Do you have sun sensitivity?

I know I get odd spots when I go out in the sun.

hugs,
ladybrannon

Yes I do. And they are are kind of unexplained by the doctors too because there are just burning sensations and no red spots and skin rash.
Is yours with a skin rash?

Thanks!
Shawna

I get skin rashes, headaches, stomach ache...Queasiness...You name it. I pretty much stay inside from may to october. Seriously!

how long have you been dealing with it?

Hugs,
ladybrannon

Well, I have been dealing with a lot for a long time. I was diagnosed about 1 year ago. For so long they didnt know what was wrong with me but when my friends sister was diagnosed I was sure that lupus was what I had. Over the last year I have become very sensitive to the sun. I have a lot of gi problems too. Vaginal infections, itchy eyes. The artheritis is on the horizon I guess. At times after I eat my back hurts. So I guess I have had all this stuff but no arthritic pain yet. No anti-dna, no sm antigen, no double strand dna either. Titer is 1:160. Thats about all they got. Oh, and low platelets but I have has low platelets for 10 years. Long before I felt sick. Thats kind of weird. I got a bad infection and my body never came back to normal. Ya, I stay out of the sun too. If the day is sunny I am in.
If the day is overcast, I wake up very happy but being in los angeles that doesnt happen much. How long have you been deal with this?

Shawna

I am so sorry. Lupus is a rough thing.

I first got really sick when I was 19. I was diagnosed at 26 after a hospital stay. The years between 19 and 26 were marked with illness and a lot of questions. Since then, I have had some complications...A lot of prednisone ...And just glad that I know what it is...Finally! I am now 30, btw!

Anytime you want to talk...Feel free to pm me! Lupus is really tough and can get you down...Especially when you look fine, but feel like crap! Or on those days when you just want to lay down and sleep for 20 hours, but you know you can't.

Hugs!
Ladybrannon

What complications have you had? Were your rashes mostly from the sun?
I know I am only one year into this so the worst is yet to come. What do you think about the 5 year thing the doctors say when you are first diagnosed? They told me that whatever comes in the next five years that tha is what I would be living with. Do you agree with that? What are the other causes of rashes besides the sun? Do you have aol im ? Or, how do I pm?


Thanks,
shawna

No, my rashes are not mostly from the sun. I have had vasculitis of the skin that takes over my entire body. Ugh! I was so bad that I had no normal skin. People were afraid to look at me...Let alone touch me. And I am talking about doctors!

I think the 5 year plan is crap! I know people diagnosed with lupus who have never had a symptom other than a few positive blood tests that were randomly found. And I know people that had years of remission to just blow into a horrendous flare out of nowhere...But that is just my opinion.

i have also had kidney involvement. I get severe headaches. I have had memory loss. I have raynaud's. I have steroid induced diabetes and weight gain (that majorly sucks). I have the lupus anti-coagulant. *shrug* that's what I can remember right now!

i do pretty good most of the time...Then sometimes I go to the hospital. I've been in and out of the hospital over the last four years. But, overall, I think I am doing better than I was say two years ago!

to pm...Go to the private message option at the top of the screen and just type in my screen name (ladybrannon) and yes, I have an aol im name...I'll send it to you over pm, okay?

Hugs,
ladybrannon