Maybe Not So Super...

My husband used to always wonder why I never seemed to catch his colds, and I would jokingly reply by putting my hands on my hips, striking a pose, and saying it was because of my..."Super Immune System!"

When I got diagnosed with lupus, I realized that I did, in fact, have an over-active immune system...however, maybe it wasn't so "super".  Lupus is an autoimmune disease meaning that the body attacks itself.  Your immune system is supposed to help fight the "bad" things in your body, but with autoimmune disease, it starts attacking the "good" things too.

The new medication I am starting is azathioprine.  It is an immune-suppressing drug which will try to calm my immune system and keep it from attacking my own body.  The danger, of course, is that if it suppresses my immune system too much, I am at a greater risk of infection and cancer.

I am starting at a low dose (50 mg) and will be slowly ramping up to the necessary dosage (not sure what that will be yet).  Rheumy wants to start really low since I am heterozygous for a gene that could lead to excess drug toxicity and land me in the hospital.

Another worry I have about starting the medication is that common side effects of the drug are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain...none of which sound fun at all.  I waited until the weekend to start the medication so that I would be in the comfort of home in case I suffered from these side effects, and other lupies have suggested taking the medication at night so that you can sleep through the nausea.  I have been feeling slight nauseated the past week, and continue to these past few days, but it is hard for me to tell if it is from the medication or not.  Either way, it is not too bad, and I haven't experienced any vomiting.

I'm hoping that the medicine will help balance my immune system and allow me to get off the prednisone.  It may take a few months before we see any results, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

- a little lupie -