Author: Lottie (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: 08-18-04 20:25
John,
I can look back and see some things that were probably related to Sarcoid. I lived mostly in Hawaii with some time in Texas and Virginia (thanks to the Navy) when I was growing up. My parents said I almost died with a kidney infection as an infant, and I had my tonsils out when I was four (in 1952) and in my teens I started having sore throats, AND sinus infections.
When I was about twenty I began to suffer from extreme fatigue. A doctor finally tested my thyroid... what thyroid? There was practically no thyroid hormone in my system. As I got older I had more and more problems with my sinuses.
Finally, in 1992 I had a bone spur removed from my septum to improve drainage, and breathing. Unfortunately, the surgeon had an ego which didn't allow him to check thoroughly for an infection (temp 104) which started a few days after surgery. For four years I fought with my HMO to get an outside opinion of my then chronic infection, and finally had some money and had it resolved with the assistance of an outside ENT. In the meantime my GP was trying to help me get rid of the infection with antibiotics, especially when my temp would hit 101.
It was a few months after my sinus infection was resolved, and then my gallbladder decided that it wanted "out" that I started experiencing fatigue, and drops in my blood pressure that had me almost blacking out, just sitting up. They finally did a CT scan with dye, thinking I had a pulmonary embolism after surgery, and saw the enlarged lymph nodes, which turned out to be Sarcoidosis on biopsy.
I probably have had Sarcoid most of my life. When we were in Hawaii especially, I was in the sun almost every day, swimming or riding horses. There was never much of a chance for my "D" levels to drop to a level that I would notice a problem. When I began working nights as a nurse, my daylight was very much reduced. (I've always been a night person, and have actually avoided the sun most of my life, unless there was something that I needed or wanted to do) I think that the infections that I had along the way increased my bacteria load. And, finally, especially with all the antibiotics I was on for the four years which never really killed everything put me over the top.
An interesting note... when I was explaining to my mother about how the sun affects the Sarcoidosis, she said, "When you were an infant, I would take you outside for fresh air and some sun, and you would start sneezing. So I stopped taking you out." Gotta wonder, was that sneezing because of Sarcoid? Especially since I've been avoiding all D's and sunlight, I notice that I often sneeze after I've been in the sun even for short periods.
*MODERATOR* Dx- Sarcoid 1999 Heart, Neuro, Joints, Myalgia, Skin, SOB, Fatigue (Apr 04-1,25D 48, 25D 17) (May 05-1,25D 35, 25D-below 5) Pred x5yrs- now off! 5/19 Benicar 10/11 Mino, 1/24/05 modified phase 2, 2/2/06 Phase 2 - Worked as RN until back injury
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