Since around Christmas last year my health has been... not great.
I've pretty much been relegated to the chair for most of this year.
I've been in a great deal of pain and discomfort having seemingly begun having a severe allergic reaction to.. something.. source is unknown.. which is bad.
Without a source of allergy it points to one thing.
Some form of auto-immune disorder.
I went to see a doctor on Saturday 3rd February 2024 and after a lengthy talk about family history, symptoms and how it all started the doctor thinks it's more likely an auto-immune disorder like lupus or some rheumatoid issue.
as Dr House MD always says it's never lupus
Except it actually could be. Nothing definitive has been diagnosed as of yet, I have to get a blood test arranged this week and hopefully it'll shed some light on the situation.
Right now I've been prescribed fexofenadine hydrochloride 120mg to deal with the symptoms, so far it's make life more comfortable but it seems like it's not quite strong enough.
They are supposed to last 24hs ideally, mine so far are about 5 hours short and I'm still getting a bit of reaction popping up here and there so an increase in dosage might be needed.
I'm only on day 2 of my meds though so the effect might also build up over time so we'll see.
Current status:
Alive.. somewhat comfortable, at least able to do the washing up again and actually use my hands.
Towards the end of the day my joints, ribs.. my whole body starts seizing up as the meds effect fades and the reaction starts kicking in, makes breathing more difficult and its very painful.
Hopefully meds effect builds up over time to cover those last 5 hours before my next tablet.
Blood test to get definitive answers. Likely to have another life long illness to add to my list of things that are broken. yay me.
I'm signing off on this post for now, I'll have future update when I get answers.. if I get answers.
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Sending my best wishes to you buddy. so sorry to hear that you are going through this I hope it ends soon and you get to the bottom of the issue :)
Thanks chris. Time will tell.
Oh my god! I hope you get the results quickly and they are good, also wishing that you feel better soon and the meds help.
!pizza
Hope so too, it's up and down right now how I'm feeling but chugging along regardless.
Hello! Peakd doesn't have a chat function so I will reply here.
How are you feeling? Did you get the results for the blood test?
Not had the blood test yet, still got to arrange to have it, hopefully manage to get that sorted monday. feel as terrible as ever.
Oof, hope things go well Monday then, and sending you virtual hugs
How are you feeling now, Shmoogle? Sometimes the meds take a bit of time to build up, particularly steroids.
The autoimmune disorder, if present... that can be difficult to deal with. Useful if caught early, but depending on which one it is, it can be easy or hard to manage. Hopefully you'll get more answers and proper treatments soon.
Still feeling terrible, Meds are making a dent but not really doing enough right now.
Still not got blood test arranged, it's difficult to contact doctors as our lifestyle barely aligns with the small window in which you get to contact my local doctor.
Based on the chronic conditions I've seen, any improvement is already a great start! However, of course dealing with continued symptoms is very unpleasant, but I can honestly tell you: with chronic, autoimmune conditions, there shouldn't be an expectation of getting 100% back to how things were before. It's not a realistic outcome.
That's not a call to stop fighting; on the contrary, it's a call to keep going until you find a solution that works best for you.
I understand that scheduling difficulty as well; it can sometimes take a while to schedule appointments for even common things. Is there a way that you can get the blood test done at a phlebotomy center? If the doctor has already ordered the blood test, you can technically get it done outside of the office as well.