Symptoms over the years...

I thought it might be interesting to share with you all the symptoms I have had over the years. I will attempt to list them in chronological order, just for funsies,to see how my disease(s) has progressed.

Symptoms

Cold hands and feet

Fatigue (last year or so of college I was missing classes so I could sleep)

Swollen lymph nodes (mostly in neck, but groin area too)

Lymph node biopsy in 2007 – negative for cancer (people with Sjogren's Syndrome are at a higher risk for getting lymphoma, very important to get any swollen nodes checked out)

Sleeping 12-14 hours a night, continues to this day, requiring 2 hour nap during daytime 

Ringing in ears, buzzing

Trouble finding the words I want to say, word recall/retrieval

Short term memory problems

Cold hands and feet, Raynaud’s diagnosis/poor circulation

Muscle pain and tightness

Fibromyalgia

Tingling on left side of face, near nose

Tingling on left side of scalp

Joint pain, NOT bilateral (which is usually an indicator of Rheum. Arthritis)

Exhaustion/fatigue

Hair loss

Floaters in eyes, blurry sight, eyes sensitive to light

Dx'ed with Hypermobility (joints bend too far, collagen/cartilage problems)

Dx'ed with early-onset Osteoarthritis in knees, at age 24!

2009 – diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome

Heart palpitations, Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) diagnosis – 2009

Macrocytic anemia (NOT due to lack of Iron in diet)

Hives all over body, April 2009

Periodic itchy rashes all over body, requiring prednisone multiple times

Dec. 2010 – MRA and MRI negative. Continue to be at a loss (haha, nice pun!) for word retrieval issues, along with concentration and cognitive problems. 

Reduced ability to concentrate, diagnosed with adult onset ADD, though I've always gotten good grades in school

Abdominal pain on left side

Lower left quadrant intestinal pain

Decrease in appetite, hard to get over 1,000 calories/day

Multiple food allergies, currently on very restricted diet (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, blah blah blah)

May 2011 – 2^nd surgery for ovarian cysts/Endometriosis

Sensitivity to light and sounds (need to wear ear plugs if there are dishes being put away or blenders being used)

Sensitivity to smells (headaches, nauseous from smells of cleaning supplies)

Air “hunger” symptoms start after moving to Chicago in 2011, continue to present day

Major depression and anxiety

2011 – diagnosed with Hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s autoimmune)

Sharp abdominal pain on sneezing or coughing, probably due to persistent ovarian cysts

2011 - saw new doc in Chicago, bloodwork shows Mycoplasma infection and high Strep titers, Igenex testing, started antibiotic therapy Dec.2011

2012 – blood smears via Dr. Fry labs shows Protomyxzoa rheumatica infection with substantial amounts of Biofilm, Anaplasma antibodies detected as well

recent symptoms, started summer/fall 2013

Bladder irritability, painful urination (NOT due to a UTI)

Off the Prednisone

Have now been off prednisone for about 1 week. My shin rash is slowly diminishing. I started taking 500mg of Taurine at night before bed and it seems to have helped my muscle pain significantly.

Stopped by the community health center last week for an ophthalmologist appointment. Eye dryness is minor said the doc after using the yellow dye. So that's good news. 


Continuing to take Zithromax though only about once a week because it does quite a number on my stomach. It has a long half-life, though, so dosing every other day shouldn't really be necessary. 


Lyme test results came back as "equivocal", so am now supposed to be getting tested for band 31 kDa. The journey continues...

The persistent rash...

My rash was gone. Then it came back. Story of my life, honestly. Hahaha. When I drop below 2.5-3 mg prednisone, the rash on my shin returns with a vengeance. I'm really not even supposed to be on prednisone right now (meaning, my current doctor did not prescribe it for me, it's just leftover from 2009 treating myself Dr. Ashley style. Yes, I know you aren't supposed to mess around with prednisone. Yes, I'm aware of the dangers.). I don't have insurance and cannot afford to go see the doc whenever this rash rears its ugly head.

Anyways, I've read extensively about the link between thyroid antibodies and rashes and the connection is clear. When I see the doc next I might see what he thinks about treating euthyroid Hashimoto's. Not many docs are keen on the idea but it's worth a shot. I'm thinking... lowest dose of Armour thyroid, which is a combination of T4 and T3.