Do I Have Lupus?

Introduction

If you have lupus, you probably have many questions. Lupus isn't a simple disease with an easy answer. You can't take a pill and make it go away. The people you live with and work with may have trouble understanding that you're sick. Lupus doesn't have a clear set of signs that people can see. You may know that something's wrong, even though it may take a while to be diagnosed.

Lupus has many shades. It can affect people of different races, ethnicities, and ages, both men and women. It can look like different diseases. It’s different for every person who has it.

The good news is that you can get help and fight lupus. Learning about it is the first step.

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune (AW-toe-ih-MYOON) disease. Your body's immune system is like an army with hundreds of soldiers. The immune system's job is to fight foreign substances in the body, like germs and viruses. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system is out of control. It attacks healthy tissues, not germs.

You can't catch lupus from another person. It isn't cancer, and it isn't related to AIDS.

Lupus is a disease that can affect many parts of the body. Everyone reacts differently. One person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes. Lupus can involve the joints, the skin, the kidneys, the lungs, the heart, and/ or the brain. If you have lupus, it may affect two or three parts of your body. Usually, one person doesn't have all the possible symptoms.

There are three main types of lupus:

• Systemic lupus erythematosus (eh-RITH-eh-muh-TOE-sus) is the most common form. It's sometimes called SLE, or just lupus. The word "systemic" means that the disease can involve many parts of the body such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. SLE symptoms can be mild or serious.
• Discoid lupus erythematosus mainly affects the skin. A red rash may appear, or the skin on the face, scalp, or elsewhere may change color.
• Drug-induced lupus is triggered by a few medicines. It's like SLE, but symptoms are usually milder. Most of the time, the disease goes away when the medicine is stopped. More men develop drug-induced lupus because the drugs that cause it, hydralazine and procainamide, are used to treat heart conditions that are more common in men.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Lupus?

Lupus may be hard to diagnose. It's often mistaken for other diseases. For this reason, lupus has been called the "great imitator." The signs of lupus differ from person to person. Some people have just a few signs; others have more.

Common signs of lupus are:

• Red rash or color change on the face, often in the shape of a butterfly across the nose and cheeks
• Painful or swollen joints
• Unexplained fever
• Chest pain with deep breathing
• Swollen glands
• Extreme fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
• Unusual hair loss (mainly on the scalp)
• Pale or purple fingers or toes from cold or stress
• Sensitivity to the sun
• Low blood count
• Depression, trouble thinking, and/or memory problems.

Other signs are mouth sores, unexplained seizures (convulsions), "seeing things" (hallucinations), repeated miscarriages, and unexplained kidney problems.

What Is a Flare?

When symptoms appear, it's called a "flare." These signs may come and go. You may have swelling and rashes one week and no symptoms at all the next. You may find that your symptoms flare after you've been out in the sun or after a hard day at work.

Even if you take medicine for lupus, you may find that there are times when the symptoms become worse. Many people feel very tired or have pain, a rash, a fever, stomach discomfort, headache, or dizziness just before a flare. Steps to prevent flares, such as limiting the time you spend in the sun and getting enough rest and quiet, can also be helpful.

What Causes Lupus?

Conventional doctors don't know what causes lupus. They offer no hope of a cure and try to teach sufferers how to manage the disease. Lupus sometimes seems to run in families, which suggests the disease may be hereditary. Having the genes isn't the whole story, though. The environment, sunlight, stress, and certain medicines may trigger symptoms in some people. Other people who have similar genetic backgrounds may not get signs or symptoms of the disease.

Who Gets Lupus?

Anyone can get lupus. But 9 out of 10 people who have it are women. African American women are three times more likely to get lupus than white women. It's also more common in Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and American Indian women.

Both African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos tend to develop lupus at a younger age and have more symptoms at diagnosis (including kidney problems).

They also tend to have more severe disease than whites. For example, African American patients have more seizures and strokes, while Hispanic/Latino patients have more heart problems. We don't understand why some people seem to have more problems with lupus than others.

Lupus is most common in women between the ages of 15 and 44. These are roughly the years when most women are able to have babies. Scientists think a woman's hormones may have something to do with getting lupus. But it's important to remember that men and older people can get it, too.

It's less common for children under age 15 to have lupus. One exception is babies born to women with lupus. These children may have heart, liver, or skin problems caused by lupus. With good care, most women with lupus can have a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby.

What Will Conventional Doctors Do?

If you go to see a conventional doctor. He or she will talk to you and take a history of your health problems. Many people have lupus for a long time before they find out they have it. You will often be referred to a rheumatologist. A rheumatologist (ROOM-uh-TALL-uh-jist) is a doctor who specializes in treating diseases that affect the joints and muscles, like lupus. In some cases, a dermatologist, a doctor who specializes in treating diseases that affect the skin, may be involved in diagnosis and treatment. No single test can show that you have lupus. Your doctor may have to run several tests and study your medical history. It may take time for the doctor to diagnose lupus.

Lupus Medication

Remember that each person has different symptoms. Treatment depends on the symptoms. The doctor may give you aspirin or a similar medicine to treat swollen joints and fever. Creams may be prescribed for a rash. Stronger medicines such as antimalaria drugs, corticosteroids, and chemotherapy drugs are also prescribed by conventional doctors.

The Dangers of Conventional Drug Therapies

The traditional treatment for Lupus involves drugs. Lots of dangerous drugs. But did you know that aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs can put you in the hospital or under the ground! Every doctor who was awake during medical classes in college knows the dangers of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). They know for example, that aspirin causes the lining of the stomach to bleed and that it burns tiny holes into your gastrointestinal tract. You may lose up to one teaspoon of blood each time you take a standard dose of aspirin (more if you are at risk for bleeding or consume more than the standard dose) Sadly, the reality is that NSAIDs do more than just cause gastrointestinal problems. They kill over 10,000 people a year and are the cause of over 76,000 hospitalizations annually.

According to author, Dr. Earl Mindell, NSAIDs interfere with the body’s ability to repair cartilage. And research has shown that they accelerate the progression of osteoarthritis. Says Mindell, “Even if NSAIDs didn’t cause such serious problems, they can cause a more subtle condition called “leaky gut”. This is a condition that causes tiny holes to erode the intestinal wall, allowing partly digested food and toxins to enter into the bloodstream.” Of course, once these wastes and toxins breach the intestinal wall, your immune system begins attacking them. This puts tremendous stress on the immune system. This leaky gut condition then sets the stage for the development of other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and asthma.

Alternative Treatment of Lupus

90% of all cases of lupus affect women in their thirties. Lupus is traditionally considered an auto-immune disease that causes the sufferer's immune system to attack itself. However, some naturopathic doctors believe this condition is a result of the disease itself and the "presence of abnormal proteins rather than being the cause." It is believed that this disease is a result of mineral deficiencies and/or allergic reactions to gluten, soy, or dairy products.
While conventional medicine offers little hope in terms of a cure for lupus, fortunately there is an alternative approach that has worked for many sufferers. See the protocol below.

Order The Ultimate 7 Day Cure to find out more.