supprise at doctors today.

[johno63]

hi new to this site,any advice would be welcomed, (this may take a while) ha!

i am male 51 years old and suffer from persistant high blood pressure for the last 4 years,was at doctors today as been having dizzy spells and headaches doctor took my blood pressure and it was 145 over 108 and as i am already taking 5 different blood pressure tablets and doctor cant get it under controll so he has made an appointment for me to see a cardiology consultant....anyway he noticed the rash on my cheeks (on the face ha) and on the bridge of my nose, iv had it for 4 weeks but i thought it was a reaction to my tablets as the doctor had doubled the dose of a couple of them,the doctor told me to go for a blood test on wed as he said he thinks its lupus. i have just read the lupus website and couldnt beleive what i was reading as apart from what i have already mentioned i also suffer from.......eyes feel puffy now and again,fingers go white when its cold and toes always cold,iv had a sore on my gum 3 times in the last 4 months,pain in chest now and again which i put down to my blood pressure,and over the last few weeks feeling weak all the time.so does anybody think i could have lupus?

and will the blood test tell if i have it? thanks

[misty14]

Hi Johno63

It's a good thing your going to a Cardiologist with your symptoms. You might well have Lupus and depending what the bloods are looking at the Consultant will look at your history and the results to decide how he can help. If this appointment doesn't go well, you need a Rheumatology referral so don't give up. It can be a long battle to diagnosis!. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

[Chris21]

The blood test will help get an idea of what is going on and who to refer you on to if needed. Lupus can take years to finally get to a stage where it is showing in tests. For years I thought I was just getting old! I couldn't decide when I got my diagnosis which one I prefer I do feel better now that I on the correct medication. Hope you finally get the right help.

[missy01]

hello johno63

The bloods don't always show anything. I will just tell you how I cope with my three auto immune diseases and hope it is of help. The lupus I just tell myself it is an umbrella name which covers a lot of things that could go wrong and not what will go wrong. Deal with each situation as it arises. Do not sit at home waiting for things to go belly up. The other two disease again I just work through. Keep positive and active and constantly push the boundaries with your activity levels. If you are told you do not have lupus then don't worry because as long as you are seeing your rheumatologist then it does not matter what they call it. Your symptoms will just keep raising their heads and your consultant will pick up on each one and treat them. Don't kill yourself off with looking for things that have not happened yet. Life is still good and so go forward and live it Lupus is no longer a death sentence we are given an average of 50 years which is a normal life expectancy. Hope this is of use to you

[Jbug]

Missy01, what a wonderful way to see all this! And yes, you must keep on moving or you will end up like the tin man, standing stiff with hardly a way to say "oil can"!

[johno63]

thanks for the advise everybody,my doctor took bloods last week and they were normal but after seeing the rash on my face on monday i am going for bloods again to check just for lupus.thanks.

[johno63]

will let you all know when i get my results in the next few days........