Thanks for replying hellodian :)

I'm sorry if it seemed that I was taking it lightly with a lupus diagnosis, I'm not. Its just in all the information I have read the possible psychological/brain issues lupus can cause isn't well covered. I was hoping that someone had some personal experience with severe psych symptoms in lupus. If there is someone out there who does have this experience but doesn't want to post publicly please, please pm me. *begs*

I do think I have lupus (or some other sort of funky autoimmune disorder), I'm sure about Raynauds syndrome and I'm not so sure about Sjogrens... If I have Sjogrens Syndrome I have had it for a long time. I have had dry mouth problems ever since I can remember. My eyes feel grainy all the time but thats only been for the last 18 months. Fibromyalgia was my original diagnosis but now I have something much more serious. I just need a rheumatologist to plonk a diagnosis on me.

Thanks for reading :)

Hi, Sparkly. Can you please help me to clarify your question? It sounds like what you are wanting right now is some sense for what emotional and/or cognitive problems might be brought about by, or aggravated by lupus, Sjogren's or any other autoimmune illness or combination. Is that right? I am a retired Psychologist and feel well positioned to respond to your question if your question is the one I mentioned above! Maybe I have it wrong. At any rate, please let me know. Hoping to be able to guide you in a helpful way! xoxo summer

hi sparky. im 33 and ive just been started on plaquenil with joint pains for years and the rashes get worse. ive had depression ever since i could remember and my psych dr gave me a medication for this one the side. she said that lupus can develope these psychosis i guess. im glad that your psych symtoms resolved..good for you and glad treatment is looking good. yay

Summernow,

I was looking for some information about what happens when lupus decides to attack the brain. What symptoms you expect from a psychological or cognitive point of view?

As I've said, I had chronic headaches/migraine, I also had depression, my personality changed and I had memory issues.

Now I do realise that lupus can cause depression and memory issues including brain fog.. HOWEVER- I have had fibromyalgia for 9 years and this was different from the depression from having a chronic illness- It was untreatable with medications. I know what "fibrofog" feels like and my memory and cognitive issues were so much worse than that. I felt like a shell of a person. I was also given anti-psychotics to no effect. Doctors were organising electro-shock therapy for my "mental illness" because NO MEDICATION made a difference. (I have had some depression before easily treated with zoloft- )

Then I took plaquenil and a couple of months later I could think clearly. I got my personality back, depression gone. I was me again :) At the same time- My headaches went down to one per week!!!!

I find it hard to believe that this is just a coincidence. I believe now that my brain was being attacked! and the plaquenil stopped this from happening (I wish I had a MRI while I was sick to prove it).

I am finding it hard to work out what the symptoms would be if lupus is attacking your brain so I can compare. If you can help it would be very much appreciated;

Thank you :)

Let me try to run something by you here. It's about me, first-hand. I was teaching at an Ivy League college and in the middle of my lectures I'd have no idea what I was saying. I knew the students well and, I swaer to you, I'd say, "What on earth was I taling about" and they would remind me. I had/have a lot of trouble with word retention and while I'm searching for the word, I forget the topic. It's at about this time that I retired because, although my student ratings were still good, I felt like they just were not getting their $$'s worth. They weren't! I can't even tell you the numbers of times I've gotten lost going to places I've beento a million times. I get confused and agitated about it because it's unfamiliar for me to be so confused. I have so many organizational systems around my house that it's almost funny because, of course, I can't recall how on earth I have organized anything in the first place. I have stickers on my stickers telling me where to look for stickers. I have to be really careful with my medication because otherwise I wouldn't have a clue what I had taken. I will tell people the same thing twice in a short conversation. The list is long. My memory is terrible. When I think abstractly, I fatigue easily. On an IQ test that is not time restricted, my intelligence is still about the same so I have not become stupid--but very, very different cognitively. There are techniques that you can learn, if you want to, at a learning center, that help. In terms of emotions, it's even more tricky. You know the illness causes or can cause various emotional problems. So do the drugs, of course. I honestly think it's important to see a highly qualified psychiatrist in your area--not so much for therapy--unless you want and can afford it, but because a psychiatrist can evaluate your moods and suggest medications that help. I know...more pills!!!! Maybe just one more. It's so important to realize there is help and that you are not becoming stupid, nor are you going crazy. My Rheumatologist and my psychiatrist have consulted. They are both great people. I'm sorry you have to endure all this. Mood-wise, and even cognitively, a lot can be corrected. They play into each other and are part of each other, mind-brain. For example, if you can't find something you may get anxios and then it makes you even more muddled and then, if you are like me, you may start to flare. Please keep in touch. It's so hard to unbraid all of these different things, isn't it? You will be on my mind. xoxoxosummer

PS. Sorry, I have, Luopus, Sjogren's and P. Neuropathy. xosummer

please watch for eye problems with plaquenil it really did a number on my eyes stoped med 2 mo. ago still having some problems also gained 20 lbs that just went away when i stopped med good luck