Medical update!

(hee hee) Sounds serious doesn't it? It's not:) We went to the doctor with my lab results today. I made Greg come with me because I knew I wouldn't remember everything he said to me. He has ruled out any serious infections. My thyroid is great, my blood counts are good, liver is great and my hormone levels are good. My cholesterol levels were not so good and now I am taking medicine......must be all of those tortillas, tacos and tamales!  What the tests did show was that I have an auto immune disease but he doesn't know which one because there are many and my main symptom is extreme fatigue and that is not enough information to narrow it down.

"An autoimmune disease is a condition that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue.  Normally, the immune system's white blood cells help protect the body from harmful substances, called antigens. Examples of antigens include bacteria, viruses, toxins, cancer cells, and blood or tissues from another person or species. The immune system produces antibodies that destroy these harmful substances.In patients with an autoimmune disorder, the immune system can't tell the difference between healthy body tissue and antigens. The result is an immune response that destroys normal body tissues. What causes the immune system to no longer tell the difference between healthy body tissues and antigens is unknown. "

So in my tests it showed that I had an abnormal amount of antinuclear antibodies and that is not good.
"Antibodies are proteins that are made as part of an immune response. Normally the immune system responds to infection by producing large numbers of antibodies to fight bacteria or viruses. However, when a person has an autoimmune disease, the body's immune system malfunctions, producing large amounts of harmful substances called autoantibodies. Autoantibodies, unlike normal antibodies that fight bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, attack the body's own tissues and cells. Autoantibody-mediated inflammation and cell destruction can affect blood cells, skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and other organs of the body."

So, there you have it! That is our medical lesson for the day:) He has ordered further testing so we will go back to the hospital in the morning for more blood work. He is also testing me for tuberculosis because he said there is a large increase of TB here in Mexico now and since we work with poor people he wanted to test me just to be safe. I don't go back until November 22nd but if he sees something on the lab results when they come back, he will call us and tell us over the phone. The bottom line is that I do have something but it is treatable and I am ready to begin getting treatment which doesn't sound like I will begin until we get back from Texas in January. I was wanting to begin treatment before we left, I will just keep praying.

The girls are excited to be going back to the hospital tomorrow so they can have another banana nut muffin from Starbucks:)