What's wrong with me?! Cancer, lupus, or arthritis?I have soooooo many questions, so here goes:
I'm a 19 year old female. Since last November, I've had a constant dull pain in the left side of my upper back. I got an x-ray of my entire lumbar region, and it showed nothing unusual. I also get extreme headaches, intense heartburn, mucus in my stool, and extreme fatigue. I've gained about 30 lbs in a year. I got an endoscopy and colonoscopy to see where the mucus in my stool/ heartburn was coming from, but the doctor said my GI tract was beautiful. I've had 1,000 pregnancy tests, so I know I'm not pregnant.
I'm prescribed Flexeril and Tramadol (neither of which helps at all), I take daily vitamins (which is why I'm stumped by the low vitamin d levels), and I smoke marijuana (would it cause the weird blood test results?) everyday. I was also on Accutane for about 5 months between Oct 2009 and Feb 2010.
I just got some of my blood test results back and I have Elevated Sed Rate, Elevated C-reactive Protein (CRP), and Low Vitamin D.
My primary care doctor suspects that I might have rheumatoid arthritis, and, she hasn't confided in me yet, but I think she also suspects lupus.
My main concern is cancer. Basically everyone in my family has had cancer or died from cancer. From the details I've given, do any of you think I could have cancer? Have you known anyone with the same symptoms who had cancer? If not, what do you think it could be?
Any help would be appreciated.
I know my dr. is suspecting lupus because she told my mom it's a possibility (my dr and mom are best friends). My dad died of cancer, my mom had cancer, all of my grandmas and grandpas died of cancer, 3 of my 5 aunts died from cancer and one of them had it and survived, 3 out of 3 uncles have died from it, and 1 out of my 5 half-brothers has had it.
I'm not on birth control pills and I'm a little overweight, but not a whole lot. I live in Florida, and I've been at the beach for almost all summer, so I know I haven't had a lack of sun.
Also, I didn't pay for the pregnancy tests. Doctors gave them to me when I had the endo/colonoscopy, before I had x-rays, the entire time I was on Accutane, and not to mention the 6 or so times I've had my blood tested in the past 3 months. I'm not stupid, I know about safe sex.
-firecoal
No one on here is a doctor, wait to see what your doctor tells you.
-april
Seems like you got a lot going on. Most drs would order an ultrasound with the pain you're having. It would be cheaper to invest in some condoms than pay for 1000 pregnancy tests.. I had extremely low vitamin levels because I never got in the sun. Your body needs about 20 minutes of full on sunlight to get the vit d you're lacking. High CRP is caused by infection, inflammation or being overweight...or PID. It is also elevated if you're taking birth control pills. By Sed rate, I'm assuming you mean ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate? Just another test for inflammation.
She hasn't confided in you yet her thoughts on Lupus? Then how did you come by this knowledge? Do you know what Lupus is? If you had it or your dr suspected it, tests would've been run by now to verify, because lupus will kill you if left untreated. You were on accutane for quite a while...longer than most. I was on it and it can cause some wicked side effects, including bone pain.
Has everyone in your family had the same cancer? Have they all had it while younger? And when you say basically everyone, who does that mean??
You're the second person to ask a question today, that a parent was best friends with the dr...doesn't matter either way. You are of age and your condition can not be discussed without you present or without your knowledge first and you have to give explicit consent on who gets to know what. If you're at the beach almost every day, then to be sure, you use a sunblock, which would also prevent absorption of the rays and would not make the vit d3. Most people are actually deficient in vit d.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the small joints of the hands, wrists, feet, and knees are typically inflamed in a symmetrical distribution (affecting both sides of the body).
Have they included these tests for antibodies when they took your blood?
Abnormal antibodies can be found in the blood of people with rheumatoid arthritis. An antibody called "rheumatoid factor" can be found in 80% of patients. Citrulline antibody (also referred to as anticitrulline antibody, anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibody, and anti-CCP) is present in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
X-rays can show bony erosions typical of rheumatoid arthritis in the joints. Joint X-rays can also be helpful in monitoring the progression of disease and joint damage over time. Bone scanning, a radioactive procedure, can also be used to demonstrate the inflamed joints. MRI scanning can also be used to demonstrate joint damage.
Lupus...
■Fatigue
■Fever
■Weight loss or gain
■Joint pain, stiffness and swelling
■Butterfly-shaped rash (malar rash) on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose
■Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure
■Mouth sores
■Hair loss (alopecia)
■Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods (Raynaud's phenomenon)
■Shortness of breath
■Chest pain
■Dry eyes
■Easy bruising
■Anxiety
■Depression
■Memory loss
I have Reynaud's, it sucks..
Arthritis Medication, Prevention, Symptoms, Treatment and Causes by Gooarthritis.info
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