Hi Dr. Nichols, I sent this message to the Autoimmune Forum and Niko referred me to you. Are you in the Boston area or know someone who could help me here?
This was my message posted in the Autoimmune Forum:
I have these symptoms: achiness, flu like symptoms, joint and muscle pains, swollen feet, blurred vision, feeling very cold always, very painful periods, itchiness, trouble concentrating, rash, irritability, uveitis, fibromyalgia, gained 40lbs) but I have a temperature of about 99.9. Blood tests always come back normal, exept it shows slight inflammation. Doctors are not sure of what I have. Think it might be rheumatoid arthritis or sarcoidosis although my blood tests are never conclusive. Please do you have any suggestions? I have had these issues for years and they are getting worse. I had the Epstein Barr Virus in the summer 2012, and a kidney infection summer 2014. I am on methotrexate now since September 2012 and still have a lot of pain and a hard time walking. I am 33. Could it be my thyroid (although blood tests are normal)? Please any tips, suggestions, referrals are welcome. Thank you much.
And this is Niko's reply:
You may have seronegative arthritis with an underlying low infectious condition, which when inactive does not show in blood tests.
It is common such infectious conditions in arthritic conditions are localized mainly in tissue and specifically in synovial fluid within the joints evading the immune system and detection from blood tests as well.
It is possible you also have low thyroid function, in which case it is type 2,
thyroid resistance which again does not show in standard thyroid tests.
You must ask for free T3, free T4 AND reverse T3.
Normally basal temperature in low thyroid function would be low, but because of underlying infectious conditions the temperature rises.
It is possible also that the suspected infectious condition is of the pathogenic mycoplasma species and/or its coinfections, like babesia, bartonella, ehrlichia and others.
For more details on this please do a search here under Dr Garth Nicolson,
a part-time medhelp contributor and the world's leading expert in this fileld.
I hope this helps.
Niko
New link... thread # 2 --- Dr. Nicolson is on right now answering questions from MedHelp members:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/648220
Please consider joining us in the fibro / CFS forum in approximately 1/2 hour. Dr. Nicholson will be on live answering questions about autoimmune diseases, cancer, fibro & CFS and other conditions.