Lupus Support Group
Lupus is an auto-immune disease in which the immune system cannot distinguish between threats (like viruses and bacteria), and healthy cells and tissue. As a result, the body produces antibodies that inflict cell damage, most commonly targeting joints, skin, kidneys and the nervous system. Join the group and find support for coping with lupus.
A few weeks ago, I felt like I had a kidney infection. I went to my GP who said it wasn't my kidneys but thought it might be my gallbladder. I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder which showed it wasn't functioning correctly. My GP referred me to a surgeon. The surgeon wanted to do an endoscopy before removing my gallbladder. My endoscopy showed I had ulcers in my esophagus, stomach, and small intestines. My stomach was also full of food. The surgeon decided we need to take care of these issues before we do any surgery. He sent me for a gastric emptying study. That study showed my stomach is basically not functioning--was the "worst case" my surgeon had ever seen. He has put me on a liquid diet and I am supposed to see a GI doctor on September 1st. Meanwhile, I called my rheumy to see if this is lupus related and he said probably not. Thing is, I can't tolerate eating hardly anything now, and the last two days I feel like I'm going into a flair. I was just wondering if anyone has had these issues? I joined a gastritis group on here, and I notice a lot of people have autoimmune diseases.
As for the people with gastritis and AI diseases, it doesn't surprise me. Proper digestion and hormones seem to regulate everything and determine whether or not we are healthy. I had lots of digestive issues, but have corrected them with a gluten-free diet, eliminating artificial sweeteners and most sugar, consuming fermented/cultured foods (such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir, etc.), eating grass-fed beef, and taking probiotics. It has made a big difference, so I'm hopeful that the doctors will make good recommendations for you.
I echo cherokeesister3: Docs don't really know what's what. Example: people here (or maybe it was under RA) say methotrexate causes fatigue. I suffer badly from fatigue, especially after taking my week's does of M, so I told me Rheumatologist. I even sent her a link to the specific discussion on here. But, nope. She said methotrexate does do that. What the hell? Well, I still think it did, so I at least moved my weekly dose so I can sleep through football games instead of appointments... It's your body. Do what makes sense to and for you!
I echo cherokeesister3: Docs don't really know what's what. Example: people here (or maybe it was under RA) say methotrexate causes fatigue. I suffer badly from fatigue, especially after taking my week's dose of M, so I told my Rheumatologist. I even sent her a link to the specific discussion on here. But, nope. She said methotrexate doesn't do that. What the hell? Well, I still think it did, so I at least moved my weekly dose so I can sleep through football games instead of appointments... It's your body. Do what makes sense to and for you! "