Hi everyone,
I am new here and just wanted to
introduce myself. My name is patty and I
am 22 years old. I live in wisconsin and
am a college student, graduating this may.
I have had lupus since I was 10 years
old, but wasn't officially diagnosed until
I was 20. I have had two major flare ups
in my lifetime-both lasting pretty long
and, as you all know, they weren't very
fun. But, I am healthy and happy now, but
still have a lot of questions. I hope to
meet some great people here and discover
more about this disease that we all have
in common. Talk to you all soon :d
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Heathergirl
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Posts: 719 Location: Michigan
Posted: 11-07-04 20:39pm
Hi patty, how are you? My name is
heather and my mom has lupus. She is 39,
and has had it for 11 years. She has
really really bad lupus, about two flares
a year, or more. I can get you her
number if you'd like.....She used to go
around to conventions and talk about it bc
she has one of the worst kinds ever
diagnosed.
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patricia142
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Wisconsin
Thanks Heather Posted: 11-07-04 20:50pm
Hi, thanks for replying to me...I am new
and it is exciting to finally be involved
in this. I read your other post regarding
your mom. My prayers are with the two of
you. Lupus is a very hard disease because
it is so unexpected. Along with that,
doctors don't know very much about it.
Luckily in my case I have only had two
flares in 12 years, but it is definitely
something that is hard to deal with. My
parents have always felt so bad and
helpless with this disease, because there
are only a few options to help it along
and no cure. When I do get a flare they
feel so bad, and I am sure you feel the
same way with your mom. I think it is
really great that you are participating on
this forum in support of your mom. I am
sure she really appreciates it and I am
also sure that you have gotten some
answers to your many questions. I am
hoping that the same will happen to me,
and I look forward to talking to you on
this forum. Godbless!
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LadyBrannon
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 506 Location: TX
Posted: 11-08-04 18:18pm
Hi patricia!
I've had lupus since I was a
teenager...Diagnosed when I was in my 20s.
It's tough having this disease when you
are in your prime...Isn't it?
I've been in and out of the hospital since
2000. *sigh* but, on a good note, things
have been better this past year.
nice to meet you,
ladybrannon
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patricia142
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Wisconsin
Posted: 11-09-04 09:20am
Hi ladybrannon,
yeah, it is tough dealing with this in
your 20's. But, I am thankful that they
finally figured out that I had lupus when
I was 20. Before that, my first flare up
was when I was 10, and because they
couldn't figure out what it was, it lasted
for a year and a half and was pretty bad.
The only other flare up i've had was
during my freshman year of college, which
wasn't fun. But, luckily they diagnosed
me and got me on medicine and prednisone
right away. Since then, I have been
healthy and I try my hardest to stay that
way. Nice to meet you to and if you ever
have any questions or need advice, let me
know and maybe I can help you or you can
help me have a great day!
~patty
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Magic_Tinkerbell
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 38
Posted: 11-09-04 09:47am
Hey girls!!! Ummm...I was just wondering
what "lupus" is??? It doesn't sound like
very much fun, so i'm very sorry to hear
that you have it!!! Anyways, just
curious!!!
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patricia142
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 07 Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Location: Wisconsin
Posted: 11-10-04 09:55am
Hi magic_tinkerbell,
it is nice to know that you care about
what the disease consists of, however, it
would be hard for me to give you a
definition, since it is different for
everyone. Basically though, it is an
auto-immune disease where your body
basically attacks itself during a
flare-up, which can cause all sorts of
problems for a person. For example, in my
case during my first flare up and before I
was diagnosed, the first symptom I had was
horrible migranes. From that it moved to
bad fevers, then the muscles in my calves
tightened up so bad I couldn't walk, then
the extreme tiredness and weightloss
kicked in, and finally I had a partial
stroke in my face. The doctors were
absolutely baffled by my case at the time,
and after about a year and a half, it just
stopped. Then, I had my seconed flare up
when I was 20. That one didn't last as
long because my rheumetalogist diagnosed
me with lupus and put me on meds right
away. I am now 22 and haven't had a flare
up since my last.
I hope this kind of helps you...There
are several different forms ie. Skin,
organ, etc. Where different problems and
symptoms occur. And, some cases are more
serious than others. If you want in depth
information on lupus I would visit www.Lupus.Org. There
you will find tons of info.
Thanks again for caring and take care
~patty
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forever_in_love811
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Nov 2004 Posts: 141 Location: Statesville NC
Posted: 11-10-04 12:49pm
Hey this is magic_tinkerbell, I just
changed my screen name :d wow!!! That
sounds so awful... I'm sorry to all that
have it! I wish you all the best of
luck!!! I have very bad panic attacks,
but I doubt it's anywhere near what you
have gone through. Anyways...If any of
you ever need anyone to talk to..I'm
here!!!
teresa