What what your Doctor's "a-ha!" test?

[eileenv]

Hi Jolanta, thats intresting about they can biopsy a nerve, fours years ago after i had some surgery, the nerve in my foot kept pulsesating not painful but it keeps meawake as well this has been going on now for three years now i wonder if this was the begining of wegs.

[JanW]

Terry: just keep in mind that the sinuses are a really tough area to biopsy (as is the throat), so they may not get anything.

As for me, I wasn't in crisis, and don't believe that I was going into crisis at the time I was diagnosed. I had crappy bloodwork, positive anca, ankle pain that wasn't healing. Felt tired and achy but not horrible and fully functional. Also had stenosis that was getting worse, but I had adjusted (and didn't know I had it, thought I had asthma). However, in my case, my saddle nose cinched it for my doc, before I left his office on the inital visit. I was at the ENT the next day and in surgery for my stenosis within six weeks and on mtx about a week after that. Luckily it all worked and so far so good.

[jola57]

eileenv, hard to say

[Thakator]

Hi Terry, For me it was first of all ruling out any infectious disease, the on to a rheumatoligist who set me up for a blood test which was ANCA positive, then to a CT scan of the lungs and sinuses. Scan showed lung nodules (one of which had grown to golf ball size in less than two months). Since nodules are a sign of WG but can also be cancerous and since the treament for WG is in and of itelf fraought with inherent danger, an open lung biopsy was recommended to make the difinitive dx. A nasty procedure with a painful period of recovery - - but, it proved the point. Biopsy said WG. The proof needed to justify the treatment. The best to you, Ron