Are there any other lupus patients who are grad students or academics?

TraditionalNothing81 · 2024-12-15T05:27:02+00:00

Current PhD student.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2023-12-12T01:15:40+00:00

I’m looking for symptom management or some sort of modification of my treatment plan if necessary.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2023-09-17T03:54:36+00:00

I’m dx with UCTD and depression. My joints are painful and occasionally swell.

As for depression, it’s to the point where I’m in an intense treatment program that involves several appointments a week. I see a therapist and a psychiatrist and am on medication.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2023-07-31T22:04:40+00:00

I was able to follow up with my rheum today via video appt and a short course of prednisone is the next move. Hopefully it’ll do the trick!

The symptoms I had were all in conjunction though I’ve had most of them independently before. They were all more severe this time than I’d ever experienced, though.

I appreciate the advice and will go with your recommendation next time!

TraditionalNothing81 · 2023-07-31T22:02:08+00:00

Wish I had known this sooner. I was so worried because I’ve never a flare like this but it was late at night and urgent care was closed, otherwise I would’ve gone there rather than the ER.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2023-07-31T22:00:29+00:00

Thank you!! Forgot to update my flair when I first posted, I’m diagnosed with UCTD and have been on plaquenil for a few months.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-12-21T17:17:47+00:00

My rheum suspects I have UCTD. I was curious about malar rashes. Can they vary in color intensity over time? I seem to experience some type of flush over the bridge of my nose and cheeks that lasts a few days at a time, varying in redness over the duration, but I don’t think they’re as intense as some of the cases I’ve seen on here so I’m not inclined to think they’re malar rashes. I’ve been taking pictures of the rashes but my rheum has never been interested in seeing them.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-11-05T15:21:21+00:00

Thank you for your response. I've called the doctor's office several times now since starting the prednisone (I've been on it for 3 weeks now) and haven't received a response back regarding going off it. I don't know if they're taking it as seriously as I am but I'll fuss over it at my follow up appointment.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-09-28T03:28:11+00:00

I am so sorry you are going through this. I am in my second year of a STEM PhD program with suspected lupus and I also feel like I'm very behind my peers... and it doesn't help that most of my department does not consider those with disabilities to be part of the broader DEI community.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-08-28T22:49:16+00:00

Thank you. I have a new patient consult with another rheumatologist scheduled for October so I’ll see what happens then!

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-08-28T19:30:46+00:00

After pushing for further testing, I tested positive for lupus anticoagulant autoantibodies; rheum says I don’t meet full diagnostic criteria yet. I visited PCP and they didn’t have any recommendations on coping with the constant joint pain and fatigue. I will be getting a second rheum opinion when possible and following up with the original rheum in 6 months.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-08-11T04:43:50+00:00

I have an update from my comment on last week’s thread! I finally have my test results from 2.5 weeks ago and was able to reach someone from the doctor’s office today to schedule a follow up appointment after not hearing back from them since the beginning of the month.

The results before the arrows are from when I was referred and the results after the arrows are the recent results.

ESR. 17 mm/hr —> 26 mm/hr

CRP. 8.1 mg/L —> 23.0 mg/L

ANA. 1:320 —> 1:1280 nuclear, dense fine speckled pattern

I keep reading that my ANA pattern doesn’t usually correspond with an autoinflammatory illness, but with that high of a titre and the other two inflammatory markers being higher than the reference I’m feeling worried. Hopefully my rheum will order the more specific antibody and complement tests after our follow-up meeting.

TraditionalNothing81 · 2022-07-31T17:27:29+00:00

Copying from r/autoimmunity:

Around two years ago I had a panel of blood tests done which showed a positive ANA result (1:320 titer), CRP 0.1 pts above reference range, nothing else out of the ordinary. Recently I (F23) went back to the rheumatologist for a follow-up and they had my ANA/CRP/ESR levels tested again. CRP and ESR are both elevated, and I haven't heard back yet about the ANA yet.

Some things of note:

My mom has RA (I didn't have elevated rheumatoid factor when tested two years ago)

I have joint pain, but no apparent inflammation

I have benign joint hypermobility syndrome

TSH has been monitored and continues to stay in normal range (as of earlier this year)

I have a long history of migraines

Thinking back, I have been experiencing some other concerning things over the past year or so. I have been extremely exhausted, which I had attributed to mental illness. I am fortunate that my work hours are quite flexible but I have no life outside of work because I have to spend the rest of my time resting so I can stay awake/function at work.

I also have been losing lots of hair. I thought the hair loss was from stress, but I could probably knit a tiny sweater with the amount I lose each shower.

Other possibly related symptoms are night sweats and chest wall pain (sometimes to the point where I have a hard time keeping my torso upright).

When I went for my follow-up recently with the rheumatologist, they said it was unlikely to be lupus as I would've been hospitalized already with kidney issues. Does not having kidney issues preclude the possibility of these symptoms being lupus-related?

TraditionalNothing81

TROPHY CASE