I have wondered for a long time when
everything was going to come to climax.
When all of my "weird" symptoms would come
together and become debilitating. Truth
be told, I never realized they were
actually symptoms, since everyone's body
does weird things, right? And my health
has had a lot of twists and turns in my 27
years.
I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's
syndrome. I have had IBS since my
gallbladder was removed when I was 21. I
have had chest pains on and off for two
years. I thought it was stress. I have
had weird hives down my arms and my sides
occasionally for no reason at all since I
was in college. It doesn't happen
frequently though. I am always tired, but
a mother of two who works full time should
be. And I am so good at pushing through
it all. My finger nails have turned blue
since I was 13 when I get cold, stressed,
or my blood sugar drops. I was a dancer,
and had to quit because of my "bad" ankles
and knees, which still ache from time to
time. I was diagnosed with fibro and
chronic fatigue when I was 13. My face
gets VERY red and flushed whenever I work
out or get nervous. And lately, I have
had red oval raised itchy, scaly patches
on my chest. There are SO many more
"weird" things; but, I don't bother
talking about any of this stuff any more
because no one wants to listen and doctors
just think it's anxiety or depression.
Trouble is I am the last person on earth
to suffer from depression. I love life!
I love living my life! I think all of the
health stuff makes living more special!
It all started a few months ago. I
started waking up in the middle of the
night really nauseated. I even tried to
make myself throw-up a few times. Pain in
my abdomen below my right ribcage and in
my left kidney would also wake me up from
time to time. Oh yeah! I had a kidney
stone on Christmas day last year. A few
weeks ago the pain and diarreah got so
annoying I decided to do something about
it. The doctor couldn't even put pressure
on the lower right of my abdomen because
it hurt so bad (and it has for years). Of
course, all of his tests came back normal.
Trouble was now I was nauseated everytime
I ate, the pain was worse and more
localized, the diarreah was way worse, and
I had little appetite.
I made an appointment with a GI doctor,
but I couldn't wait any longer. So, I
went to the ER. They admitted me when a
CT scan noted "debri" in my stomach.
After three days and a lot of GI tests,
the only things they could find were
gastritis, NERD, and my liver was inflamed
on of the days. So, I went home to wait
for my colinoscopy with pain meds to
manage the discomfort. I thought the
colinoscopy would provide the answer.
But, it didn't. And my horrible GI doctor
was going to send me out the door without
any answers, not even for the gastritis!
Unfortunately, right before my colinoscopy
my left kidney really started to hurt. I
couldn't even pick up my two year-old.
Yesterday, the day after my colinoscopy, I
made an appointment with whatever
internist was available at the practice I
go to. Finally, they found blood in my
urine.
I have been doing a lot of research about
auto-immune disorders, and I know there
could be a lot of explanations. This
internist would have diagnosed me with
anxiety and depression (despite the
OBVIOUS evidence of the blood in my
urine!). There were no signs of stones in
either of my TWO CT scans in the last two
weeks, and nine days is really quick for a
stone to form. Not to mention, it doesn't
feel like a kidney stone. It doesn't hurt
as bad if I rest. As soon as I start
exerting myself, the pain starts to build.
My experience last year, was gradual pain
that became exurciating with near instant
relief when the stone passed. This has
been going on for three days. It isn't
getting worse and worse, and I only have
the same low-grade fever I have had for
two weeks.
After much ranting and raving to the
internist, she finally gave in to an ANA
test, along with some other blood work.
Needless, to say I so frustrated with
doctor's who are so quick to slap a label
on you and send you packing. Put a
band-aid on the symptom and it will be all
better. I feel like my body is giving out
on me. I am slightly concerned my kidney
is wearing out. I just want answers. My
hunch is that this is auto-immune,
especially since I already have one
auto-immune disorder. I could be wrong.
I guess time will tell. I know there are
so many people who feel like me, and it is
so helpful to have this site for some
support. I guess I just wanted to get my
story out there to help someone else.
Here's to good health!
|
beentheredt
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Dec 2007 Posts: 1
Auto Immune Disease And Kidneys... Posted: 12-22-07 05:44am
Please be careful with any potential
autoimmune disease and kidney symptoms. I
too, am concerned. My father died at 54
from kidney failure and my sister was
placed on steroid therapy for a year to
stop kidney damage from progressing once
it began. SHe was diagosed with mixed
connective tissue disease, MCTD. I have
more pronounced symptoms than she did in
that my ANA titer is higher than hers was.
I am in pain so very much of the time, AND
I can't seem to keep skin in my finger
tips! That's the WORST. Slowly over three
and a half years, I've evolved to a real
mess on both hands, which is still not
formally diagnosed. My dermatologist
gives me a high dose of Kenalog every
three months, but it's not too helpful any
more. Do you have muscle pain? I can SO
relate to your frustration with the
doctors not wanting to do a single thing
AND...I think I know exactly why. I am
aware of programs through insurance
companies that reward doctors who keep
costs down with generous financial
incentive payments. THIS very thing is
what creates the barriers to treatment-at
least I suspect so. I was able to talk a
doctor into a CPK test because my muscles
hurt so much and so persistantly. Hang in
there, and let's share ideas to help each
other along. Yes...Here's to good health!
p.s. I recently
read that protein in the blood from muscle
damage in connective tissue disease is
implicated in damaging the kidneys. This
is why I asked for a CPK test to look for
protein evidence of muscle damage.
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Schizophreniahealth
This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
p.s. I recently
read that protein in the blood from muscle
damage in connective tissue disease is
implicated in damaging the kidneys. This
is why I asked for a CPK test to look for
protein evidence of muscle damage.