Hello there! I joined the forum as I'm pretty sure I've got Lupus. I'm 34, my name's Leah and I've had quite ill health ever since I was attacked by a customer at my work place last October. From November onwards it started- I had flu and a cold, and a chest infection with each but I just couldn't shake the last one. Fatigue set in and I'd come home from work, make myself a sandwich as I was too tired to cook and crawl under the duvet to sob my heart out. By January I couldn't do it anymore and walked out of my job. As well as being attacked and having no support from my boss (he even tried to dissuade me from reporting it) I'd been doing 2 people's jobs for 9 months and was trying to cram a 70 hour workload into a 40 hour week. My mind started to go, I couldn't concentrate and I kept making stupid mistakes.
I spent the next couple of months looking for a job and feeling something wasn't right with me. I didn't feel able to work and struggled with feelings akin to depression, I suppose.
Then came April, and on the day of my 34th birthday my life changed. I was having a weekend away with my boyfriend and closest friends to celebrate my birthday when suddenly I couldn't walk. To lift one foot in front of the other made me cry, and as well as that there was a slowing down feeling of stiffness in my hips like I was wading through treacle. That night in the hotel my fella had to lift my legs into bed as even trying to get into bed made me cry. I woke up the next day and I was drenched with sweat. I'd had a night sweat and there was a stain on the sheet the size of my torso. I'd also developed a ret, hot, raised rash on my face.
Fast forward 10 weeks and I'm waiting for my 2nd specialists appointment on July 17th. My doc initially thought I had Sarcoid as I had 2 raised blood tests, one an ACE and the other I can't remember. Chest x ray proved neg. Now I'm being tested for Lupus and RA amonsgt other things, having had 5 more bloods taken and done 2 24 hour urine collections.
My symptoms were these up until the end of May when I first saw the specialist:
Dizzy spells
IBS like symptoms
Occasional abdominal pain/bloating
Pain in inside legs-difficult to walk/life legs occasionally
Night sweats
Red hot rash on cheeks either side of nose
Joint pain/stiffness
Morning stiffness/backache
Weakness- not able to lift/open things as used to do
‘Slowing’ down feeling in joints when walking 20 minutes or more
Pins and needles all over body/head- like insects crawling
Heavy pulses/muscle spasms
Jabbing pains in jaw, elbows, collarbone, hips which can last hours
Sore tender breasts
Profuse sweating at minimal exercise/no exercise even if I don’t feel hot
Cold hands
Claw-like fingers after carrying heavy shopping-have to bend them back
White ends of fingers also- blood comes back 30-60 mins later and burns
Hard to concentrate some days- keep losing my thread
Get my words in a twist
Keep leaving lights on/oven on- forgetful
Trouble breathing, even after something as simple as bending down
Wheezing
Muscle burn across back, shoulders and arms on exertion with radiating heat and sweats
Keep wetting myself- need to urinate comes on so strongly I can’t get there in time
Cry at the drop of a hat, usually every day
Difficulty sleeping with pulses, pains etc going on
No energy most of the day but feel livelier towards evening sometimes
On exertion feel terrible next day- if I walk a couple of miles one day I’m useless the next
Ones which have manifested since then are:
Shaking left hand
Bumps under skin on arms
Dizzy spells have got much worse
Red rash on boob- starts off like broken blood vessels, then raises up off the skin like a spot or a bite, before going down gradually over a period of days (have had it twice in 2 weeks)
Swollen legs, ankles and feet- rock solid like an overstuffed sausage
Sores up my nose
So yeah. Life is pretty miserable.
I think I'm depressed as some days I can't even face going out, whether or not I'm in pain. The washing machine never stops. If I haven't peed myself I've sweated so much I change my clothes at least twice a day. The social haven't started paying me Incapacity even though it's been 6 weeks since my sick note went off and I'm having to sell loads of stuff on Ebay to get by. They sent me a letter on saturday asking me to reiterate a load of information which was on the original form- all because I do 3 hours voluntary work (when I feel up to it).
Do I get a prize for the longest post ever??? Ha ha :lol:
Look forward to 'meeting' you all
P.S I have underactive thyroid which is under control and have been tested for diabetes etc already.
I spent the next couple of months looking for a job and feeling something wasn't right with me. I didn't feel able to work and struggled with feelings akin to depression, I suppose.
Then came April, and on the day of my 34th birthday my life changed. I was having a weekend away with my boyfriend and closest friends to celebrate my birthday when suddenly I couldn't walk. To lift one foot in front of the other made me cry, and as well as that there was a slowing down feeling of stiffness in my hips like I was wading through treacle. That night in the hotel my fella had to lift my legs into bed as even trying to get into bed made me cry. I woke up the next day and I was drenched with sweat. I'd had a night sweat and there was a stain on the sheet the size of my torso. I'd also developed a ret, hot, raised rash on my face.
Fast forward 10 weeks and I'm waiting for my 2nd specialists appointment on July 17th. My doc initially thought I had Sarcoid as I had 2 raised blood tests, one an ACE and the other I can't remember. Chest x ray proved neg. Now I'm being tested for Lupus and RA amonsgt other things, having had 5 more bloods taken and done 2 24 hour urine collections.
My symptoms were these up until the end of May when I first saw the specialist:
Dizzy spells
IBS like symptoms
Occasional abdominal pain/bloating
Pain in inside legs-difficult to walk/life legs occasionally
Night sweats
Red hot rash on cheeks either side of nose
Joint pain/stiffness
Morning stiffness/backache
Weakness- not able to lift/open things as used to do
‘Slowing’ down feeling in joints when walking 20 minutes or more
Pins and needles all over body/head- like insects crawling
Heavy pulses/muscle spasms
Jabbing pains in jaw, elbows, collarbone, hips which can last hours
Sore tender breasts
Profuse sweating at minimal exercise/no exercise even if I don’t feel hot
Cold hands
Claw-like fingers after carrying heavy shopping-have to bend them back
White ends of fingers also- blood comes back 30-60 mins later and burns
Hard to concentrate some days- keep losing my thread
Get my words in a twist
Keep leaving lights on/oven on- forgetful
Trouble breathing, even after something as simple as bending down
Wheezing
Muscle burn across back, shoulders and arms on exertion with radiating heat and sweats
Keep wetting myself- need to urinate comes on so strongly I can’t get there in time
Cry at the drop of a hat, usually every day
Difficulty sleeping with pulses, pains etc going on
No energy most of the day but feel livelier towards evening sometimes
On exertion feel terrible next day- if I walk a couple of miles one day I’m useless the next
Ones which have manifested since then are:
Shaking left hand
Bumps under skin on arms
Dizzy spells have got much worse
Red rash on boob- starts off like broken blood vessels, then raises up off the skin like a spot or a bite, before going down gradually over a period of days (have had it twice in 2 weeks)
Swollen legs, ankles and feet- rock solid like an overstuffed sausage
Sores up my nose
So yeah. Life is pretty miserable.
I think I'm depressed as some days I can't even face going out, whether or not I'm in pain. The washing machine never stops. If I haven't peed myself I've sweated so much I change my clothes at least twice a day. The social haven't started paying me Incapacity even though it's been 6 weeks since my sick note went off and I'm having to sell loads of stuff on Ebay to get by. They sent me a letter on saturday asking me to reiterate a load of information which was on the original form- all because I do 3 hours voluntary work (when I feel up to it).
Do I get a prize for the longest post ever??? Ha ha :lol:
Look forward to 'meeting' you all
P.S I have underactive thyroid which is under control and have been tested for diabetes etc already.