I thought today would be "Normal".

I woke up today feeling great. My rash and sensitivity was very mild, no aches, no nausea. I had so much energy. I even said to myself. "So this is what normal feels like?" I had forgotten how good it feels to feel "normal". I am still not on any medication, but I just thought that maybe my flare was passing on its own. I did the morning routine with the kids, and was even planning out my home school schedule for the kids next week. I have gotten behind on their schedule and I am really going to have to play catch up with them.  I was just doing my thing when all of a sudden I started feeling it again. It is hard to explain. It is like I am feeling a fever coming on. I start to get achy, my skin got more red and sensitive, I started...

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Why are some patients at risk for Blood Clots and Miscarriage?

Every time I start to research something I always end up finding out something completely different than what I started looking for. I wanted to find out the recommended Aspirin Dose for Lupus, and ended up finding the answer to the question above. Here is what I found. People with a diagnosis such as Lupus, Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Thyroid Disease may also have a condition called Hughes Syndrome. Hughes Syndrome is also known as "sticky blood". It is basically when the blood has an antiphospholipid antibody. This can be detected through a simple blood test. In my research on Lupus I kept coming across information that said Lupus patients are sometimes at risk for blood clots and need to take low dose aspirin. From what I understand,...

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One reason Why someone with Lupus would get a false positive for Syphillis?

Wow, I absolutely Love it when I actually figure out a Why with something. (Yes, I know I am a little strange.) But I know that there are others out there asking these same questions, so that is WHY I am making a blog about all my "fun" discoveries. Ok, so when I did my own internet research of my symptoms, and came up with my own Lupus diagnosis, I made a list of test to get done. I had read that some individuals with Lupus will get a false positive for Syphilis. I had no clue why, but I thought that it couldn't hurt to have it done. (If you didn't already know, I am a missionary in Tanzania, Africa.) It was so embarrassing to go the the clinic and ask them if they could do a Syphilis test. I couldn't explain my full thought in the language...

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All About Vitamin D

If you have Lupus, Fibromyaligia, or MS your doctor may prescribe you a vitamin D supplement. It is important for fully understand every medication, vitamin, and herb that you put into your body. If helps to know Why you are doing What you are doing, and how it is suppose to be helping you. Here is the Link- All About Vitamin...

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Vitamin D and Lupus

I kept talking to others with Lupus who mentioned that they had low levels of Vitamin D when they were first diagnosed. I have heard someone say, "It was like my body was craving the sun." I don't know if my vitamin D level is low, but I have felt this exact way before. There were a few days when I would go outside and lay down on a blanket in the yard while the kids played. But then... that is also the same time that I started having photo-sensitivity. I came back in the house after only 20 min. and my skin felt so sun burned. I usually go outside for much longer without any problems. I still want to go outside and just lay in the sun on the green grass, but that will have to wait until I figure out what is going on with me, and get it under...

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What is an Auto-Immune Disease?

Wikipedia's Definition: "Autoimmune diseases arise from an inappropriate immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks its own cells. This may be restricted to certain organs (e.g. in autoimmune thyroiditis) or involve a particular tissue in different places (e.g. Goodpasture's disease which may affect the basement membrane in both the lung and the kidney). The treatment of autoimmune diseases is typically with immunosuppression—medication which decreases the immune response." My Definition: For whatever reason... Your body is trying to kill itself.  Please note that immunosuppression medications are...

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What is an Invisible Diagnosis?

An Invisible Diagnosis or I.D. is a name that I came up with to describe a wide variety of illnesses. They are something that you normally wouldn't "see" when looking at someone. These may include such things as Lupus, Celiac Disease, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis and More. Many people may actually have more than one of these at the same time, and they can be confusing to understand. There is a large population of people that are struggling with these health issues on a daily basis. Others may not even know that they have these struggles because they don't always look or act sick. I have chosen the name Invisible Diagnosis, instead of something like- Invisible Disease or Illness. I personally get enough daily reminders that I am sick,...

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