:worried:Hi Virginia,
I'm glad that you have a result that is "clearer" for you.
I have to say that I don't spend too much time trying to interpret my blood test results. With lupus they are only a tiny tiny part of the picture and if your rheumy is sure you have lupus then that's good enough for me.
It took months in my case for anything semi-coherent to come up in blood tests and even when it did it was very complex. Thankfully I had been treated for a while at that stage having tested positive on a skin biopsy earlier, so with that plus the clinical signs I had my diagnosis.
I think it is only natural to question a diagnosis. I'm sure that even those who have been coming here for ten years still keep thinking that someone is going to turn around and UNdiagnose them. Maybe that's down to the difficulty of getting someone to take us seriously in the first place, never mind diagnois. Maybe it's the "I hope I'll wake up and it's all a bad dream syndrome".
You mentionned steroids and having them increased for your holiday (in my experience a very good idea - wish more rheumies understood it) but do you actually take anything else, as in plaquenil?
It would be good to be on plaquenil and/or another disease modifying drug in the hope of coming down on and maybe off those steroids at some stage. Did your rheumy mention anything about that? I mean, maybe you have already tried other drugs and you reacted badly or maybe you're taking something else and didn't mention it? Maybe I should take the time and read all your past posts before asking questions...you'll forgive me but I'm too tired today!
all the best,
Katharine
I'm glad that you have a result that is "clearer" for you.
I have to say that I don't spend too much time trying to interpret my blood test results. With lupus they are only a tiny tiny part of the picture and if your rheumy is sure you have lupus then that's good enough for me.
It took months in my case for anything semi-coherent to come up in blood tests and even when it did it was very complex. Thankfully I had been treated for a while at that stage having tested positive on a skin biopsy earlier, so with that plus the clinical signs I had my diagnosis.
I think it is only natural to question a diagnosis. I'm sure that even those who have been coming here for ten years still keep thinking that someone is going to turn around and UNdiagnose them. Maybe that's down to the difficulty of getting someone to take us seriously in the first place, never mind diagnois. Maybe it's the "I hope I'll wake up and it's all a bad dream syndrome".
You mentionned steroids and having them increased for your holiday (in my experience a very good idea - wish more rheumies understood it) but do you actually take anything else, as in plaquenil?
It would be good to be on plaquenil and/or another disease modifying drug in the hope of coming down on and maybe off those steroids at some stage. Did your rheumy mention anything about that? I mean, maybe you have already tried other drugs and you reacted badly or maybe you're taking something else and didn't mention it? Maybe I should take the time and read all your past posts before asking questions...you'll forgive me but I'm too tired today!
all the best,
Katharine
