Does this sound like Lupus to you?
I am autoimmune (hashi's) and was recently DX with fibromyalgia and am being referred to a Rheumatologist for further testing. Whatever it is, it's getting worse. I went to an Endo and he definitely thinks my symptoms are too severe to be caused by thyroid or fibromyalgia.
I have moderate aches and pains all over constantly. But i have "flare-ups" that last up to 6 weeks, during those times i have pain in my hips, thighs, shoulders, arms, wrists, fingers, neck.. extreme stiffness that never goes away and turns into severe pain by nightfall. I have GI problems constantly, every other day i am constipated and diarrhea always follows. I have been living on OTC heartburn meds! I have been suffering from infertility for over 3 years. During flare-ups the pain is so bad i have to call out of work, it literally feels like my legs are going to pop out of the sockets, i can't walk straight. My shoulders hurt so bad i can't lift anything, and most of all i have weakness in hips and shoulders/arms. I shake real bad if i try to lift anything over 10lbs so i ask for help. I call out of work because i can't walk straight. I am only 25 and sometimes im in so much pain.. RA runs in my family but i don't get any redness or swelling of my joints. My lower back has hurt all week and ive been taking muscle relaxer and applying heat to the area, but it seems to have gotten worse overnight. I can't bend over today.
I could go on and on and on with symptoms.. but I really think in the end i will end up with Lupus. Do you think that is what it sounds like??
Public Comments
1. My mother has Lupus. It's not something that you get from other diseases. Most people are born with the gene (like my sister and I - who also have Lupus). There are 9 triggers you have to have before they even test you for Lupus - but it is a simple blood test.... ask for one. Any doctor should be more than happy to run the test for you.2. To be honest you should only take this to a doctor. Asking someone (us) for a medical evaluation would not be correct no matter who gave you an answer. A doctor would not give you an opinion over the phone without seeing you and doing tests. There are many, many things that could be going on. Such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Rheumatoid A.. The worse thing you can do is 'stress out' over this. That can exacerbate the symptoms. Also, many people with Fibromyalgia have episodes that leave them bedridden for periods of time.
Are you going to a specialists? That is important as they spend all their time with patients with related issues such as this.
In the mean time; consider reading up on fibromyalgia and related diseases here on the internet. Consider the foods that make the condition worse: potatoes, green peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. They interfere with the enzymes in muscles and cause the joint pain to become more severe.
Also, many people do better on a vegetarian diet or at least cut out all meat except poultry and do better. Are you eating a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables and healthy whole grain fibers? Take care and I hope you do better soon.
3. FMS can get that bad...most docs are clueless
IBS is common with FMS...the fertility issues may just be a coincidence
i get tremors with fms by justing carrying something light (1 pound) for more than a few minutes
are you sure that isn't caused by Hashi's..the symtpoms do match..and there are issues with the thyroid meds not working right...only synthroid works correctly, the others are not stable....but even synthroid may not successfully treat the condition
4. Since you already have one autoimmune disease (Hashimoto's thyroiditis) and some believe fibromyalgia to also be autoimmune, the chances that you will have additional autoimmune conditions is higher than for a healthy person.
The symptoms you describe could be caused by a host of things. You need to make an appointment with a rheumatologist. No one can give you a reliable answer here.
www.rheumatology.org is a good place to start looking for one.
