auto immune?

[minilover36]

I need help figuring out if I have any sort of disease. First of all I am a 23 year old active female. Never had any medical issues. The only prescription I take is Apri ( a birth control).

I have several symptoms. One is that I am very thirsty and have dry eye, hot flashes, dry sinuses and have all of a sudden became slightly near sighted and now wear glasses. My eye doctor said he thinks I have an autoimmune disease so I went to see another doctor and my gyno. Ive had the following panels:

Thyroid panel with TSH
Sjogren's Ab, Anti-SS-A/SS-B
infection
sugar test
metabolic panel
lipid panel

Everything came out normal. So now all I can do is constantly moisturize my nose with saline, use eye drops, and drink lots of water..  My eyes were the worst symptom. At one point I could hardly keep my eyes open b/c  of the burning. My eye doctor plugged my ducts and gave me a steroid wich made it now bearable.

Any ideas on what I may have.?

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? I hope you are feeling better this week. Were you able to go to your eye doctor? I recommend that you also check with your rheumatologist for further evaluation. Do keep us posted. Take care always.

[ErinBBC]

Actually rheumatologists are also autoimmune disease specialists, not just arthritis doctors.  They can diagnose things like lupus, MS, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, etc.  So if you are concerned that you have an autoimmune problem, they'd be the ones to go see.

I'd make an appointment ASAP, they often have long waiting lists.

E

[minilover36]

Thanks for the comments. My eyes are hurting so bad the past two days. I can hardly look at the computer. Hopefully I can get an appt with my eye doc. next week. Im going to ask him about the TSH panels again. I hope I can figure this out! Im going crazy and Ive been so exhausted all week for no reason.

As far as family history, my mother, grandmother, and aunt all have hypothyroidism so I thought I had that for sure but like i said i was tested normal. My mom also has fybromalgia and bad joints. One doc suggested me to see a rheumetologist, but I havent had any joint problems before and felt I had no reason to go.

Wish me luck. Ill post if i find anything out.

[Dr Santos]

Hi,
How are you? It is good that the tests were normal. Blood tests that indicate the presence of inflammation may suggest an autoimmune disorder. Additional tests such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) , blood tests to detect different antibodies - antinuclear antibodies,  rheumatoid factor or anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies may be indicated. It is important that the result of these tests be correlated with your signs and symptoms. Your complete medical history may also help since some autoimmune disorders or susceptibility to autoimmune disorders may be inherited. Take care and do keep us posted.

[FurballsMom]

The trick is getting the doctors to agree to testing more than the TSH panel, because most won't do this if the TSH panel comes back normal.  This is the frustration I have run across.

I have since read that even if one's thyroid tests normal that this doesn't guarantee that there isn't an issue with the thyroid.

[selmaS]

Hi...saw u were tested for thyroid, but if it is an autoimmune thyroid issue looking at TSH only will not show it....u need to have them also look at free T 3 and free T 4 ...TPO antibodies and TSH....

Until u r tested correctly and thoroughly can u know for sure what u may have but I did find it is difficult to get tested correctly for Hashimoto's which is a autoimmune thyroid disorder.

Good luck
"selma"

[ErinBBC]

Hi,
There is a condition called Sjogren's Syndrome that includes the following symptoms:

        * a dry, gritty or burning sensation in the eyes
        * dry nose/sinuses
        * dry mouth
        * difficulty talking, chewing or swallowing
        * a sore or cracked tongue
        * dry or burning throat
        * dry or peeling lips
        * a change in taste or smell
        * increased dental decay
        * joint pain
        * vaginal and skin dryness
        * digestive problems
        * fatigue

Since you have many of these symptoms, I'd ask your doc about it.

Keep us posted,
E