Posted by KB on May 21, 2002, at 23:04:05
In reply to Re: KB- question for you and anyone else » Marie416, posted by SandraDee on May 21, 2002, at 16:19:02
1) There are "artificial saliva" products available. Also a drug - that I am about to start - pilocarpine, which stimulates the salivary gland. It can have side effects, but I will let you know how it goes.
2) Lupus is partly diagnosed by a blood test, the ANA (anti-nuclear antibody) - but since a positive ANA can mean other things, the ANA is combined with symptoms to form the diagnosis. Symptoms can be severe fatigue, joint swelling and pain, strange rashes esp. on the face and/or in response to sun exposure, hair loss, chest pain - Lupus symptoms tend to come and go and are si,ilar to many other things, so diagnosis can be tricky. Anyone with a positive ANA should be seen by a rheumatologist.
3) The symptoms you describe sound like blood sugar problems - have you had a glucose tolerance test? It's icky -you have to drink a lot of very sweet stuff - but it might give you some answers.
poster:KB
thread:24133
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20020517/msgs/24265.html