What a great question, because most people I've been exposed to have no idea of what I'm talking about when I say, I have Lupus, an Auto-immune Disease.
Lupus is what's known as an autoimmune disease. This means that people with lupus have their immune system actively attack them instead of attacking invading antibodies.
So what's an antibody you ask?
(Antibody: any of various proteins produced in the blood in response to the presence of an antigen. By becoming attached to antigens or infectious organisms antibodies can render them harmless or cause them to be destroyed
And, rather than seeing only real threats to the body, lupus treats healthy tissue within the body as threats and breaks those down as well.
Sadly, there's no concrete cause for Lupus that's known. For now, it appears that it may be a genetic defect in specific genes. However, it is known that specific things trigger Lupus attacks (that can go into remission). There are a lot of things like tobacco, chemicals, and certain medicines that will trigger a person's lupus and result in a distinct attack. Other people have it trigger through environmental aspects like sunlight.
There Are Five Main Types
(Yes! I said 5)
1. Discoid Lupus: Lupus Limited to the Skin.
2. Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Lupus that can affect all organs, joints, muscles, skin, kidneys, heart, brain, nervous system, blood, bones, lungs, and eyes.
3. Drug-Induced: Lupus that is temporary & caused by prescription medications.
4. Neonatal: Lupus passed to a newborn from the mother.
5. Childhood Lupus: Lupus that affects children.
I have been diagnosed with: Number 2.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Many chronic illnesses, like Lupus an Auto-Immune Disease, are often not visible to an onlooker; thus the term "invisible illness"! Those of us with invisible disabilities have some of the following most common symptoms such as: (which are the same for men and women)
- Extreme fatigue (tiredness)
- Painful or swollen joints
- Anemia (low numbers of red blood cells or hemoglobin or low total blood volume)
- Swelling (edema) in feet, legs, hands and/or around eyes
- Pain in chest on deep breathing (pleurisy)
- Butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose
- Sun or light-sensitivity (photosensitivity)
- Hair Loss
- Abnormal blood clotting
- Fingers turning white and/or blue when cold (Raynaud's phenomenon)
- Mouth or nose ulcers
- Joints that are being destroyed, chipping away causing nerve damage.
I am currently experiencing the symptoms in brown along with many more and I have had the symptoms in purple in the past.
Many of these symptoms occur in other illnesses. In fact, Lupus is sometimes called "the great imitator" because its symptoms are often like the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis (or RA), Blood Disorders, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes, Thyroid Problems, Lyme Disease and a number of Heart, Lung, Muscle and Bone Diseases.
REMEMBER: You plan an important role in helping your doctor manage your disease. Listen to your body and ask questions! Stay involved in your symptoms, treatments and medications!
For more information go to: www.lupus.org