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With the use of this website, my attempt is to reach out to others in order to help, firstly others but also myself, while researching and reading and defining different areas and facets of our illness, lupus, and so to learn more, being beter able and more capable in help others, both those newly diagnosed as well as those looking for more answers; perhaps being able to ease their way through their journeys while living with lupus. My site is intended only as a source of information about Systemic Lupus, for those individuals who are lupus patients and for those who are involved in their care, being medical professionals, family and/or concerned friends. The content of this site, including my suggested links to related sites, are not intended for the purpose of giving medical advice or replacing the care of your physician, but rather to share what I have learned through the years while living with this chronic and at times seemingly invisible, and often very difficult to treat. autoimmune illness, most commonly known as LUPUS. My own battle with lupus has been ongoing since age 12, according to the specialists and rheumatologist, who diagnosed me at 28 years old. So most of the information written here is from my personal journey and experiences that came from living with this chronic systemic illness. I have learned that Lupus is all of the following at different times: -difficult to diagnose and treat, -painful, -multi-faceted, -incurable, -insidious, -invasive, -chronic, -scary and sometimes even -'invisible'; and Lupus also has a disease process, different and unique in every individual who is diagnosed with this disease, and which creates a vicious cycle of flares and remissions. These cycles become very familiar to the patient involved, beginning with the symptoms prior to onset of the flare right through to a sudden ease of symptoms, of being able to get through each day as a remission begins, so quelling all obvious symptoms temporarily though many symptoms are silent, or 'invisible'; such as renal involvment, with BP fluctuations and kidney damage, so even while experiencing a remission it is so very important to see your specialist regularly and have your labs done each visit as well; so that the doctors can know what is happening on the inside of your bodies, not just the 'feelings' or external skin symptoms or joint symptoms that may be visibly obvious... .this disease is insidious and so must be kept on top of by specialists and yourself as you are your best advocate!.. LUPUS is also known to the patients & professionals, in terms of -'the body against itself'. -''the great imitator' -'the Disease of 1000 Faces' As well as information on all the various facets of life with LUPUS itself, I have included information on both Raynauds Phenomena/Syndrome and Sjogren's Syndrome, 2 autoimmune illnesses I have also been diagnosed with; diagnoses which are considered to be secondary to my primary diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. LUPUS defined--(Erythema refers to in Jatin, as redness from bite of the wolf, referring to Lupus as defined in Latin and Systemic defines the involvment of the entire body, skin & organs) ? Life with Lupus ? "we the patients, often call it" 'Living with the Wolf'
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