Should I see a rheumatologist?

Hello all of you!

I hope you all are well and staying healthy through this very weird time in the world.

I wanted to ask all of you as my anxiety has been wild if you think it'd be wise for me to get a second opinion from a rheumatologist?

I still have Raynauds like symptoms, hair loss, white fingernails with pinkish bands at the top, stiff lower back pain, spider veins, some chest pains, and am just concerned if it is in fact Lyme and Co. causing these symptoms or if it's Lupus. As some of you know I had an Avise CTD test for autoimmune issues done 11 months ago and it came back indeterminate for Lupus. On it I had a positive ANA, 1:640 titer, and positive anticardiolipins and of course positive thyroid symptoms but everything else was lower and not positive for the ranges of that lab.

I don't want to be drugged up crazily by a diagnosis but the not knowing is truly driving me crazy.

Thanks for all and stay well!

It makes sense to look for a good specialist to help you rule lupus out or in, if that will ease your mind. Plenty of people have all of those symptoms without having lupus, but I understand how the test results make you wonder. Why were the tests not repeated if they were indeterminate?

I happened to hear an impressive interview the other day with autoimmune illness specialist Dr. Brooke Goldner, who put her own lupus into full remission for well over a decade so far, using primarily diet. Her website is goodbyelupus.com and one of her books is Goodbye Lupus. https://goodbyelupus.com/welcome/?s2-ssl=yes She offers very personalized services (daily check-in calls!) and sounds like a great, genuinely caring practitioner with boundless energy. I would work with her in a heartbeat if I had anything autoimmune going on. Might not be your cup of tea (or green juice) but since she was fresh in my mind, I thought I'd pass along the rec.

Typically Neurologists and Rheumatologist are pretty narrow minded groups of doctors who prefer to follow IDSA and CDC diagnosis and treatment guidelines, and don't too often think outside of the box. But there are some exceptions. Unfortunately I wasted over three years of valuable treatment time and hen fired my PCP and his Neuro and Rhymy referred associates before getting a lyme diagnosis started ILADS supported protocols.