DrugBuyers.Com: Just want personal experiences...

Awww, my firefairy to the rescue again! LOL

Well, here's the thing, I understand that different auto-immune diseases can overlap and this is the message I'm getting from my doctor. He says that I display several signs of SLE.

Examples, sores in the mouth and/or nose, photosensitivity (me and the sun DO NOT get along at all and it appears I am sort of allergic to sunlight). I have the chronic fatigue, the achy muscles and very severe joint pain all over, sometimes I have low grade temps, I get rashes on my arms, neck and chest, some of the rashes are raised little bumps that are whitish looking (kinda like an ingrown hair or something, but it's not), and I rarely notice them until I feel them. They aren't itchy or painful. I do get redish blotches on my face (sometimes), but it looks nothing like this butterfly rash that I looked up. I don't know if I have any pulmonary problems, but I am a smoker and am trying to quit. I notice I weeze a lot in the mornings or when I'm really ill, and I think this is due to the smoking. Everytime my doctors listen to my lungs, they sound fine. I have had bronchitis and pneumonia before though. Don't know if this is relative or not. I also have intestinal and gastro problems, supposedly IBS. I will, for no apparent reason, vomit at least once a week and it's usually just bile.

Now I'm wondering of all of my anaphylactic episodes were Lupus related -your own body fighting it's body sort of theory. I just don't know.

But I do have the Hep C and heard that it's not uncommon to have SLE when you have Hep C, or to develop it. I just have to go through a battery of tests to find out what's what.

So, how did they actually discover that you have SLE? What sorts of test did they do? Since I've had the Hep C for so long and wasn't diagnosed until 2001, I have been playing the chicken and the egg guessing game. Which came first, the Hep C or the SLE? That is, if I actually have SLE.

Have you got any good websites I can visit that are up-to-date with their information? I would really like to explore this are much more. I like to be prepared when I see my doctors, be an active partner in my medical assessments, diagnosis, treatment, etc. I also want them to know that they're not dealing with a dummy, nor do I want anything to go undetected.

Actually, my mom had H-Pylori and she seems to think I should be tested for that and if I'm treated with the appropriate antibiotics a lot of those other symptoms will clear.

Thanks for all of your help and input, firefairy. You're so helpful. A huge thank you!

lemongrass