A Little Background Story....Part 2

I was all clear for a couple months.  Still exhausted quite a bit especially after work, but I just kept right on trucking.  Then wham I woke up one morning and both arms were covered.  I cried..yep you got that right....I cried!  The amount of frustration that was in my body exploded all over the place that morning in the form of tears.

I called Dr Merritt and they got me in within a couple hours.  She said I had the exact same thing I just caught it earlier.  I was put back on Biaxin and told that I may need see an infectious disease doctor.  The Biaxin once again cleared up the hives on my arms, but now I just had a few here and there.  I kept taking the medicine hoping it would clear, but never did.

Here I was entering the new year a medical mystery and having new symptoms pop up all the time.  Suddenly I went from having hives to being wiped out from the time I got up to the time I went to bed.  I ran a fever practically all the time, my muscles ached, my body hurt, and I was so moody.  My hives hurt...yes they physically hurt.  They itched when they came on, but once they were there they hurt.

Dr Merritt ran allergy tests and really could find nothing, but still thought it was an allergy.  My savoir was turning against me...allergies?!?  This was not a stinking allergy.  I know now she was just as stumped as everyone else and she really did want to help, but was just at a loss.  I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I started looking for answers everywhere.  I spent hours on the internet.  The hours that I knew a doctor could not give my case specifically I gave to myself.  If there is one thing I have learned it is to be your own advocate.  Only you truly know your body.  This is where I found my answer...in the comments section.  I called my MD and told him I wanted him to order an Antithyroid peroxidase antibody and a Antithyroglobulin antibody test and he did.  It was in that one test I got a ray of hope.  My antithyroglobulin antibodies were high.  Not out of this world high...not even suspicious high in terms of a blood test, but to me it meant something.  My level was suppose to be 20 or below and mine was 28. This meant I had Hashimoto's, an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the thyroid, at least to me it did I had to wait for confirmation.  My MD told me that he would refer me to an Endocrinologist because this might be the root of my problem...thank the lord someone else thought the way I did.

Do you know how long it takes to get into an Endocrinologist?  Months...that is how long!  I called my Endocrinologist everyday to get into a cancellation spot.  During the mean time I saw a Rheumatologist who told me an endocrinologist was going to be my best bet...well that's fabulous if I could get into one.  I then saw a dermatologist who to told me I needed to see an Endo doc and put me on lots of meds to try and help til I could get in...to bad they didn't work.  I will say though the dermatologist pushed for me to get into the Endocrinologist and I finally got an appt.

Up Next:  A Little Background Story...Part 3