoms.