I posted this on the Fibro board too.
I thought I had Lupus but now I think after talking to my Rheum that I have CFS or Fibromyalgia. It'd been in the back of my mind for ages but I wasn't sure because these are supposed to be 'invisible' diseases. None of my doctors ever suggest them as a possible cause of my illness, just say there's nothing else they can do for me.
My questions are:
What are the main differences between CFS and Fibro?
How are CFS and Fibro treated? I do not want to go on Lyrica (why would I want to add brain fog to my already terrible brain fog? nothnx).
What kind of doctor would be best to oversee treatment of these things? I have an appointment with a neurologist in late Oct. and I'm going to push for a sleep study and a neuro-psych exam to see how bad my brain fog really is.
I want to try to overcome this obstacle on my own. I've been complaining of fatigue for YEARS now and then slowly other symptoms started joining the list: migraines, muscle pain and tenderness, weakness, joint pain etc. It's all rather transient, coming and going.
I feel a little bit ashamed that something no doctor can diagnose is possibly bringing me down like this. I was to the point that I was almost hoping it was Lupus because then it'd be something I could identify and would be recognized by the medical community! That's such a silly thing to say but I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with me for ages. I want a doctor to look at me and say "this is what you have, this is how we can fix it." Ya know? I understand that a 'dx' isn't important, so I want to know how to treat my symptoms. But is this all in my head? All of my symptoms?
I can't deal with the brain dysfunction anymore. It is getting in the way of school and me pursuing my dreams and even nondreams such as getting out of bed every day.
Crohn's (diagnosed in 2006 and currently in remission), severe migraines, Seborrheic Derm., Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (1994), chronic pain, ulcers/GERD and possibly Lupus. Medications: Nexium, Pentasa, Percocet and Vicodin as needed, Flintstone Vitamins (my favorite part!), calcium and magnesium supplements, vitamin D once weekly. I follow a low fiber, low residue diet.