Hi,
Here's a brief history of my situation- I've been having auto-immune symptoms for over 12 years, and am still trying to get a complete diagnosis. I was initially told I had depression or possibly chronic fatigue syndrome, and had many negative mono tests. I got tired of doctors telling me it was all in my head, and stop seeking treatment for a few years. I even started to think maybe it was normal to feel awful all the time and I just needed to toughen up.
I did have a few kidney infections during this time, and was put on antibiotic for my entire first pregnancy due to repeated UTIs. After my daugther was born 4 years ago, my symptoms got much worse, mostly severe joint pain, and fatigue, and I had a miscarriage about 1 year after my daughter was born. I went to a new doctor, who strongly suspected I had RA, but found I had a positive ANA, high Anti TPO AB, and slightly elevated thyroid (TSH), but negative RF. I was givien a referral to an endocrinologist and rheumatologist. The endo gave me a diagnosis of Hashimoto's and has been monitoring my thyroid levels. Most of the time, they stay normal, but occasionally (usually when my other symptoms flare up) I have become hypothyroid, so he decided to put me on a very low dose of Synthroid, which I still take.
The rheumatologist discovered I had low vitamin D, but said I had no other reasons for him to treat me. About a year ago, I became pregnant again, and was again put on antibiotics for UTI. That pregnancy ended in another miscarriage, and my gynecologist referrered me to a new rheumatologist. The new rheumatologist has done a few sets of tests and this week suggested he believes I may have Lupus.
Most recently, my symptoms have been fatigue, joint pain in my hands and knees, vasculitis, bruising, petechiae and numbness in my legs, Raynaud's and very irregular menstral cycles. I started a Medrol pack today to see if it helps, but from looking at my test results, I'm not exactly sure what he thinks indicated Lupus. I woud love any feedback you might have for me. Of course, I know that need to work with my doctor to get an accurate diagnosis, but there are so many knowledgable people on this boards that I thought you might be able to offer some additional information for me to consider.
My most recent test results are as follows (abnormal results are red):
ANA- 1:640, homogeneous and atypical speckled
Anti-centromere, Anti-SCL, Anti-SM, Anti-RNP, Anti-RO, Anti-LA, Anti-DNA, Anti-chromatin- all negative
Complement C3- 86 (79-152 range)
Complement C4- 14 (16-47 range)
Rheum factor- negative
Citrulline AB- 5 (no normal range given?, but this was highlighted on my results?)
Thyroid Microsomal AB- 409 (0-35 range)
Cardiolipin IGG, IGA and IGM- all negative
Lupus anticoagulant- negative
Beta 2 Glycoprotein IgA, IgG, IgM- negative
Leiden factor- negative
Thank you all in advance for any help you can offer!
Shelly
Here's a brief history of my situation- I've been having auto-immune symptoms for over 12 years, and am still trying to get a complete diagnosis. I was initially told I had depression or possibly chronic fatigue syndrome, and had many negative mono tests. I got tired of doctors telling me it was all in my head, and stop seeking treatment for a few years. I even started to think maybe it was normal to feel awful all the time and I just needed to toughen up.
I did have a few kidney infections during this time, and was put on antibiotic for my entire first pregnancy due to repeated UTIs. After my daugther was born 4 years ago, my symptoms got much worse, mostly severe joint pain, and fatigue, and I had a miscarriage about 1 year after my daughter was born. I went to a new doctor, who strongly suspected I had RA, but found I had a positive ANA, high Anti TPO AB, and slightly elevated thyroid (TSH), but negative RF. I was givien a referral to an endocrinologist and rheumatologist. The endo gave me a diagnosis of Hashimoto's and has been monitoring my thyroid levels. Most of the time, they stay normal, but occasionally (usually when my other symptoms flare up) I have become hypothyroid, so he decided to put me on a very low dose of Synthroid, which I still take.
The rheumatologist discovered I had low vitamin D, but said I had no other reasons for him to treat me. About a year ago, I became pregnant again, and was again put on antibiotics for UTI. That pregnancy ended in another miscarriage, and my gynecologist referrered me to a new rheumatologist. The new rheumatologist has done a few sets of tests and this week suggested he believes I may have Lupus.
Most recently, my symptoms have been fatigue, joint pain in my hands and knees, vasculitis, bruising, petechiae and numbness in my legs, Raynaud's and very irregular menstral cycles. I started a Medrol pack today to see if it helps, but from looking at my test results, I'm not exactly sure what he thinks indicated Lupus. I woud love any feedback you might have for me. Of course, I know that need to work with my doctor to get an accurate diagnosis, but there are so many knowledgable people on this boards that I thought you might be able to offer some additional information for me to consider.
My most recent test results are as follows (abnormal results are red):
ANA- 1:640, homogeneous and atypical speckled
Anti-centromere, Anti-SCL, Anti-SM, Anti-RNP, Anti-RO, Anti-LA, Anti-DNA, Anti-chromatin- all negative
Complement C3- 86 (79-152 range)
Complement C4- 14 (16-47 range)
Rheum factor- negative
Citrulline AB- 5 (no normal range given?, but this was highlighted on my results?)
Thyroid Microsomal AB- 409 (0-35 range)
Cardiolipin IGG, IGA and IGM- all negative
Lupus anticoagulant- negative
Beta 2 Glycoprotein IgA, IgG, IgM- negative
Leiden factor- negative
Thank you all in advance for any help you can offer!
Shelly