hallo Rochelle, I have been diagnosed in1987 but was a miserable teanager and started with fatique very early on in life- like at the age of 14. My pain was so severe that I made myself wristsplits to sleep with. Main problem was I was a radiographer and everybody looks for you to be the carerer in this occupation. one would think being in a medical envioroment would be easy to solve or at least discover the illness. No go.. overdicussed topic every Lupus patient know!! The point is I think that being diagnosed make one feels a bit better - not like not sick -, but understanding that you are not just lazy but really sick. Even though people look at you saying " oh you look so well"(translate fat and shiny) you are not forced to explain how sick you really feel. Please write to me . I would love to hear your story know about your family an where you live. I am in South Africa in George(it is at the bottom east side of South Africa My name is Ronel

Hi I 2 new the group,and looking 4 some1 2 chat with 2 share stories and support each other.Also I am in the state of Indiana so if there any hoosiers out there contact me,Thxs., Moonlightonly65

I would love to hear your advice and your experience around pain with lupus. I also lost hair and teeth. Not to mention skin rashes.

Hi, my name is Jenifer. I've been dx with cutaneous lupus for about 3 yrs. now. Not counting the yrs. I've spent telling my doctors that I'm extraordinary tired. lol I've done alot of research & educating myself on all the various types of Lupus in order to understand & also to be able to relate to what others were telling me. They say that no 2 people are alike, the symptoms & phases u go through may be completely different than others. In my case, (even though I have skin lupus) it's considered "the best kind to have".I disagree!People with cutaneous lupus go through the exact same symptoms as those with sle! Don't get me wrong, I'm very blessed that this hasn't gone internally to my organs (yet) the rheumy says that 10% of cutaneous sufferes ever go internally. Mine has messed with my heart. Started having an extremely high pulse rate for no reason, now I'm diabetic b/c of lupus, I also have hypothyroid, lesions on the upperhalf of my body. mainly face, scalp, and neck that are so embarrassing I haven't seen my friends in 6 months. I'm so tired that half the time it's all I can do to get out of bed and dress for work! I've had fibro & joint pains so bad that it drops me to my knees and all I can do is cry like a baby! At 1st I was MAD AS HELL!!!! I was to the point where I almost hated everyone who was "normal". I threw whirlwind "fits", I thought God was paying me back for things I've done, I was a hot mess!!!!! It took me roughly 2 yrs to get on top of this, paying attention to every detail of my body, trying to figure out what was igniting all this within me. 3 months ago, I got so big til I loathed the way I looked! I started lifting weights, and doing cardio & I got a small miracle out of it. I've been pain free from fibromyalgia since April!!!! No joint pain, no nerve pain, no muscle pain what so ever!!!! I actually haven't even had a "down day" since. I did get an ear infection recently & of course the antibiotics are seriously aggrivating my lupus but this is the 1st time in months I've had isssues with it. (other than being tired & dozing off at work). I hope this will help others going through this, I know how hard it is to "exercise" it seems like an oxymoron when you're so tired u can't even walk to the bathroom but take control over your body. That's what I did. I got tired of being held hostage to Lupus! I wanted to show it who was really in control & I'm not gonna sit around & be dictated to. It's my body & I will do whatever I wanna do, not what it allows me to do.

Hi, my name is Karly. I'm doing a research project on Lupus for my health psychology class. The purpose is to understand what it's like living with this illness. I would like the opportunity to interview members of this group by posting questions and having you respond to my posts with your answers. Please know that all information will be kept confidential, meaning no identifying information about any members will be used in my project. Individual responses will be combined together to form a summary report to further protect the identity of any individuals willing to participate.

As am I. Hope you're doing better