Just for reference: I am a 21 year old female.

I was just reading a newspaper article in which they were talking about Polymorphous Light Eruption (PMLE), when one gets a red, itchy rash after being in the sun. Then they said that if you have these symptoms, you should also get checked out to make sure you don't have a more serious condition like lupus.

Usually when I sit in the sun for longer than a few minutes, I get a red, itchy rash on my arms and I feel VERY tired, like I could go take a nap...it is like the sun zaps all the energy out of me and I feel drained (even after just half an hour). I have been attributing the red rashes to allergies and eczema (I had a really bad case of eczema when I was 16, and I also dry skin and all-year allergies).

I also have aches and pains pretty much every day, too, especially in my left knee, neck, left elbow, hips/lower back, and sometimes my legs (everything seems to be concentrated on the left side). Some side notes that may be of interest: I injured my left knee while dancing 3 years ago, and it had never seemed to fully heal; I got tendonitis in my left wrist/elbow/arm 4 years ago, again from a dance injury, and it seems to flare up still; I had severe scoliosis and had posterior spinal fusion when I was 13, and I see a chiropractor 1 to 2 times a month to have my neck and lower back adjusted. Especially when it rains, my joints and bones seem to get achy, as if I have arthritis (both of my grandmothers have/had arthritis, so my family has a history of it).

A couple weeks ago, I felt like I could not get enough sleep. I took a nap on Sunday from 6-8:45 pm, woke up, and was back in bed for the night at 9:30. I slept till 8:15 on Monday morning, took a nap from 11:15-12:15, took another nap from about 8:30-9:30, and was in bed by 10:15 and slept for 13 hours Monday night. I felt like I was really craving sleep.

I have also had these sores in my nose (left nostril, on the right side; right nostril, on the left side) for over 2 weeks, and they don't seem to go away. I've tried using Vaseline and sleeping with a humidifier, and as soon as they seem to be going away, they come back again. They are painful and dry, and my mom briefly looked in my nose and said it was red in the spot I pointed out.

I have no idea if all these symptoms are connected, and I don't have other lupus symptoms such as unexplained fever, rash on my face (I do have chronic acne), chest pain, or protein in my urine (as far as I know).

I would appreciate any comments anyone might have, especially from those that have lupus and know exactly what it's like.