Could I have Lupus

[SisterSusie96]

I'm 53 w/f, I have chronic kidney disease, pericardial effusion, blocked arteries, my hair is falling out and now I have a severe rash around my eyes and on my neck, I get low grade fevers, had many stints put in, the rash started 2 weeks ago, it burns, it's painful. Could I have onset Lupus at my age? Please help.

[LupusAdmin3 LUPUS UK]

Hi SisterSusie96,

Welcome to the LUPUS UK community here on HealthUnlocked.

Unfortunately we are not medically trained here at LUPUS UK so i am unable to comment on the symptoms which you're experiencing at the moment. Are you currently being tested for lupus? Is your GP aware of your symptoms? I would recommend making an appointment if not especially if the rash is painful.

Would you like to receive one of our free information packs? Just let me know your full name and address by sending me either a private message, or email, and i will pop one in the post for you. [e-mail]

Best wishes,

Hayley

LUPUS UK

[Purpletop]

It's possible - age has nothing to do with it, lupus can manifest itself at any age, despite what you read on the Internet.

You might want to ask your doctor to do a blood test called ANA - it shows antibodies against own cells. If the test is positive and over a certain threshold, it is likely that there is an autoimmune disease at play. It might be lupus, or a collection of other autoimmune diseases with different names.

[SisterSusie96 in reply to Purpletop]

Thank you, I will have my doctor do the blood test. Can you tell me, does stress make it worse. By the way, I had rheumatic fever at the age of 8, I ended up with heart disease, COPD, my kidney is failing, I only have one and it works at 20%, the doctors have said that my immune system is turning against my body and they don't know why. Is Lupus contagious? I have been sick since I was a young girl, when I hit 41 everything hit me at once, and now I have this terrible rash o my neck and eyes and it hurts, it's itchy, and burns. I'm not allergic to anything and the medicine the doctor gave me is not working. Maybe you could tell me the symptoms.

[Purpletop in reply to SisterSusie96]

Stress is definitely a huge factor in triggering lupus and, once acquired, in exacerbating its symptoms. If you read through the posts on this forum will find numerous references to 'pacing yourself' and efforts to reduce stress with the aim of calming down the immune system.

Lupus is systemic, in that it can attack anything at any time, although each of us has his/her own 'set' of likely symptoms. Your kidney failure, for example, could be due to lupus. Both heart disease and COPD could in fact be resulting from years of inflammation due to autoimmunity. I'm not saying that's your case but it is very likely in situations where the underlying autoimmune disease hasn't been controlled for years.

Lupus is not contagious - no one knows what causes the immune system to go haywire and attack self but at least it isn't contagious.

We spoke about stress as one factor in triggering lupus - having to cope with so much illnesses like you did so early in life could trigger its most visible symptoms, such as rashes and fever. Menopause is another factor - many of the women on the forum have had early menopause because of it but even if it hasn't been early or caused by lupus, menopause has definitely contributed to the lupus making itself felt.

The 'good' news about it - if you can call it that - is that for a large proportion of lupus sufferers, medication can help alleviate most symptoms and allow the sufferer to cope with life a bit better. But diet and exercise are also crucial in its management and some people chose not to go on the drug route but stick to lifestyle management. It all depends on how severe your disease manifests itself, for how long you've had the inflammation rampant in your body, how quickly you respond to medication, etc.

It is a long process to get diagnosed with lupus - many doctors rely on blood tests for diagnosis and then for monitoring the disease. But not everyone shows disease activity in the blood tests, or, having showing it, improved blood tests due to aggressive treatment doesn't necessarily mean that the lupus has gone to sleep.

I don't want to overwhelm you with too much detail. The most critical step to take is to check your ANA. If your ANA is negative, or it is at a titre of 1:80 or less, then lupus is extremely unlikely. If ANA exceeds that threshold, then lupus is a possibility and in that case a rheumatologist would order further blood tests that could specifically point towards certain strands of antibodies and autoimmune diseases.

[SisterSusie96 in reply to Purpletop]

Thank you, you've been a big help. I will see my doctor and get the ANA blood test done right away.