6 ms·

Have you ruled out Lupus and other autoimmune disorders? A relative of mine has some of the same symptoms and has determined it is an autoimmune disease. One

by jmintz 16y ago

Have you ruled out Lupus and other autoimmune disorders? A relative of mine has some of the same symptoms and has determined it is an autoimmune disease. One of the few things I know is that they can be very hard to diagnose. I will get their advice and pass it along. They have flown all over the country visiting a myriad of doctors and finally found a good one at the Cleveland Clinic, so at least you are close to good medical care.

tomstuart 16y ago
It's never lupus.
- jmintz 16y ago
  Even on House people have gotten Lupus. "It's never Lupus" is what made it so hard for Dr. House to diagnose. ;)
  - whimsy 16y ago
    This is actually a sort of running joke related to House. Lupus is a common suggestion on House, particularly during a specific season, even though it's never Lupus. Until, like you said, it is.
savemylife 16y ago
I can't say that I've been tested for Lupus, but I've had a battery of tests from an endocrinologist (well, a few of them, actually). He found only Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which supposedly is under control according to my bloodwork, and an "elevated IgA", whatever that means. A difficult aspect of this is being so brain-fogged that I have a hard time even remembering what I've been tested for, or what any of it means. I can practically walk to the Cleveland Clinic from here, so I'd very much appreciate getting a reference to a good doc if you know of one (the one I saw there wasn't that helpful). Thank you, jmintz.
- jmintz 16y ago
  I am wracking my brain to try to remember these conversations from a couple years ago, but I am pretty sure you can't test for Lupus if you have Hashimoto's (and it's pretty hard to test for Lupus anyways). They just eliminated so many other things that they started treating them for Lupus and it helped enough they decided that is what it was. I will try to get more info from the source soon.
  - carbocation 16y ago
    That sounds incorrect. Lupus and Hashimoto's can coexist. It's not something I know all that much about, but if anything, Hashimoto's, like many autoimmune diseases, is associated positively with others: http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/203965646-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=22862642&sid=0/N/733434/1.html?issn=0002-9343 http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/203965646-2/jorg=j... Among those with Hashimoto's, the relative risk for having lupus is 6.23-20.0. Thus, Hashimoto's is positively predictive. There is no reason that an inflammatory thyroiditis should mask ANA, anti-Ro, anti-La, etc. (If there is, though, please do tell me about it because that would be some very useful knowledge.)
    - jmintz 16y ago
      You could very well be correct, I am trying to remember something I heard second hand a couple of years ago. But I emailed my relative who went through all this to find out exactly what happened. And I am pretty sure they have both Hashimoto's and Lupus, it was just that Hashimoto's made it more difficult to detect Lupus.
- neurotech1 16y ago
  A large number of autoimmune conditions, including lupus, can be mediated by steroids such as prednisone - have you tried immunosuppression meds or other steroids?

by jmintz 16y ago

tomstuart 16y ago

It's never lupus.

jmintz 16y ago
Even on House people have gotten Lupus. "It's never Lupus" is what made it so hard for Dr. House to diagnose. ;)
- whimsy 16y ago
  This is actually a sort of running joke related to House. Lupus is a common suggestion on House, particularly during a specific season, even though it's never Lupus. Until, like you said, it is.

savemylife 16y ago

I can't say that I've been tested for Lupus, but I've had a battery of tests from an endocrinologist (well, a few of them, actually). He found only Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which supposedly is under control according to my bloodwork, and an "elevated IgA", whatever that means. A difficult aspect of this is being so brain-fogged that I have a hard time even remembering what I've been tested for, or what any of it means. I can practically walk to the Cleveland Clinic from here, so I'd very much appreciate getting a reference to a good doc if you know of one (the one I saw there wasn't that helpful). Thank you, jmintz.

jmintz 16y ago
I am wracking my brain to try to remember these conversations from a couple years ago, but I am pretty sure you can't test for Lupus if you have Hashimoto's (and it's pretty hard to test for Lupus anyways). They just eliminated so many other things that they started treating them for Lupus and it helped enough they decided that is what it was. I will try to get more info from the source soon.
- carbocation 16y ago
  That sounds incorrect. Lupus and Hashimoto's can coexist. It's not something I know all that much about, but if anything, Hashimoto's, like many autoimmune diseases, is associated positively with others: http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/203965646-2/jorg=journal&source=&sp=22862642&sid=0/N/733434/1.html?issn=0002-9343 http://www.mdconsult.com/das/article/body/203965646-2/jorg=j... Among those with Hashimoto's, the relative risk for having lupus is 6.23-20.0. Thus, Hashimoto's is positively predictive. There is no reason that an inflammatory thyroiditis should mask ANA, anti-Ro, anti-La, etc. (If there is, though, please do tell me about it because that would be some very useful knowledge.)
  - jmintz 16y ago
    You could very well be correct, I am trying to remember something I heard second hand a couple of years ago. But I emailed my relative who went through all this to find out exactly what happened. And I am pretty sure they have both Hashimoto's and Lupus, it was just that Hashimoto's made it more difficult to detect Lupus.
neurotech1 16y ago
A large number of autoimmune conditions, including lupus, can be mediated by steroids such as prednisone - have you tried immunosuppression meds or other steroids?