Lupus and lungs?

[Kyla65]

Hi everyone!

As I've said in a few previous posts, I strongly believe I have lupus due to my symptoms.

I was wondering if this could be causing my lung issues?

Starting 2 years back, I've been getting pleurisy on and off, which is annoying but I no longer rush to a doctor when I feel the stabbing pains in my lungs. I've been getting that more frequently in the last few months, which I think is because of flares but I'm unsure.

Last year around June I got pneumonia and was in bed for a month. Then in November I got bronchitis. Then this year in February I got bronchitis again. Just last night I started really coughing, have a fever and swollen lymph nodes, so I'm pretty sure it's pneumonia or brochitis again unfortunately. So I was just wondering if this could all be related?

Also, are people with lupus immunocompromised or just if you're on certain medications? Because I tend to get sicker than average over the last few years, but am not on meds yet.

[Bebe76]

Hi Kyla65. Yes lupus can attack your own blood cells. I had a low white blood count long before I was diagnosed with lupus (but feeling fatigued and achy at yhe time - probably early lupus symptoms)

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi Kyla65 ,

Lupus can affect the lungs. You can read a bit more about this in our factsheet, ' LUPUS: The Heart and Lungs' at lupusuk.org.uk/wp-content/u...

As Bebe76 has said, some people with lupus produce autoantibodies which attack the white blood cells and can cause a weakened immune response. Do you know if your white blood count has been tested?