One thing to realize about lupus is that everyone is a "special snowflake". No two lupus patients experience the disease in the same way. The symptoms above are the common ones, but not all lupies experience all of these symptoms, and most lupies experience additional symptoms that are not listed. Many of the symptoms also overlap with other diseases and conditions. This makes lupus extremely difficult to diagnose.
Lupus is a disease that affects over 1.5 million Americans, yet there are very few people who know what it is. Before I was diagnosed, I had no idea or information about it other than it is "something bad". Even now, after years of living through it and reading up about it, it is still a mysterious disease that we really don't know very much about.
One of the reasons I want to increase lupus awareness is to put it on the radar and raise money for research to understand the disease and search for a cure. More importantly, though, I'd like my friends and family to be able to recognize the signs so that if they or someone they know are experiencing these symptoms, they can talk to their doctor and start the discussion. I experienced Raynaud's syndrome, immense joint pain, hair loss, and extreme fatigue for a while before even going to talk to my doctor because I just brushed off these symptoms as bad circulation and getting old. If I had known more about lupus, I could have gotten diagnosed and treated much sooner.
If you would like to learn more about lupus, I have several links listed in the Other Lupus Resources tab of this blog. Also, feel free to ask me any questions you have about lupus...I'm always willing to share my story.
- a little lupie -
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