I walk to work every morning about 25 min as i have always done before i became ill, yes the pain is bad and yes it should only be a 10min walk to work, but i enjoy walking and this ilness is not going to stop me, i have to stop every couple a minutes, to catch my breath but i do a victory cheer, when i reach the door of my work place.

keep doing the things that you love doing but dont push yourself if your not up to it. its my way of fighting back.

i had two bad flares that scared myself and my family this year, i need to show them that am not giving up!

Ann x

I agree with Ann. I think if you cut out things you have done before, you feel kind of "ripped off" therefore, making you feel worse. Modifying activities is the key. I do my stretches daily, keep moving as much as possible (few minutes sit-down every 45 mins). Eating healthily is very important, though hard sometimes if you suffer a sore mouth, or you have a poor appetite. You also have to learn to be kinder to yourself. I always try and have a "victory" each day...they are very small "victories", but each one affirms I am still the person I was before diagnosis. Love, light and peace

If I know I have a lot to do, I make myself a list and then limit my activity to ten minutes.If I am tired or hurting after ten minutes I stop and rest or not go back to doing whatever I was doing. If after ten minutes I am ok, I will do it for another 10 minutes and even finish it if I feel good enough. It keeps me from going full speed ahead into something, say yard work or specific housework like carpet cleaning and ending up exhausted and in pain. I guess it falls into the category of modifying activities like Earthwalker describes. It is my way of staying out of flares. Of course sometimes things happen that I can't control that much and I end up suffering for it. Like an emergency in the family or like recently my hot water tank broke and I went without hot water for 6 days. I had to boil water and carry heavy pans to fill the bathtub so I could bathe. I ended up exhausted and in pain. I know it sounds weird to do a list like this. It just helps my Type A personality to s-l-o-w down and monitor how I am feeling. Hope this helps. :) Cheryl

True and pure meditation. I sometimes do it on my own but I also follow on-line guided meditations. Also, my main thing is reflexology & reiki. I fully know in my heart that these have been a good 80% of my overall wellbeing.

Cheryl the list is a great idea for the use of monitoring fatigue and pain. I use a list to help me from beating up on myself.I always think I can't do anything because I used to do so much. I make a list and mark through it so when I think I am not getting anything done I look and pat myself on the back for what I HAVE done.

I've found that I sleep a LOT - minimum of 8 hrs each day. I know that I could have done other things beside sleep, but I really love it and I feel that it has kept me healthier and less stressed out than other people I know who don't even have Lupus! Also, regular exercise (even a few minutes of walking here and there) helps. I agree with Kitty on the meditation. Try to set even a little bit of time each day or each week just being silent and aware and trying to relax.

remission is a hard thing. I guess I can say I am some what in your situation. I haven't been getting flare ups as often but not everyday is great for me. I do plan accordingly about my limits each day. It's kinda hard to stick to when you do have a life and have to go to work and you just can't stop moving. What I started doing, since its impossilble to work out with lupus...was doing yoga. I do it atleast 3 times a week. I would say walking is a good thing too. You might want to check with your rheumy because everyone's body is different. Lupus is too unpredicatable I've had months of being extremely sick and just month of being not sick.

Yoga helps me all over. I eat as many anti-inflamatory foods as possible. I sleep, a lot. I keep nice things that people say to me or about me to look at when I feel like hideous ugly creatin. I love getting pedicures at Walmart. I try to concentrate on the good in my life and the things that I am able to do.

I agree with all the wonderful replies that everyone has left you. The only things that I can add is that I love acupuncture. My treatments have helped me tremondously and helped me to calm. I also love the Pure Synergy made by Mitchell May. It is a wonderful product that has been a godsend along with flax seeds and MSM. These are what is working for me, I know that we are all different and what works for one may not work for all. But I love my regiment.

Good point everyone. I find that keeping myself balanced in all aspects of life..spiritual, nutrition, exercise,hydration,recreation is the whole definition of Wellness.