What does remission mean in terms of Lupus?

[SLE-Warrior]

My consultant has mentioned she wants my Lupus to go into remission. However, I am not sure what that means. How would I know my Lupus has gone into remission?

If you have experienced remission what occurs?

[Maya23]

My lupus is in complete remission (in fact it’s now described as dormant / inactive). I have no lupus symptoms of arthritis or face rash or reactive to sunshine. But I do now have Fibromyalgia and other health problems unfortunately.

[Roarah]

I had a very long remission followed by a short flare and am now in remission again. For me remission is seen in my blood work, urine labs along with asymptomatic phases. I hope you achieve a long and full remission soon!

[KatieRL]

Although my Lupus (SLE) is 'in remission', I still take meds to make sure it stays that way. My renal doctor also checks my Lupus bloods every six months to make sure there are no signs of it returning.

[LalSD]

Remission means that you can do your daily activities without having the pain and complications which we face by lupus. Blood tests which show ANA results normal is an indication along with other blood results. Normal white blood cells for instance. How I know is that the good days exceeds the bad days over a period of time that I am recovering and on the mend. I had three lupus flares in my life(45 years old) and last one lasting over ten years, feeling tired,, fever and muscle pain, sleeping 14 hours and getting up as if I did not sleep at all. Having vascular problems etc, I feel I can work and have coffee with my friends and even have a partner. What is given right to a healthy person, we struggle to do, a simple shower is a big step for us. Depending on your physical well-being, you would yourself know that you start doing normal things without the extra effort. I remember times where I did not remember what it meant to have a life without the pain. I now have two three days every month where I feel great. This means I am heading for remission. With love, L

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi SLE-Warrior ,

This was one of the questions in an article we've just published on our website. You might like to take a look - lupusuk.org.uk/lupus-expert...

How does lupus go into remission and can patients do anything to affect this?

The best thing that someone with lupus can do is to stick to the treatment regimen set by their doctor. Remission can be broken down into clinical remission, defined as a period of no disease activity for a minimum of 3 years, and serological remission where autoantibody levels and other immunological parameters are normal. Complete remission involves both of these components. In a study involving over 600 patients followed for a period of 30 years at University College Hospital, 14% went into full remission (no clinical features, normal blood tests and off all steroids and immunosuppressive drugs) for a period of three years. Unfortunately, 20% of these patients still had a flare after this period. Many women with lupus notice a remission in their clinical features, and often a full remission, around the time of the menopause.