hi NEED ADVICE

Hi my name is Elizabeth I am going through the process of being DX. for lupas I had surgery on march 10/2005 i have lost quite a bit of wait I was feeling better. I got a job an had my first shift last night by the time the shift was over i was in so much pain i could not hardly walk . i dont know no what to do i have tested twice now for positve ana an the numbers go up! but the doctor said i had fibromyalgia and sent me on my way. i am very frustrated does any one have advice????

Hi Eliza I was dx in 2000 and have seen 5 rhumies in 5 years the fifth one was the jackpot, my lupus was not under control until i got this dr.If your dr is not doing what they should be fire them and get one that does. There is no reason you should have to be in pain!

Lupus often coinsides with fibromyalgia. You may have both, I do. If you are testing a posititive ANA what is your titer(if you are not sure what it is, just ask him a titer is something like a ratio of rotations for the cells in the blood to seperate while being tested.)? When you begin to flare, they typically go up. The higher the titer, the worse the flare...at least for me. It sounds to me like you need to seek a second, third or even fourth opinion. I haven't had a chance to check you profile but very often, Drs have a pre judged diagnosis prior to even meeting you. Lu*****mptoms generally begin to appear later in life 30-50. Personally I was diagnosed at 23y/o. It takes a long time for them to diagnose because it is different for everyone. Unfortunately I had kidney involvement (nephritis) which is what prompted them to pursue additional testing. It took about two years before they nailed it onto my chart as "LUPUS" AS for the pain, Daily I am on Plaquenil, and ketoprophin; prednisone while in a flare. Methotrexate is a "heavy hitter" used when things are really bad and organs are being affected. I have used that as well. If he wants to keep your diagnosis as only fibromyalgia, he might want to try amitriptaliyne. THis ironically is an antidepressent but taken at bedtime it helps with the burning pain and general achy feeling that you have. THe muscles and joints hurting you need to be aleviated. This particular regamin has helped me. I wish you the best, I know this is a tough and painful journey, I wish I could help you more. Just keep you chin up and get a new doc! Good Luck!!

Fibromyalgia is frustrating, as well as lupus, but there was a study done that made a lot of sense to me. It was concerning the relationship between lupus and Fibromyalgia. I'll see if I can find the study, and link it up in my forum on Chronic Pain. Gayla The Lady Frog http://chronicpain-byladyfrog.com