Just when you taught you were having a good few days you crash you car

[Limerick5]

Was doing so well for the last week or so even said this morning that I have had no pain feel good not to tired and I go and crash my car no body hurt just car but the pain came back this evening in my chest and shoulders. I must have been bad in another life the joys of living with lupus

[Catlady56]

That's a nasty thing to have happened and understandably has left you battered and bruised in every sense. I also question the reasons for Lupus and how difficult it is living with it. To wake up every morning feeling tired before the day has even started, and wondering what bit is going to be hurting today. Most people not even noticing or realising that it is a struggle. It is like a seesaw ride. You will go back up

[Natura]

Limerick...so sorry for your crash. That is very upsetting, and your body does react to that kind of trauma even though you said you weren't hurt. You feel it the next day in a whiplash kind of sense. Hope you are feeling better now. I sometimes feel I was bad in another life too when bad things happen to me. That is so awful. I don't understand why we have this lupus, but I know there are others who are suffering everyday living without food or shelter. Or even live in a dangerous environment. I know it doesn't lessen our pain, but we are lucky to be alive. I have a friend who just had a birthday yesterday say that she was happy to be here still. She is only in her 50s, but has a double hip replacement and bone disease. One day at a time. And enjoy every minute of it, and the family and friends you have around you! Have a great day!

[Carcrashgal]

Limerick5, as someone who knows a lot about car crashes and the unseen damage that can be caused (that will come back and bite you in the bum years later), can I urge you to get checked out immediately. Whiplash is a cruel problem, but if you get some physiotherapy now, a lot of problems later can be avoided. I know the NHS can be slow when it comes to these things - some friends in a similar situation have had to wait 6-8 weeks to get seen, and that's far too long - but it is worth making an absolute nuisance of yourself until you get to see someone. If you can afford it, it's worth going private . . . even if it's just while you're waiting for the NHS appointment to come through. But please don't ignore it.

As for Fate or Karma, I too reckon that I am being punished - not for burning Rome but for bad poetry and worse musicianship while my city burns

In truth, none of us know why; all we can do is buckle up and learn, somehow, how to live with it (says the woman who spent most of last night in tears - whilst on holiday in a truly beautiful (and not too hot!) part of the world with a handsome man who adores me, even if he's got *way* more than he signed on for - because I am so fed up of being hurty and unable even to walk down to the shop without crutches or a wheelchair and because my toes are getting so bent and twisted I can hardly bear to look at them). I do feel better now after my self-pity-fest last night because I've got it out of my system for a while, but I don't blame anyone for succumbing. But Natura's right: we may feel hard-done-by but I reckon we all have enough to eat, and are not being daily threatened by civil war or drug lords or child soldiers or religious fanatics . . .

And most importantly, one day, I am certain they will find a cure for us. That's my holy grail. When I had my first car crash and broke my neck, I used to joke that I'd be fine when they invented plastic necks! And just 8 years ago, threatened with paralysis because of my disintegrating spine, I found a neurosurgeon (in Bristol) who has pioneered an operation where he replaces damaged vertebral discs with carbon fibre cages . . . and as a result I am not paralysed and have - well, maybe not a plastic neck, but a carbon fibre one, and how cool is that? (X-rays show: vertebra, gap, vertebra, gap, vertebra - it's amazing!) My point is that when I had that first crash in 1985, such things were the stuff of science fiction and now it's an every-day occurrence. Scientists are making huge strides, and I have faith that one of those strides will be towards curing autoimmune conditions like ours. So hang on in, Limerick5, and take comfort in the little things.

Oh, and get that neck checked out!

[Limerick5 in reply to Carcrashgal]

Thanks for your reply will get check and keep the good side out well try any way

[Carcrashgal]

Good-o - let us know how you get on!