Does this sound autoimmune? Thoughts?

Hi there,

I’ve had an odd constellation of symptoms lately that my doctor can’t seem to figure out. I was wondering if anyone out there had any thoughts or similar experiences.

I’ve had intermittent joint pain since early childhood but was always told that was “growing pains”. There was never any obvious swelling so other than an X-ray no testing was done and this was eventually attributed to my being overweight. I could understand that but I did always wonder why it started when I was so young, and not overweight at the time. The joint pain continued into adulthood but was manageable with Motrin so I never pushed the issue with my physician. About 3 months ago the joint pain became significantly worse, occurred with greater frequency, and began to involve my hips, shoulders, hands, and even elbows at times. I also developed overwhelming fatigue. I was exhausted all the time. There were times I had to force myself out of bed to even eat something and I often felt like I was too tired to even chew. I’d never experienced anything like it. My doctor ran a few labs including a CBC with differential, CRP, ESR, and checked for Lyme because I live in a high risk area. Lyme came back negative. CBC showed WBC of 12.4 with high neutrophils. The CRP was slightly elevated at 15.9 and ESR was elevated at 31. It wasn’t clear what was going on but we decided a wait and see approach was best. Two weeks later I developed a peri rectal abscess which required an I&D under anesthesia and 3 days of IV antibiotics. My WBC count at that time were 19.6 again with high neutrophils. The wound healed without issue and the area was showing no signs of infection however 2 weeks post op I was still having low grade fevers and my WBC count remained elevated at 13. My doctors said it would likely just take time to recover from the infection but they did start another course of antibiotics. 2 weeks later my WBC count was still above 13 and my CRP was 15.9. It has now been 2 months since the infection and operation and I’m still having the same joint aches and overwhelming fatigue. They seem to be getting worse and not better. My white count is still high (13.8) as is my CRP (mildly high). I had an ANA done and it came back negative.

I just don’t feel right and I can’t figure it out. I keep catching colds which is abnormal for me because I hardly ever got sick before. I’ve always had GI issues which were worked up and deemed IBS and solitary rectal ulcer syndrome. Those symptoms have been more troubling lately as well.

My PCP referred me to a rheumatologist however I won’t be able to get in to see her until January. My doctor is very amenable to ordering any lab tests I think might help but I really don’t have any experience with this stuff. If anyone has any recommendations in terms of lab work or testing it would be greatly appreciated. I’d like to get as much as I can done before January 1st since I’ve met my insurance out of pocket max for the year and it would all be covered at this point.

Sorry for the length and thanks for taking the time to read this!!

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