Awesome!!!

Hi, Rockthecasbah. Welcome!

It could be possible that you had an adverse reaction to Augmentin. Did your doctors even consider that possibility? While many patients do not have a severe reaction, there are some who do.

http://www.rxlist.com/augmentin-drug.htm

Sometimes when doctors can't figure something out (makes them nuts, actually), they give you a label such as post viral syndrome. That's sort of funny, since you were told you had a sinus infection (implying bacterial) and were then told it was post VIRAL.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1710789/

Also, I've never known a doctor to diagnose a sinus infection based on post nasal drip! Someone usually has some sort of colored drainage and other symptoms, such as pain over the affected sinus cavity.

Sinus infections are thought to be caused by undiscovered food allergies. Mayo found a connection between sinus infections and fungus. Do you eat a lot of dairy or foods containing yeast?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0910080344.htm

If you had Guillain-Barre syndrome, and you are still having symptoms of it, they should be giving further treatment. Did you receive plasmapheresis for it? IVIG?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...t/con-20025832

Have you ever had your vitamin B12 checked? Thyroid? Fatigue all day can be caused by a number of things, including a B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, lupus, and many other things!!!

If you had Guillain-Barre, there are some vaccines you should not have.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm

There's really no way you can say that you don't have double vision unless you see a neuro-ophthalmologist. They have very specific visual tests that can show if you have DV or not. Double vision is often mistaken for blurry vision. If you close one eye, does your blurry vision become better? Do you have astigmatism?

Neurontin has been shown to exacerbate MG and, in a few cases, to cause it. It might be more important to know exactly what is causing the pain in order to have the appropriate treatment. Have you tried plain old acetaminophen?

Due to the speckled titer, I would highly recommend that you find a very good rheumatologist. Some people with lupus have this particular titer. If you have lupus, that's nothing to mess with. You'll find that many doctors label patients with BS before they are eventually diagnosed with a concrete disease. Diseases such as lupus are considered "invisible" (though not by good, creative diagnosticians!) and the diagnostic process might go on for months or longer.

https://www.rheumatology.org/Practic...ibodies_(ANA)/

If it's possible that you do have lupus, pain is caused by inflammation. That would not show up on an EMG/NCS.

I do not think you should accept that you're "fine" when you have so many symptoms. I really believe the best place to begin is a rheumatologist. They might want to redo the Lyme test as well. You need a thorough evaluation from ONE doctor, a followup visit to ask more questions, and some kind of answer to what is going on (it could be more than one thing).

Do you have a good internist? They can run some basic tests or refer you to a rheumatologist.

It can be hard to figure out what's going on with a patient, but that's often more of an excuse due to a lack of time or desire to spend the effort or time to help them. You could be a victim of lazy doctoring. You need a doctor who will help you figure out exactly what is going on! I hope you can find some good help!

Annie

Thanks for the response Annie. I am not happy with the post viral diagnosis, as I believe it is just to get me to go away until a more obvious symptom occurs. I haven't heard of people having this bad of a reaction to antibiotics and have never had issues in the past with one. I do agree that being prescribed augmentin for a sinus infection does not make sense, since 90% of them are virus based. I do not think my initial throat symtpoms were a sinus infection. I believe they were the first symtpom of whatever larger issue is going on.

I'm currently not receiving any treatment for GBS nor did I receive any type of treatment prior. The neurontin was prescribed for nerve pain before my EMG/NCS results and the neurologist instructed me to continue taking them anyway after he changed his diagnosis to post viral. I believe it is the neurontin causing me vertigo, as I did not have it prior to starting the medication.

I had a bunch of vitamin levels checked and my b12 was at the low end so I am taking a supplement and my vitamin D was something like 26 when the recommended range is 30-100. I am now taking 4000 units a day with magnesium. None of my doctos seemed worried about the 1:80 speckled titer. They also ran a blood test to check for markers of inflammation which came back normal. I don't really fit the demographics for Lupus, but I will look in to it further.

As for my vision, if I wear my glasses that are about 2 years old, my vision seems perfect to me. Without them, things in the distance are blurry and do not improve when closing one eye. I do have astigmatism, but I never remember which eye it is.

Yeah, I wouldn't be happy with a nondescript diagnosis either!

Have you been tested for celiac disease? Since your B12 and D were low, that's a possibility. Are you on any antacids? That can reduce B12, iron, albumin, and calcium.

How much magnesium are you taking? Usually, people can get what they need from foods (i.e., nuts). It can be bad for MG if taken in too high of a dose.

Are you taking methylcobalamin? Many people have a MTHFR mutation and cannot convert cyanocobalamin into methylcobalamin. I hope you'll take a separate supplement for that.

Are you taking D3?

I'm asking pretty obvious questions, but I don't want to assume anything.

Lupus is a funny disease. It can creep up slowly. And it comes in "flares." Pain and fatigue can be the first symptoms. I still think that a second opinion from a good rheumy is a smart thing to do. At least rule it out.

I think some doctors are allergic to thinking. I hope you can find a couple of them who aren't!

Annie

I have not been tested for celiac's. Wouldn't stomach issues be a first sign of that? I would say I eat a pretty large amount of gluten. It would probably be helpful to know that I am a vegetarian and have been for well over 10 years but have never had symptoms like this before.

I am taking 650mg magnesium I believe. I am taking cyanocobalamin 500 mcg a day, but recently read I should probably take more as absorbtion rates can be a lot lower. The vitamin D is D3. I'm not on any antacids.

I am a little worried about Lupus. Doesn't that usually present in joint pain and swelling though? My joints appear fine and my pain and weakness seems to stem more from the muscle.

You might not have lupus, but with a speckled titer such as that, it's useful to rule it out. And a rheumy can rule out any other issues such as polymyositis, Sjogrens, etc. Their realm is inflammation and I really like their unique perspective. They might be able to determine why that titer is high and speckled! Wouldn't you want to know?

Lupus varies greatly from person to person. Don't be afraid of something you don't know you have! I just thought it would be useful to see another type of specialist for an evaluation. Neuros only do so much.

The liver converts cyanocobalamin B12 into methylcobalamin B12 so that the body can use it. So it's best to use the methyl, if you can. I like the Jarrow Formula brand. I had a severe B12 deficiency years ago and take the 5 mg. daily (I take it twice a day).

650 mg of magnesium is fairly high, especially if you have MG. Since you're a vegan, it should be easy to get that from foods.

Stomach issues are not always present with celiac. In fact, you can have no obvious symptoms and still have it, which is not at all useful! Most people do, though. Gluten sensitivity is just as damaging and harder to figure out. An internist can test for the antibodies.

Some diseases mimic others, so it can take a while to figure out what's going on. I personally like having a second set of eyes and ears (and brain) on something.

Annie