It could be lupus... But lupus can be extremely difficult to diagnose. You can be tested once and it will be negative, and after 3 ,7, 10 times it will finally be a positive, I would see a nephrologist, and go over your symptoms. And be prepared for some negative tests... But then again... It might not be lupus either. Thats one of the bad parts of lupus, is getting it diagnosed :(
good luck, I hope you get it all figured out.
Summer

My sister is 42 years old and was diagnosed with discoid lupus 15 years ago. Her symptoms are as follows:-

- lesions on arms, legs, face, under feet and finger nails and inside ears
- recent incontinence (8 months to 1 year)
- loss of control/numbness in 1 leg below knee so she uses a walker
- loss of hair including eyebrows

she has been on plaqunil and prednisone for almost all the time since she's been diagnosed, yet she doesn't seem to be getting better. Yet in visit after visit to her doctor, her internal organs are fine, blood pressure, eyesight, etc excellent. Dr says he sees no reason why she's as debilitated as she is.

We're at our wits end, can anyone recommed a good dermatologist in the atlanta area, what about a lupus expert. I don't know if her symptoms are side effects of the medication. She stays at home in bed all day and seems unwilling to fight for her health. Yet she eats like a horse, maybe a side effect as well.

I have done quite a bit of research but I have yet to come across a patient with her combined symptoms. Please give some advice that I can pass on to her.

Hi. I was diagnosed june 2003 and prior to that, my mom was diagnosed in the spring of 1997. I have recently been experiencing chest pains and extreme bloating in my abdomen that initially started about a year ago and it has become progressive the last few months. The pain sometimes radiates through my chest to my back on both sides and in the center sometimes. I also have started to have heart flutters that come on a few times a day. When I have these pains I have to take short breathes and be careful not to breathe to deep or hard to not worsen the pain. These episodes usually last about a minute. I have also been experiencing servere back pain also. Upon my diagnosis I underwent a kidney biopsy that I believe has left adhesion scares that cause my back pain. But who knows, I have not had any formal tests to pinpont the problems and I have been complaining to my doctors about this for 2 years now. The fatigue and migratory arthritic pain is very common for people with lupus. Its a very frustrating disease!!! Frustrating to diagnose and treat and live with.


It's hard to get your doctors to listen sometimes and I have changed my primary care physician and my rhuemy since my initial diagnosis, was having luck with the new ones, but now they seem to be going deaf on me. I have had two dvt's (blood clots/ deep vein thrombosis) one during the summer of 2003 (september) and another the summer of 2004 (august). I just pray that I do not have another one this year. I have been on blood thinnners for the past two years and it was a shock last year to find out that I indeed had an extensive dvt case (had the old ones, some new ones, that were described as a string of clots) with no swelling only a small twinge of pain which was very different from the first time. Afterwards my doctor had to up my dosage of blood thinner med. I am feeling some similar symptoms of dvt like last year and when I went to my doctor last month and told him this and suggested that I have a ultrasound to check, he brushed it off and said that I shouldn't have any problems because I have been on blood thinners. But I was on blood thinners the year before last and had to be hospitalized again for them. The following week he calls me back to tell me that my blood test came back showing that my blood was too thick (pt/inr 1.6, when it should be at 3 and no less than 2.5). He doubled the dose of blood thinner med. I am at a lose because I don't seem to be your textbook case for dvt treatment and my doctor is still trying to fit me into this mold.

Cscott, would your sister consider taking a trip to charleston south carolina to the medical university of south carolina? That's were I go, I travel almost an hour and a half but it's worth it. They are a research institution and they are touted as staying on the cutting edge of lupus treatment as well as many other diseases. It may be worth a try but the trip will be an all day thing from atlanta (about 4 or 5 hours).

I have also been doing research on natural herbs that can help symptoms. I have found some good reading on Herbalhealer.Com about colon cleansing, parasite infestations within the body that causes illnesses, and also candida infections with have been found in all cases of lupus, cancer, fribromyalga, ect. I would advise you to go to their site, search key words like: lupus, candida, parasite, colon cleanse, detox and also request a free catalog because the catalog has some extensive information for you to read in it even if you don't want to purchase nay of their products. Just good information to know..... After reading and doing some research I am convinced that these ruthless diseases are appearing out of no where by the droves for some reason. Food, infections, pesticides, and sluggish digestive tracts that allow parasites, infections and other contaminants to take over our body's systems and throw them off. I am going to start with a colon cleanse, then a parasite cleanse, and then move on to ridding myself of the candida infection. Don't know if it will help, but i'm going to try it and I just wanted to share. Please be reminded that anything you do as far as treatment should be run by your doctor. I'll let you know how things work out for me. The cleanses with take about 4 months to complete. I'll let you know how I feel then.