So, I've been running a fever for a month now. Friday before last I started having lots of muscular pain, so bad I thought I pulled a muscle in my neck because I cant turn it to the left, and terrible joint pain. I had been to urgent care with these complaints 3 times, they guessed it was the flu and told me to rest up each time and that if my fever increased or my headache got worse I should go to the ER just increas it was meningitis. :/
I couldn't take it anymore and went to my primary office (who I've only seen once and that was to discuss her picking up my treatment from dr check) and asked them to check me for RA. I saw the NP and she agreed and test me for RA, EBV, SLE (not fibro because I already have that dx) and ordered xrays of my hands because they swelled and my knuckles are double their normal size.
The xrays came back fine, and my bloodwork came back positive for an active EBV infection. That was Thursday, I called this am and they still havent called me back. My swelling is out of hand, it got worse as the pain increased... 3 pounds last night. I finished the muscle relaxers and toradol from urgent care and am unable to turn my head to the left again.
What autoimmune issues do you other members have (if any) and when they flare does it affect your swelling/edema?
Hello! I am still sick after having the flu for 2 weeks and now am placed on an antibiotic and inhalers, etc. I can't believe how long I have been ill but this mild weather has lead to all sorts of sickness.
I am working with a new chiropractor who is also a nurse and deals with testing cells for allergens and missing nutrients. She feels we are all different so should be treated as such. I will have a lot more to say about this in the coming weeks. I will be tested (my cells) to see what kind of foods, allergens, etc and any deficiencies are causing my immune system to be weakened.
She feels that this disorder is auto-immune in the fact that 90 per cent of our immunity is in our gut and we have cells that allow toxins to enter our bloodstream. It will be a new way of approaching this disorder and will take time but with testing and food elimination (and reintroducing every few weeks) I can find if I am able to control my symptoms better. I too don't want to just rely on the medication and call it a day. I appreciate that the medication has been helpful but I want to find a better way to stabilize myself and find out what exactly is going on in my cells. If this proves to be successful, I will pass on the information and she can work with you no matter what state or country you live in. The cases of other people I reviewed shows many people with an auto-immune disorder and many with Chronic Fatigue or Epstein Barr.
It makes sense that people who don't have this disorder but who have "Leaky Gut" experience a whole array of symptoms and problems as well. For us, it is like having Leaking Gut but all over. If it can be controlled better in the gut maybe we can better control our symptoms and improve our immune system.
Over the next several months I will be working with her. I am waiting for Dr. Check's office to resolve this dispute with Vyvanse as the insurance does not want to pay for "off label medications." This is because the Vyvanse is expensive because they covered the Dexedrine and Adderall in the past. The problem was the other meds stopped working. Wishing you all good health and will post the results of what occurs over the next few months.
Just recovering from the flu myself so I have been out of commission for a while. Fever and body aches but I am getting better slowly. When I am feeling better I will let you know about the type of autoimmune diseases that other members suffer with. I have contacts that do not access this site but we have been emailing for years. I have been diagnoses with EBV years ago and had a slight relapse but with plenty of sleep and vitamins and such, really don't have much of a problem with it any longer. If you are newly diagnosed with it, it takes a while to feel better. I was so exhausted I could not function and slept a lot.
As far as the disorder, each of us suffer from different symptoms. I suffer with gastroparesis (severe slowing down of my intestines which results in nausea and constipation) more than anything else. I will do some research on it and get back to you. Also, did not see Dr. Check yet and they are fighting for me with my insurance company for the Vyvanse so we will see what happens with that. When I see him I may then try the metformin although I don't know how effective it is with gastroparesis. It has been studied for edema but I am uncertain how I would do on that regarding the gastroparesis issue. Will be in touch soon. I am thinking of you as you have had quite the struggle.