Update

Went to see Rheumy today...my blood test results were pretty much the same as my last appointment -- low white blood cell counts, low C3 complement, high ds-DNA, high sedimentation rate, and trace amounts of protein and blood in my urine.  While these are not the greatest results, they represent what is pretty "normal" for me, which is a good sign that I am relatively stable.

I've been feeling pretty good this past month.  Only slight joint pain, and not nearly as bad as it was a couple months ago when it was painful to walk or move.  My hair is still thinning, but not falling out as much as it was before.  I've been a little fatigued, but not too bad.  I'm going to stay on the low dose of prednisone (2 mg/daily) since it seems to be working for me.

I also asked Rheumy about his thoughts on a gluten-free diet.  As I mentioned in a prior post, I had heard that a gluten-free diet could help with some of the symptoms I have.  Rheumy said that he doesn't specifically prescribe a gluten-free diet for his lupus patients, but if I want to try, it wouldn't hurt.  He just hasn't seen any definitive studies yet.  Of his patients who have tried it, he said about 1 in 4 will notice an improvement.  He did say that it is easy to test for gluten sensitivity/intolerance with a blood test, so he ordered the test for me to take during my next blood draw.  Until then, I'll stay on a regular diet since going gluten-free now will alter the test results and may show a false negative.

- a little lupie -