ANOTHER DOCTOR APPOINTMENT - DAY 6

My friend Evelyn drove me to my clinic appointment today at 9:00am.  I was given some antibiotic meds to help with the infection and am to continue to take the cortisone for inflammation.  I asked the doctor if he had taken a large amount of fluid from the lymph node as it is now half the size as it was prior to surgery.  He explained that he only took a very small amount of tissue from the node as well as from the ulcer on my tongue.  He thinks that the cortisone is reducing the node.  

I again asked him what he saw when he was down my throat with the light and he said that it looked like an ulcer.  I asked if it was a tumor and he said no it was not.  I asked if there would be any further reports of the biopsies and he said no.  He wants to do some more blood work that might show signs of an autoimmune disease syndrome.  He gave me a few examples like Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis but explained that there were many other things it could be.     

• Most Doctors believe that lupus results from both genetic and environmental stimuli.
• Risk factors include exposure to sunlight, certain prescription medications, infection with Epstein-Barr virus, and exposure to certain chemicals.
• Environmental factors include extreme stress, exposure to ultraviolet light, smoking, some medications and antibiotics, infections and the Epstein-Barr virus (in children).
• Although there is no cure, lupus and its symptoms can be controlled with medication.

Environmental elements that may trigger lupus include

• Penicillin or other antibiotic drugs: amoxicillin (Amoxil); ampicillin (Ampicillin Sodium ADD-Vantage); cloxacillin (Cloxapen)
• Infections - including the effects of Epstein-Barr virus
• Cold or a viral illness
• Exhaustion
• Injury
• Emotional stress, such as divorce, illness, death in the family or other life complications
• Anything else that causes stress to the body such as surgery, physical harm, pregnancy or giving birth

Infections that most commonly affect people with lupus include urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, yeast infections, salmonella, herpes and shingles.


Other autoimmune diseases:
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Sjögren’s Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS, Celiac Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, etc.

1. A Trigger – This is an enormous list. Let me just list off a few and you can think about your own life. A trigger can be anything that moves the process forward. Possible triggers include gluten, dairy, stress, blood sugar issues, genetically modified foods, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, heavy metals, chronic toxin exposure, viruses, infections, BPA in plastic, alcohol, prescription medications, and mold exposure.

I could  not find any info on base of tongue ulcer and lymph node enlargement in reference to Autoimmune Disease.