~: Dealing with Lupus Today

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Dealing with Lupus Today

Today I woke up extremely sore and stiff. I usually have to stretch and try to work it out. Knees and ankles were not swollen today; however joints are very, very sore. Had my coffee and slowly got my body to get used to moving. Some days are easier to accomplish this than others. My mind has a to do list put together but my body is telling me otherwise. I tried to do housework today...resting about every hour...how sad is that? You know what? I am thankful that I can do that. Today is Father's Day. I am having my step son and his family over for dinner. It will be good to see my grandchildren today as it has been awhile. Take care my Lupus buddies until the next post.

2 comments:

AnonymousJune 11, 2010 at 12:44 PM
hi
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KobeJune 26, 2010 at 1:35 AM
when traveling to a conference of knee anatomy facts, this information gave us butterflies and a poster of this page.
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About Lupus

What is lupus? Lupus (LOO-puhss) is a chronic, autoimmune (aw-toh-ih-MYOON) disease that can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with our immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and other germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and our body’s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”). In lupus, our immune system creates autoantibodies (AW-toh-AN-teye-bah-deez), which attack and destroy healthy tissue. These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.
When people talk about “lupus,” they usually mean systemic lupus erythematosus (ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss), or SLE. This is the most common type of lupus. Studies suggest that more than 16,000 new cases are reported annually across the country.
Although lupus can affect almost any organ system, the disease, for most people, affects only a few parts of the body. For example, one person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes.
Normally, lupus develops slowly, with symptoms that come and go. Women who get lupus most often develop symptoms and are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45. But the disease also can develop in childhood or later in life.
For most people, lupus is a mild disease. But for others, it may cause serious problems. Even if your lupus symptoms are mild, it is a serious disease that needs treatment. It can harm your organs and put your life at risk if untreated. It is also helpful to arm ourselves with the correct information, find out all we can about lupus in order to fight the this "wolf". The butterfly symble represents the butterfly rash that some lupus patients have on their face.

Sunday, June 21, 2009