I am currently being treated for "possible" Lupus. My Rheumatologist has me on Plaquenil. My symptoms are vague(as well as quite annoying!) My labs are fairly normal except for a low ANA and a low anticardiolipin antibody level. My symptoms sound very similar to Addison's though. I have loss of appetite. with weight loss(about 10 lbs this year), Fluctuating bouts of EXTREME, debilitating, bed ridden fatigue alternating with periods of normal to very high energy(sometimes I feel like I had a shot of adrenalin,which I did have once after an allergy shot reaction). Yesterday I was in bed half the day, today I feel as if I had 20 cups of coffee. The past five days I have been very nauseas(how do you spell that?) one time getting the icy sweats like I was going to vomit. The logical thing to me(not that I am very logical:) is that I feel like I get surges of adrenalin, then bouts of low adrenalin. I have had bouts of "grey" outs(almost passing out...everything starts to go dim) on standing in the past, when I went on a low salt diet. I also tend to get it if I'm dehydrated. I do crave salty foods, and will eat them till my mouth hurts from the salt. I feel like if I said this stuff to my PCP he'd surely slap me with a neurosis stamp and send me home with a pat on the head. My brother had an adrenal tumor which showed up as Cushing's Disease. From the web sites on Addison's, it sounds as though fatigue is chronic , not cyclical like mine. Any info from the experts? Junebug

cyclical cushings??

sounds like a thyroid disease. since your brother has cushings , so could u.have labs for autoimmune thyroiditis. you probably hyperthyroid/hyop. get the free t4, t3, tsh, tpo Ab. lmhope
was the adrenal tumor a pheochromocytoma?? if so you need to have a plasma free met. blood test to rule that out. ask your brother, then dr....

Eating salty things until your tongue hurts, dramatically variable fatigue, weight changes, and dizzy spells, does sound like Addison's. It's easy enough to rule out, just get an ATCH test and see if your adrenals respond normally.

I have had all the thyroid tests, which were normal including antibodies. I have had two bouts of sub acute viral thyroiditis though. Once after a coxsackie virus(I think) and once after I finished a short burst of Prednisone this winter. The only thing that doesn't add up is the cycling...annemv...did you mean that cycling Cushing's was a real entity? I haven't heard of this...All I can find in my research is "progressive" or "chronic" fatigue. I am up and down, and it has nothing to do with my emotional state...I can be happy as a clam...but can't move for two days(though that doesn't usu. make me happy:) I think my brother's Cushing's possibly was the pheochromocytoma(I just looked all that up but it's a jumble of terms now...)...but he had radiation as well back in the 70's for Hodgkin's disease, so it may very well be unrelated to whatever is going on with me. Do I just go in to my PCP's office and say..."Hey I want a ATCH test!"? I've already been in to see him with weird stuff Like a single purpura on my hip...he didn't know what to do...I feel like such a ninny asking for a test. Should I just "get over it" and ask him?