LUPUS SYMPTOMS

CindyLou · Tadpole Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

Does anyone know why symptoms of CFS and Lupus are so much alike?

These are my symptoms:

fevers around 99.9 up to over 100
extreme fatigue (which is probably related to low blood volume)
raynaud's syndrome
rash on face
sun sensitivity
low white count
ANA always positive
pattern always changes
red count borderline

Now these are all CFS as well as Lupus symptoms. How do you ever know what you have?

CindyLou

hatlady · Tiger Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 864 Location: Illinois

You've hit the nail on the head. Almost ALL the autoimune conditions have some or many overlapping symptoms! Rheumies can tell by specific indicators that only one or another has, and by lab tests. The ANA, sed rates, and other tests will give stronger indication of lupus rather than CFS or RA or something else.

Your symptoms are similar to mine. I have almost never had the fever, though, and the rash on my face turned out to be rosacea. But my docs are treating me for lupus. I've found the plaquenil and some pain killers and holistic remedies have relieved many of the other symptoms, and my big hat plus sunscreen and long sleeves has relieved the sun sensitivity!

Medicine is as much art as science, I think, and a good doc is therefore hard to find. You need one who can LISTEN, who can decide the right lab tests, and who can help guide you onto a path that will lead to better health.

CindyLou · Tadpole Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

Thanks for your reply. I have read alot about autoimmune conditions that overlap with all the symptoms. I've had CFS for 7 years, but all of a sudden just in this year I've had two new symptoms.

That's why I had been wondering about Lupus. I know CFS people get Raynaud's. I never had that before till this winter. I know CFS people get sun sensitivity which I never had out of 7 years till a couple months ago.

Now this past week I started getting pain in my right pinky where the knuckle bends. If you touch that part, it hurts and sometimes it even hurts when it's not touched. Then, when I try to do my knitting, the pinky hurts so much like pain and stiff but I still bend it do my knitting. It's not stiff, but it feels like a pain with stiffness. I'm going to tell my Rheumy when I go next week.

Does that mean I probably have inflammation or not necessarily. I've never had this so I was just wondering if it would show up in SED rate. My SED rate has always been low.

CindyLou

hatlady · Tiger Joined: 16 Oct 2004 Posts: 864 Location: Illinois

You may have some inflamation in your pinky, but that could be from just about anything - including repetitive motion strain from the knitting!

Add that to the list of things to talk to your doc about. That, the new symptom of Raynauds, the increased sun sentitivity. All the pieces help the doc add up to a diagnosis.

Until then, try some warm compresses on the pinky, and stay out of the sun. The Raynauds, stay away from sudden cold things - it might even be that air conditioning will bother you - but you'll need to experiment with that. If the Raynauds is significant, there are meds to control it.

Hugs --

skbird · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 8:44 am Post subject:

Hi! I get that kind of pinkie pain in my fingers and toes, often just one or two or part of one or two at a time. The last week the bottom of my right big toe has been like that, in the pad of it, and my ring finger on the right. I also had this a lot for the four years I was going through Raynaud's phenomenon - that hasn't acted up in me in a few years but now I'm waiting for it, since my hands and feet have been having joint pains/aches/stiffness. It's a weird feeling, isn't it?
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Stephanie