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From what I know of Endo, it is very painful and can give you the general crappy feeling but it shouldn't cause joint pain or swelling. Auto-immune issues have been linked to changes in estrogen levels, not sure if Endo affects estrogen levels or not but something to ask!
The chest pain can be from inflammation in the cartilage between your breast bones and ribs and that usually won't show up on x-ray unless its really doing serious damage. This inflammation can be caused from strenuous activity, trauma or an auto-immune issue, like RA or Lupus. I can not inflate my lungs fully the swelling is so bad. It hurts to raise my arms or lift anything. This is a very painful symptom!
Rashes are typical in Lupus but alone, not enough to diagnose Lupus. I am very photosensitive but have never really had rashes before. I have a few moles that are "suspicious" and have an appt scheduled with a dermatologist to take a peek! But that probably has nothing to do with the auto-immune issues! 
Not to alarm you but please mention the swollen lymph nodes to the rheumy. Lymphoma can also cause all the symptoms you are describing.
I'd advise you to make a list of ALL your symptoms and approximately when they first started. List what tests you have already had, the allergy tests, thyroid work-up and chest x-rays and other stuff. The doc will want to know how long you are stiff for in the morning, how much activity you can tolerate and what makes your symptoms worse.
I understand being young and feeling VERY OLD!!!! You have time on your side, if this turns out to be any sort of auto-immune illness, with the right treatment, you can avoid many of the problems I'm having! Do NOT be shy with the doc!!!!! You know your body better than anyone else. Just because they have a medical degree, doesn't always make them right! Make your list of symptoms and questions and don't leave until you understand the answers. He may not be able to give you all the answers until he does further testing however, you need to feel that everything is being done to get to the bottom of why you are feeling like this! 
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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Re: Plaquenil
#271667 - 06/29/06 02:33 PM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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Is not an immune suppressant so no, it won't make you more susceptible to infections. It is actually a malaria drug! They aren't even sure how it works on the auto-immune diseases!! However anyone with an AI (auto-immune) disease are at an increase risk for things like infections and lymphoma. Plaquenil is a relatively safe drug. The vision loss is rare if you keep the dose appropriate to your weight, I forget the exact ration, but it is still important to have yearly eye exams. Of all the drugs I'm on, the plaquneil seems to have the least amount of side effects. A little dizziness and off kilter feeling for the first few days but it wasn't awful and went away pretty quickly!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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It's always fun to try to explain to people what hydroxychloroquine is and why I have to take an anti-malarial. I didn't think it would make me more susceptible to infections, but thought it was something I should ask. Other than the lupus symptoms, I don't get "regular" sick that often.
Some good news I wanted to share with you (or anyone else who's interested) is that I didn't experience any side effects with Plaquenil, even when I had to double the dose, and I'm up to 115 pounds now. So I'm gaining about 1 pound a month. Hooray! And, since I went up to 400 mg I haven't had any IBS symptoms - not sure if it's just a coincidence or due to amitriptyline or what, although I'm positive Heather's EFI guidelines have been a great help. I shared this with the rheumy who said he wasn't sure if it had to do with the Plaquenil, but that he's really interested to see what happens with my IBS over the course of treatment. In September, after six months at 400 mg, he's lowering it to 200 mg since I'm still underweight. My rheumy is very cautious - and even though I'll be on a low dose he still wants me to see the eye doctor every six months because I "only have two eyes."
Edited by Maria!Maria! (06/29/06 02:42 PM)
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Maria
#271700 - 06/29/06 05:46 PM
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Sand
Reged: 12/13/04
Posts: 4490
Loc: West Orange, NJ (IBS-D)
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Quote:
Some good news I wanted to share with you (or anyone else who's interested) ...
Definitely interested. It's good to hear from you again and especially good to hear you're doing so well. Congratulations on the weight gain. (You have no idea how odd it seems to be saying that!)
Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Jen= I don't have much to add to what the others said except that my thoughts are with you. I did have a scare with lupus back in January if you remember. I got a + ANA panel but everything else came back negative and then when they ran the panel again it was negative. But I am still seeing a rheumotolgist every 4 months for blood work. She said that because I don't present any joint pain or anything typical that I probably fall into the 1/3 of people whose labs are screwy and will never develop an autoimmune disorder. I pray that she is right. I still feel really good so I am not too worried.
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First off.. Jen.. good luck with everything at your appt!
Secondly.. what exactly is a lupus rash?
is it like red blotches on your skin that go away.. or is it more like an all over rash.. or raised bumps etc...??
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It's a raised red fash on the face covering the nose and cheeks...kinda in the shape of a butterfly.
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Re: Michele
#271776 - 06/30/06 07:12 AM
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michele
Reged: 06/02/03
Posts: 6886
Loc: southeastern michigan
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Thanks wonderful that you are gaining weight and feeling better! Yay!!!! My IBS has gone from C to D but I'm on a slew of new drugs so I'm sure its from one of them!!
As far as the eyes go, just be sure to keep your exam appts and call them right away if you notice any changes in your vision at all! Even for as low of weight as you are, the 400mg still isn't all that high. They used to use it in much higher doses and thats when the real eye problems started! I also seem to tolerate the placquenil very well, just a little off the first few days but that went away very quickly!
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Taking it one day at a time.....
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wow.. thanks for the info..
my practitioner has lupus, but her's is definitly under control.
I was just wondering if you got rashes all over your body.
Thanks for the info.. Nice to see you again Linz! 
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Angela
#271806 - 06/30/06 08:35 AM
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jen1013
Reged: 05/06/05
Posts: 1322
Loc: the wabe
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Now that you mention it, I do remember that you'd initially had the positive test. I hope your bloodwork continues to be negative and that you continue to feel healthy. I've also read that sometimes people have a positive ANA for no apparent reason, so hopefully that's the case.
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jen
"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC
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