hello there... Im in a quandry.. Ive been reading about how difficult it is to diagnose lupus. Ive been having a whole heap of relevent symptoms, fevers,fatigue,photo sensitivity,rashes sweats,sores in my nose and mouth,headaches.etc etc. So far Ive been diagnosed with temporal arteritis, on the grounds of a blood sediment rate of 70 and (as the doc put it) a false negative arterial biopsy result. What do I do to make them take note? I'm so glad that I've found a message board that I can have a good old fashioned moan at with people who understand. help me please.Hi there
Ask your doctor if he thinks there might be something autoimmune or systemic going on that connects all your symptoms. Ask him to run an ANA blood test (Anti Nuclear Antibody). A positive ANA is present in about 95% of people with Lupus (although its present in other conditions as well).
If the ANA is positive it should be enough to get you a referral to a Rheumatologist who can investigate further.
The other thing to do would be to ask your doctor for a referral to a dermatologist for your skin rashes. Lupus can be diagnosed through a skin biopsy and many people here on the board got their diagnosis through that route.
In the meantime keep a diary of all your symptoms and any pictures of rashes as this will help you down the road if you get a specialist referral.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on
Joan:rose:
Ask your doctor if he thinks there might be something autoimmune or systemic going on that connects all your symptoms. Ask him to run an ANA blood test (Anti Nuclear Antibody). A positive ANA is present in about 95% of people with Lupus (although its present in other conditions as well).
If the ANA is positive it should be enough to get you a referral to a Rheumatologist who can investigate further.
The other thing to do would be to ask your doctor for a referral to a dermatologist for your skin rashes. Lupus can be diagnosed through a skin biopsy and many people here on the board got their diagnosis through that route.
In the meantime keep a diary of all your symptoms and any pictures of rashes as this will help you down the road if you get a specialist referral.
Best of luck and let us know how you get on
Joan:rose:
