I had only been with one other person sexually which was in 1991 just one time.then i married my husband in 1998 so when i got pregnant with my daughter in 1999 imagine the shock when they called me at home and told me i had syphillis and need to come get treated so i did. They also tested my husband in the mean time while we were waiting for the test results for him he was getting treatment anyways then we found out he did not have it and i am pretty sure the other guy did not either any ways recently i have been having a lot of troubles and my titers can not get back to normal and my thyroid is messed up my doctor said there was something in my body attacking my thyroid so he wants me to get tested for lupus. Does this sound normal? Sorry this is so long i would appreciate any help I dont even know where to go from here because i have no insurance. Anyways thanks for listening
One of the indicators for Lupus is a false-positive on syphllis screening. It sucks that you don't have insurance. There's a great book that gives a lot of information called "The Lupus Book" by Peterson (i think). It's teal green. You can probably even find it at the library. It's a great resource for learning about the disease and how to take care of yourself.
You can also hit the Arthritis Foundation and Lupus Foundation's websites - arthritis.org and lupus.org
Are you having any symptoms or problems? (Other than the bloodwork revealing abnormalities)
Good luck and keep us posted - and if you find out you do have lupus, please get insured b/c this disease is liveable but requires a lot of medical expense. (Medications, regular bloodwork and then if you have a flare-up...)
[This message has been edited by scbagrrrl (edited 09-11-2002).]
Tkanks for replying. Ihave had huge chunks of hair fall out recently and i have been diagnosed with a thyroid problem. The doctor told me to get insurance because it was going to be expensive but the thyroid mdes are only $20.00. He did mention something about there is something attackig my thyroid but he did not want to diagnose till i had insurance. Also my neck constantly is hurting and my back it feel like someone is poking me with needles. And i am extrememly stressed and scared. Ihave been doing some research and can only think about what kind of mother i am going to be to my five kids. Right now it takes everything i got to just get them through homework then there is cheerleading and dinner and the list just goes on and on sometimes it is just too much and i cry for hours. This is sure not what i expected my life to be like at age 28 i thought i would be the active happy loving mom but the only time i am like that is when i am medicated and i dont want to be like that. There has to be other options so i am just going to keep loking and definitely got get insurance before i get any diagnoses. Thanks for listening. Bernice
Bernice,
If you are diagnosed with Lupus or any other autoimmune disorder, it is not a death sentence. There will be good days and bad days but if you take your medication and take care of yourself, the good days should far outnumber the bad ones. We hit "bumps in the road" from time to time and that's why it's important for us to have health insurance.
I think what your doctor did was crappy - one of the main aggravators of SLE is stress - and how he left you hanging is certainly stressing. Bad doctor bad!
Hair falling out can be related to thyroid problems. The rest of the stuff could be a variety of things - including stress. Consider these symptoms a notice from your body saying it needs to be taken care of better. Try some relaxation techniques - deep breathing, yoga, tai chi. (I know you don't have time for a class, but you can get some decent videos)
The best bet is to get to a rheumatologist once you have insurance. You might want to start asking around now so you will know who the best ones in your area are. (A good rheumy is tough to find)
I just wanted to add a few things. Your doctor is trying to do you a favor by not diagnosing your condition before you get insurance because you may have trouble GETTING insurance once you get an official diagnosis. If you can get even low cost insurance by all means get it. Also, I have an autoimmune thyroid disorder and maybe more??? I definitely have that and I also have a sister and mother with SLE. I have been going through a bout of thyroiditis lately, and my symptoms are very much like lupus symptoms-fatigue, aching joints, hair loss, positive ANA. Sometimes thyroid disorders exist with lupus, and sometimes they can occur by themselves. Sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. Your positive test result could be an indicator of lupus. I believe is the false-positive test is associated with antiphospholipid antibodies (I have had very high ones myself in the past-this is a diagnostic criteria of lupus). Antithyroid antibodies are probably what your doctor was talking about when he said something is attacking your thyroid (I have those too). You might want to read the thyroid board it contains a lot of information about those disorders. best wishes, susan
diagnosed with syphilis could it be lupus? 
