Katie Ernst was 19 when she first began having rashes, joint pain, hair loss, and bouts of fatigue, along with occasional heart palpitations and fainting spells. Lab tests for autoimmune and cardiac diseases came back negative. Over the next 13 years, doctor after doctor told her she was depressed or suffering from panic attacks, though she felt emotionally healthy. “I'm a go-getter,” says Ernst, now 35, a lawyer in Norristown, PA. “Being told that I was malingering was incredibly frustrating.”
After she got married, she began taking her husband to appointments for support. Finally, the couple found a physician who agreed to run more tests, which showed that Ernst had lupus (an inflammatory disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs). “It was a good idea to bring your husband along,” the doctor said. “I have another patient with similar symptoms, and I've always assumed hers were psychosomatic.”
