Coping with Lupus: There are four distinct forms of lupus. Systemic lupus is the most common type of lupus. The other three forms of lupus are cutaneous, drug-induced and neonatal. Drug-induced lupus and neonatal are not a sustained lupus, but systemic and cutaneous lupus are auto-immune conditions that tend to stay with a patient throughout [...]
Coping with Lupus: People with lupus are usually encouraged to engage in appropriate daily exercise to keep up muscle and bone strength. Exercise is not intuitive for those with auto-immune health challenges like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia. Waking up each morning with joint stiffness and pain, the first thought on my mind is definitely [...]
Diagnosis and Treatment of Lupus: More than 90 percent of people with lupus will experience joint and/or muscle pain that can be disabling. Lupus causes inflammation in the synovial tissues inside joints of fingers, wrists, feet, ankles and knees. As a result of this inflammation, non-erosive arthritis can develop that causes pain, stiffness and swollen [...]
Understanding Lupus: It doesn’t seem fair, but lupus definitely discriminates. Although our federal laws forbid discrimination based on gender, there are no laws of auto-immunity that follow those edicts. Unfortunately, 90 percent of the people who develop lupus are women. Lupus further discriminates because it is two to three times more prevalent among women of [...]
Lupus at sweet sixteen, but not yet diagnosed. You don’t know this yet, but in a few years you will be a young wife and mother, and will finally be diagnosed with lupus. However, you will continue to have mysterious symptoms for another ten years before a doctor finally asks the right questions, and runs [...]
Last week, it was a relief to finally receive a twice postponed Benlysta infusion for my lupus. Also, today marks one week into the April Health Writer’s 30 day challenge, and over 7 months (32 weeks) into my Benlysta treatments. Happy day #225 with Benlysta. Today is an important milestone, simply because I am declaring [...]
Chicken noodle soup has amazing powers to heal sicknesses and restore almost anyone to health. This afternoon, our friend dropped by with a meal for my family of homemade chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, rolls and even a cake for dessert. His wife had extended us the ultimate kindness of cooking enough for her own [...]
Sitting in bed for the sixth day with a bad case of bronchitis, the most remote thought in my mind was getting up to exercise for my health and lupus. Scanning through my emails on my Nook tablet, I started reading the latest newsletter from Arthritis Health in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was challenged to check [...]
With lupus there are many common symptoms most patients can routinely expect to experience. Perhaps most mornings it is normal to awaken with joint pain and stiffness, a sense of fatigue that sleep did not relieve, and a good dose of brain fog or general slowness in cognition or mental processing time. But, then there [...]
Thanksgiving Day is the 90th day since the start of my Benlysta infusions for Lupus. Just one year ago, my doctor and I were deep in a battle trying to get insurance approval to resume Rituxan infusions to try to get me back into a some level of remission. Now, that insurance battle is old [...]
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