Hi,
I feel after so much online research I have hit a brick wall, and feel speaking to others in a similar position would be the best move forwards. So any input (help/ advice/ personal opinions/experiences etc) you can give us greatly appreciated,
The focus of this posit is how do I go about getting tested for an autoimmune disease, or even get my GP to look into the possibility of an underlying condition. My main concern is my mums (57) health, however I see similarities in myself (31) and my son (5), and feel something needs to be done about it ASAP.
Please bare with me here as I explain why I feel this is necessary and I will try keep it as short as possible lol
This initially began with me looking into my own health problems, as I felt my GP wasn't taking me seriously about them. Although I have repeatedly expressed my problems over a number of years, he has never officially diagnosed me with any medical conditions, or even tried to work out the cause, instead his answer is to take more medication. My symptoms are minor to him, but living with them daily really started affected my mental health. My symptoms include eczema (sensitive skin with dry flare ups and rashes), chronic runny nose and sinus problems, chronic head aches, light sensitivity, bowel problems, joint pain, bruising, fatigue, number of allergies and intolerances, facial flushing, aswel as unexplained skin redness. I started to find a pattern and work out certain triggers for my symptoms. I do my best to avoid these, not always possible so do have flare ups from time to time.
My son has very similar symptoms to me, whe he has had some bowel difficulties resulting in piles at an early age, irregular movements constipation/diarrhoea, unexplained allergic reaction (full body, as Wel as localised contact reaction), exercised induce wheeze, breathing difficulty, muscle/joint pain mainly in his legs, several bouts of unexplained fatigue/fever etc, however similar to me our GP doesn't see them as severe enough to do any follow ups. I'm trying my best to work out his triggers etc myself but without medical help I'm finding it impossible.
Although I would love answers for myself, it is my mums health that really concerns me, and again there are many similarities, however hers appeared to be more severe, resulting in many complications now. She grew up with eczema, asthma, bowel problems (majority of her large colon was removed in her 20/ due to a prolapse), later in line she was diagnosed with osteoporosis, arthritis, stomachs ulcers, SIADH, GERD,, high blood pressure, water retention.. the list goes on. These have individually caused her to have a number of hospital stays over the years, some in high dependency. Several broken bones (surgery to repair with plates and screws twice) wastage, blood clot in her heart (required 2 surgeries and on warfarin, which they are unable to get her on a regular dose), low sodium resulted in hallucinations and nearing a coma etc. Basically one problem makes the other worst, her GP is useless and simply gives her more medication, which is no longer working. Her hospital consultants were amazing but they focused on one problem, and once it was fixed she was discharged, however continues to have complications. She is a shadow of her former self, however doesn't want to be a burden so won't look into it further. Because she's always had ill health she just accepts it, but I feel more needs to be done, as she isn't getting any better.
My main aim is getting her better, then looking into possibilities of it being passed on in the family. I couldn't live with mysef if I didn't do anything to prevent my son going through what my mum is.