~: July 2009

Friday, July 3, 2009

New Friends

I have made terrific friends at the ButterflyLupus.com forum. They are fantastic people all of which have Lupus. It is a wonderful forum that contains a number of interesting articles and many, many different discussion groups you can get in on. Everyone is so friendly and knowledgeable. They are not there to preach or even advise but to listen and listen they do well. I am truly comfortable there and as a result my spirit has been lifted. You can go there and talk about lupus or you can go to a section and talk about food or some other random topic. There is even a joke section! If you want to get away from it all...this is where you can go. If you want to research and learn about Lupus, this is where you need to go. This forum is so full of information. Please check it out...you won't be disappointed.

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.

Friday, July 3, 2009

New Friends

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