Lupus and Pregnancy: Flare Triggers

Part of a series of posts dealing with lupus and pregnancy.

ETA: (No, I am not pregnant)

===============

Does pregnancy affect lupus?  (Does pregnancy cause lupus to flare?)

This is a difficult question to answer because there is so little that is understood about lupus itself.  As mentioned in previous posts, lupus is very different in each patient.  Symptoms and triggers vary and flares can often arise unexpectedly.  Some of the common triggers of a flare include sunlight (UV rays) and stress.  Some also believe that hormones could play a part in triggering a flare.

I have read about lupus patients who have seemed to get worse during pregnancy.  I have also read about lupus patients who have never been better than when they were pregnant.  When I talked to MFM, she didn't think that pregnancy made you any more likely to have a flare than if you were not pregnant.  Of course, if you needed to stop taking a certain medication because of pregnancy, that change in medication could increase your chance of a flare.  But pregnancy itself, not likely a trigger.

This is my theory: I think that whether you experience a flare (pregnant or not), depends a lot on your ability to manage your stress.  This not only includes stress from work or social commitments, but also stress on your body from illness or overexertion (which I believe a lot of lupies, myself included, are guilty of).  When you are pregnant, your body goes through a lot of change.  Change = stress.  Whether or not you flare may depend on how well you are able to handle that stress.

I feel like I should go take some yoga or meditation classes now...


- a little lupie -