[Megan]

I need to share with you about my visit on Tuesday with a General Physician who was highly recommended to me....and what an awesone visit that was!

After perusing my current symptoms and other seemingly miscellaneous symptoms/events that have happened to me since about 1987 he said that even the Plantar Fasciitis which developed in 1991 and has not abated, indicated to him an autoimmune kind of response which has been happening to me. Then there was the Erythema Nodosum in 1992 and it goes on from there!

He said he is a person who likes to do Venn diagrams so he showed me how he thinks things fit in for me. He labelled the top M.C.T.D - (multiple connective tissue disease) - and stated the 'Rheumatological' symptoms that I have been having down one side. Then in the diagram he did circles which overlapped across from right to left with things like RA, SLE, Psoriatic Arthritis, Sjogrens etc. etc. etc. and the last one being CFS/Fibro. He also did some tiny little interlinking circles here and there that indicated much rarer conditions which also overlapped but much more rarely get checked.

He said I want to check this tiny little circle right here for the condition Cryglobulinaemia! My Pulmonologist was already thinking that something was going on with my IgG and I have had repeated episodes of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae so it was interesting he honed in on this which has an IgG component although I don't completely understand the process. I do not have Hep C which usually causes this condition but Myco Pn. also can cause it.

He also stated how rare it is for "people with no Diabetes to get both sensory Peripheral Neuropathy and Gastroparesis along with all the other symptoms", I have now had for 18 months. He said either God has struck you with ten different things and you are the most unlucky woman on the planet or there is a connection!!!!Phew! Exactly what I have been wondering!

At least he validated my recent symptoms and experience and that goes a long way!!!

He suggested that even if my result of the Cryoprecipitate and Cryoglobulins comes back normal (a notoriously difficult test to keep at the correct temperature and do correctly it seems) he said he will possibly speak with my Pulmonologist to start some Plasmaphoresis and maybe some steroid sparing medications such as Imuran, Plaquenil, MTX (methotrexate), or Cyclosporin (if I can read his writing correctly).

This is all premature speculation I realise at this point but the overwhelming relief of being validated after all this time was a huge relief!

Cyclelops or anyone who has any thoughts on this I would appreciate your input!

Megan