being tested for autoimmune disorders and i'm FREAKING!

[shade]

It all started about 5 weeks ago.  I was taking doxcycline for acne with every possible side effect, one being weakness and aches in my legs. After 2 weeks of the weakness, I went to the dr, because i had been off the med for a week and still experiencing symptoms. Dr didn't think it was anything serious. Did some blood work checking for muscle function, inflammatory markers, cbc, complete metabolic panel...all came back normal and withing 6 days of seeing him, the weakness went away.

8 days ago, I started my day with a 20 minute walk, followed by shopping and household chores which required minimal strain on my legs. Almost immediately after the chores, my legs started ACHING as if I had the flu. I have no joint aches, no muscle pain or tenderness...just the aches. They are getting better. Also I was having PMS and started my period 4 days later, so I thought that it could be related even though that has never been a PMS symptom for me.  Of course I acted stupidly and googled my symptoms for hours each day this week, convinced I had lupus or MS. So i make an appt. to go to dr. today and he said he was gonna go ahead and test for autoimmune diseases. I freaked and he said he was confident they would come back normal and not to lose any sleep over it, but he just wanted to be thorough.

I am terrified. I need support in waiting for these results. One of my biggest fears is lupus or some autoimmune disroder!! my only symptom is achy thighs so i am a little surprised he's testing for this. is he just running out of options? help i am beside myslf in panic!!

[jthami03]

it seems he's doing everything he can to reassure you that there is NOT anything serious going on. its like when my doc put me through a full cardiac workup. Im  22. There's almost no chance my heart is anything but healthy, but as my doctor, he did his best to calm my worries.

I wouldn't worry too much :)

Keep us posted!!

[shade]

It will be up to 2 weeks before I get the results and I have no idea how to cope with this. Any suggestions? I feel really alone and like I should be preparing myself for the worst...

[JunoX]

I spent years having the same exact symptom your describing. I had aches in my legs and they felt weak on a daily basis. It was really bizarre and I have no idea what was causing it. Eventually, my arms started feeling the same way and all I kept thinking about was how I was dying and there was nothing that could save me. I went to the doctor several times about it and they were never able to find the cause. I eventually stopped going and just thought I was doomed to die from a yet unknown illness that I was probably the first to have. I became terrified of the doctors because of these symptoms and soon stopped going.


I sort of accepted the fact that I was on the road to death and the more I accepted, the more the weakness would be there. I even bought a cane thinking that sooner or later, the weakness would make me bedridden and I wouldnt be able to stand on my own.


Then one day, I stopped thinking about it and it all went away as mysteriously as it started. Even now I think back and wonder hat happened to all of those aches and pains and weakness I had before.

[sixpack]

doc is just being thorough.  Remember doctors are trained to look for organic diseases.  So they are going to test, test, test.  When they all come back normal, you will breathe a sigh of relief.

[shade]

Thank you guys for replying. It means a lot. I feel like I am just waiting for that ONE time something doesn't come back normal...(i've had breast biopsy, numerous breast ultra sounds, cat scan for brain tumor, cat scan for kidney/bladder cancer, ultra sound for ovarian cancer, MRI for bone cancer...just to name a few...i've had quite a few diseases that should have killed me by now thanks to my health anxiety ;)

[SkittishSari]

It sounds like your doc is just trying to reassure you. Lupus ran in my ex's family, and believe me, your doctor would recognize if there was anything to be concerned about.

[shade]

skittish sari: thank you so much. i needed to hear that! i have always feared lupus and though i had aches in my thighs, i didn't want to hear him say that he was going to test for it. like i said, he doesn't think anything will be abnormal, but all i can focus on is the fact the test is out there waiting for me...i hate it!!