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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by spriggy on September 22, 2005, at 13:28:44
My dr. had her partner come in with her to evaluate me.My fevers have been chronic now for about 9 weeks. They were chronic before and then disappeared for a few months- then came back.
I've had swollen lymph glands since, a goiter on my thyroid, sore throats periodically, and the last 10 days I've had several strange rashes appear.
Anyway, this facial rash apparently is the classic "butterfly"/malar rash for lupus. My doctor is now convinced it is indeed lupus.
They did not do a spinal tap- instead they are sending me to a rheumatologist.
They ran 4 more tubes of blood (pretty soon, I'll have none left).
So... the present conclusion is Epstein Barr and likely a lupus flare.
I have to go on steriods.
Not happy about that.
Other than that, all they can do is hydrocodone for aches/pains/fever. The stuff doesn't really help me, just makes me feel like I'm in a brain fog.
I just really, really want to feel totally well again.
Oh and Tamara J- they ran ANOTHER thyroid panel yesterday, I have no idea *what* exactly. My TSH is always considered normal, I did have an elevated T3 once. Other than that, it always looks fine on paper.
Thanks for the advice though. You are a sweetie.
Posted by thuso on September 25, 2005, at 0:25:48
In reply to My Dr. Appointment (Oh and TamaraJ), posted by spriggy on September 22, 2005, at 13:28:44
> Oh and Tamara J- they ran ANOTHER thyroid panel yesterday, I have no idea *what* exactly. My TSH is always considered normal, I did have an elevated T3 once. Other than that, it always looks fine on paper.
>If you haven't already, you really need to get a copy of the lab results. What your doctor calls "normal" may not be. Labs still list TSH ranges way too high. As I'm sure you've read in other posts, the labs still use a range up to 5 as normal. The new normal range is now up to 3. And even if your thyroids tests come back as normal, what will really determine if you have a thyroid problem is the antibody test. My thyroid levels have never been above 5, but my antibodies are sky high and I feel a lot of symptoms like yours when I'm not taking thyroid meds. Everyone is different, but the antibodies test won't lie.
And I'm glad to hear you didn't have to have a spinal tap. I'm asusming they were thinking of doing it to rule out meningitis (sp?).
Good luck! I know how you feel. Until I finally found a doctor willing to put me on thyroid meds, I was having a lot of the same symptoms you were. Not a fun way to live!!!
Posted by spriggy on September 25, 2005, at 19:49:36
In reply to Re: My Dr. Appointment (Oh and TamaraJ) » spriggy, posted by thuso on September 25, 2005, at 0:25:48
This is the end of the thread.
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