please can i have some advice??

[tigsiboo]

this is all new to me and have not been diagnosed with lupus but having a really itchy scaly rash on chest, face, hands and arms for the last few weeks plus many of the other symptoms that started about 11 years ago i think it could be possible. i would just like some advice on how to approach the doctor when i feel like i am always there for one thing or another and usually end up with panic and tears...... have been on antihystemines for a couple of years due to another continuous rash that i have had all over the body for coming up to five years but they dont help... sorry to go on but i just need some advice

[Chicklette]

To be honest when I was in a similar position I just plucked up the courage and saw my GP, taking a list of why I felt I might have Lupus. She wasn't very receptive, but did agree to let me have the blood tests, which confirmed I do have Lupus. It isn't easy, but sometimes we just have to be brave. Good luck!

[tigsiboo in reply to Chicklette]

thankyou x

[Chapter]

If I had known what to ask for, I would have asked, but I had not even considered it. After several visits to GP with the rash you describe on my face and chest, trying every cream and allergy pill she suggested - even a try of prednisone at 50mg for three days (which actually worked great, but came right back a day later), I was exhausted. Went to town one day to get some things done, almost passed out on the street, so took myself to emergency at hospital and said I am to sick to shop, there is something wrong. A very nice young doctor spent about two hours with me checking everything and asking questions about my family, then sent me to lab with a long list of tests - one of which was an ANA test. When I went to regular doctor for results and she told me I had positive ANA which she said was anti nuclear. I responded with a laugh and said well that made sense since my husband had spent a lot of years working at uranium mines, haha! She didn't think my joke was funny I guess and had to explain to me what it meant. Turns out that one of the reasons the ER doc had tested, besides my swollen, sore red face, was that I had told him my brother has MS and my granddaughter Type 1 Diabetes, both auto-immune diseases. So how do you ask for test, do like my daughters did when they were showing weird symptoms (at different times), say "my Mom says that I have to have the ANA test", and they were tested.

[tigsiboo]

thankyou... i am so fed up with feeling ill all the time and being so exhausted, concrete legs etc.... i have made an appointment for two weeks time and have written list of everything going back 12 years, unbelievably loads..........

[gazorpf]

First, prepare for your appointment by keeping a symptom journal that includes:

1. symptom

2. when it started

3. how long it lasts

4. what makes it better

5. what makes it worse

6. how often does it occur

Then summarize it concisely for the doctor. Bring the summary with you.

You might want to see a dermatologist for a simple skin biopsy.

Your GP might not know much about lupus, and might not even have it on his/her radar. If your symptoms persist, make an appointment with a rheumatologist. Find one at rheumatology.org.

Linda

[tigsiboo in reply to gazorpf]

thankyou i will definately follow your advice x