In case you are wondering why Bev hasn’t been commenting the last week or so - it’s because she had her toe operation and that all healed up ok but with the trauma and stress - shortly after coming out of hospital she caught the Flu while her immune system was down - down even more than normal - and her kidneys did the same thing they did last year (see her earlier post in this Group 8/11/16).
But now she has Lupus Nephritis: an inflammation of the kidney that is caused by systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). Also called lupus, SLE is an autoimmune disease. With lupus, the body's immune system targets its own body tissues. Lupus nephritis happens when lupus involves the kidneys. webmd.com/lupus/lupus-nephr...
The heavy medication they had to give Bev has caused blisters in her mouth and under her tongue plus because of her kidney function she isn’t allowed to drink liquid - which for a Sjogren’s patient is REALLY challenging. Bev has been going through tube after tube of Biotene mouthwash lube - and she relishes the 3 cups of tea she is allowed each day.
There is a special medication to treat what she has - an injection - that actually comes from Tasmania and costs $7,000 each and Bev needs two - so she is negotiating at the moment to see if she can get an exemption on the PBS.
Bev was tired and over it all but as always in good spirits. I will keep you updated. But for now obviously Bev isn’t able to comment here.
