Suspect autoimmune disease - what could this be/best way to get a diagnosis?

[Lurcherlurcher]

Hi all - could really use advice. Am 49 so this could all be menopausal-related...but I have an instinct something else is going on. Here are my symptoms -

• exhausted all the time
• sudden skin issues - not a butterfly rash but random red patches, dry skin
• itchy red spots around the corner of one that periodically come and go
• cracks at the corner of my mouth that don't seem to heal
• joint pain - I apparently have tennis elbow on one side, and have had physio for it, but it's not going away. Also achey in other places (knees and feet). Not quite as painful as the tennis elbow, and no 'mirroring', but definitely there, particularly in mornings and evenings.

I feel (and look) like crap and want to improve things. I know getting a diagnosis is notoriously hard - is the best first step a blood test? And I get basic private health insurance from DH's work, so if anyone could recommend a good London clinic/doctor, that would be most helpful.

Would also appreciate if anyone has any thoughts on what my symptoms might point to! Thanks so much.

It sounds like you are run down. I would go to the GP and explain your symptoms. They will probably send you for blood tests to see if there are any markers. Good luck.

Could well be due to something like low iron levels, have you had bloods done recently?

Have you had other blood tests? Quite a few of those could be low iron or b12?

Definitely bloods first - low ferritin, anaemia, low vit B12 or vit D could be causing any or all I f those symptoms

Get a full panel of blood tests your basic private should do it but GP’s usually will too.

A lot of that could easily be other things.

start taking multivitamins anyway and get bloods to check for iron, vit B and vit D.

menopause can also have an impact - what’s your situation there? Are you in HRT?

Could be something like anemia, menopause, vit d deficiency, thyroid issues, psoriatic arthritis? A blood test checking for these things, so iron level, vit d, thyroid function would be good. You could ask for an ANA blood test as well? It’s not conclusive for autoimmune stuff at all but a good indicator.

Would be worth being checked for coeliac disease.

It could be psoriatic arthritis

Thanks so much all. Sorry for slow reply, for some reason my phone wasn't seeing updates.

I am actually due to go for a blood test for something else, so will see if I can get a full count and the test that looks for inflammatory markers, plus thyroid. I do take multivitamin supplements so I suspect there isn't a deficiency on that front.

@Octavia64 - I am on HRT, but actually haven't had a period for quite a few months now, which indicates to me that I might be getting into full menopause and the dosage needs adjusting. (Aware that some women stop having periods on HRT, but given this didn't happen to me initially, something is probably going on!)

@Goose86 - thanks but really don't think it's coeliac. A friend of mine has that - I have no digestive symptoms at all...

@StepsInTime - I've considered this too. Although I don't have psoriasis, my skin is definitely more reactive/sensitive than ever. Plus the joint pain.

Also, can anyone recommend a London clinic or doctor that is good at joining the dots? Thanks again x

Dr Kaul at the London Lupus Centre is very good at diagnosing all autoimmune/rheumatological conditions not just lupus.

@Aslican - thank you, that's really good to know.

Small world. I was there today seeing one of his colleagues!

Don't let them dismiss it as perimenopause. They did this to me for ages. All my blood tests and autoimmune markers were fine. Incidentally found out I have IBD a few years later. Other than the mouth sores, I relate to what you describe. I always felt something wasn't right and there was something going on.

Ask for vit D, folate and b12 to be tested, I've been low in these in the past and it made me feel awful and with some of the symptoms you have. Sometimes multivitamins aren't enough or high quality enough.