Hey fellow lupies,
So I recently got a 2nd opinion just to have a new set of eyes look at everything that's been going on with me. I had given my current rheumy a year to get me to feeling well and we're still not completely there yet so I figured a 2nd opinion was in order. My current rheumy diagnosed me with lupus and we've tried multiple drugs (mtx, leuflonimide sp?, Imuran, celebrex, and now cellcept) and I've been on plaquenil and prednisone this entire time. So I go to see this new rheumy and she kind of rubs me the wrong way. She's not very personable like my other rheumy and she kinda seems like a "know it all." I still give her a chance and try to keep my judgements to myself and listen to her suggestions. She believes I may not have lupus at all (just b/c my labs aren't out of whack right now), so I explain to her all my symptoms, positive ana, etc that started my whole battle. So she believes that something else is going on in addition to lupus like fibromyalgia. Fine, I let her draw all kinds of blood and she sends me home with a new prescription for Cymbalta to help with pain control (I had taken this before I was diagnosed with lupus for endometriosis pain and it worked well). Needless to say, she didn't go over my meds very well and with the first dose of Cymbalta I ended up with serotonin syndrome and got to stay in the ICU for 2 days because of it. All she said was "I'm so sorry this happened to you!" and she'll see me in 3 weeks but she wanted to let me know my ana was negative and all my other "lupus tests" were negative. I'm no genius (I am an ICU RN) but if I've been on immunosuppressants, prednisone, and all these meds for a year, wouldn't that cause a change in my labs if they are working? And how can she just decide I don't have lupus because I'm semi-under control? After the whole serotonin syndrome thing, I am very angry and don't really even want to go back to see her. I think she thinks I'm faking everything. Oh, and she also got very angry that I had been prescribed tramadol prn and morphine ER prn (which I don't even take monthly.. I suffer before I take anything). I just don't know what to do and I'm very frustrated with this woman. Should I go back and see her for this follow up or just go back to my regular rheumy (I have an appt with her a week after I see the 2nd opinion lady)?