How to Treat Lupus-My Personal 16 Year Story
Hello, my name is Sharon, but I am known around the Internet as the Baby Boomer Queen. I am a Lupus survivor and I am sharing my story on How to Treat Lupus.com to help others just like me.
But, I guess that I should start at the beginning. I have had Lupus most of my life, but was finally diagnosed in December of 1995.
How Did I Find Out I had Lupus
In November of 1995 I started to get ill. I was very tired, achy all over and my whole body was swelling, blood pressure went through the roof, and I had a rash all over my body and face. My kidneys were just about to shut down.
It took everything I had to get out of bed and go to work. Even then, I went from working 38 hours to 18-20 hours. Some days, in the middle of my shift, I would have to go out to my car to take a nap.
My symptoms got so bad that I could not walk to the bathroom. I literally had to crawl to get there. I knew then that it was way past time to go to the doctor.
Broke, after leaving my husband, I had to go to a free clinic. It turned out to be a blessing because they took one look at me and told me that I had Lupus.
LUPUS? What is Lupus? How do you treat lupus?
They told me that they would send the doctor in to talk to me and do a simple blood test. This was perhaps the longest minutes of my life.
In came this little lady, my age, walking with what I call a polio cane. She took one look at my rash and said, “yes we need to do some blood work on you.”
“But what is Lupus?” I asked her. She told me “it is an auto immune disease that belongs to the arthritis family.” “Well how do you treat it? How can I get rid of this?” I had a million questions and my heart felt like it had fallen down to my knees. I am sure that I had turned completely white.
Now here is the kicker. The reason that they knew right away after all those years of being misdiagnosed… was because my doctor had Lupus. Bless her heart, she is no longer my doctor, she lost her life to Lupus many years ago. She basically followed the western way of medicine to treat her Lupus.
What Did I Do When I was Diagnosed
In ’95, I did not have a computer and I drove straight to the library. Thank goodness it was only a few blocks away. I read everything that they had on Lupus. Everything, even their references in their medical books.
I would be telling you a big fat lie, if I told you that it did not make me depressed. But, I had to know what I was dealing with now. How to approach this disease with my best offense. The more I read about lupus, the more determined I got to fight this crippling disease. After three cancer surgeries, strokes, and coming out of renal failure…Lupus was just my next battle.
What Did My Doctor Tell Me
When my blood tests and UA tests came back, it was not good news. I was only 43 and I considered that mid life. I asked my doctor, what my odds where.
She gave it to me straight. But, what she gave me was a death sentence. She told me that I had 7 months to 7 years and seven years would be pushing it, with the physical condition I was in.
She told me that, “there were medications to help ease the symptoms and the pain.” This did not sound good as she did not tell me how to cure Lupus, only how to mask the symptoms.
How Is My Lupus Now
Those of you who have Lupus know that you have good and bad days and some days…well, they get rained out. I just got my blood work back from the oncologist last week and every thing is looking good. I still get tired, But, I have not been in the hospital now for over two years. I am able to walk farther than I have in a long time and I have even started dating again. Life is good and sure beats the alternative.
I walk with a cane, not a walker or sitting in a wheel chair.
I spend a lot of time in my bed because I have to stay off my legs and keep them elevated, but I feel great and every day is a blessing. I just have a bed chair with a remote.
Probably the worst part of Lupus is the day in and day out pain. If you allow it, depression can come from the constant thoughts of living with daily pain.
But, you have to keep a positive attitude, eat the right food and give your body the right nutrients. If you do, you will find that these symptoms will be greatly reduced.
