CircusSquirrel

I'm sorry you feel frustrated, yep it sucks. I am finally getting the appropriate testing for lupus even though I've had the symptoms and some positive tests in the past (won't have any word on the latest round of tests until this coming week). Regarding feeling like you're being treated like a hypochondriac, boy do I know where you're coming from! I actually have an "anxiety disorder" ( I have panic attacks) and once some docs (I'll be fair, not ALL docs) find that out, they automatically dismiss my complaints. I had a positive ANA about 5 years ago when my doc was doing some bloodwork, he said "Oh, that could be lupus but we're not going to do any more tests since you aren't having any rashes or bad symptoms." I didn't know much about lupus then and I trusted the doc (my husband worked for him) so I just forgot about it and accepted his answer. I actually think my panic attacks may have become worse from docs misdiagnosing me! Even though I was anxious as a kid, I never had full-blown panic attacks until I was pregnant with my first child and began having medical complications that were misdiagnosed. Then I had blood clots from lupus anticoagulant (clots in both legs then in my lungs) that were misdiagnosed not once, but twice! I feel that even though I'm naturally, genetically anxious, doctors have only compounded the problem, but what can we do, some docs are great and people need medical care! OK, rant over! But you see my point. It is frustrating and the fact is, there is a lot to be learned about so many diseases, autoimmune diseases being high up on the list. I have an aunt who has a collection of symptoms that resemble about 3 or 4 autoimmune diseases, she's been dealing with them for about, oh, 20 years now with no definite answers (which means no definitive treatment, either). About 6 or 7 years ago she just quit searching for answers. She lives in a very small town and just figured she'd enjoy her life and do what she could, then if things went way downhill she'd try another big city doc. She's in relatively decent health in that noone feels she has any life-threatening disorders, but she feels like a hypochondriac even though she has no psychiatric disorders, not even anxiety. Fortunately she has a wonderful husband and a grown son (who lives nearby) to help her out when she's feeling very unwell. Her sister has rheumatoid arthritis, many women in my family have RA and a few others have bizarre collections of symptoms that they just deal with, including my mother (they're all older now). I'm one of only three girls of their children's generation, I'm the oldest at 31, and I have a 22 year old sister with fibro, and it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up having something else, the way she'll have these flare-ups of illness just come on her. She's young and hopeful, though, and she's just dealing with the fibro and says she's not seeking any more opinions until she is really, really sick because none of the women in our family seem to be diagnosed with anything except anxiety until we are so sick we're almost unable to function! Well, I hope that made you feel a little less alone. But as you can see from this board, many people eventually DO get diagnosed properly! Best wishes to you.