What is Lupus?
HIV, AIDS, Breast Cancer, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, etc…all "household" names of life threatening diseases. We have been educated and well aware of the warning signs that can lead to possible death. Autoimmune Disorder, Connective Tissue Disease, Inflammatory Diseases, etc…are common names connected to the silent disease named LUPUS. LUPUS which means "wolf" in Latin is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, kidneys, organs and blood. Reported as of the year 2000, it is estimated that 16,000 Americans develop LUPUS each year and 500,000 to 1.5 million Americans have been diagnosed.
LUPUS is two to three times more common among African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans. More people have LUPUS than AIDS. Men and women of childbearing age are diagnosed with this disease. About 5% of children born to individuals with LUPUS will develop the disease. There are three (3) different kinds of LUPUS that a person can be diagnosed with. Cutenaeous Discoid LUPUS - which affects the skin and can lead to permanent scarring of the skin and body. Drug-Induced LUPUS - caused by certain prescription medications, which will go away after a person stops taking the medication.
The more serious and common type is Systemic LUPUS Erythematosus-SLE which affects the major organs including the brain the auto-antibodies, react with the (self) antigens to form immune complexes that build up in the tissues and can cause inflammation and injury to tissues which in turn causes pain, moderate to severe pain. Or how I like to put it being "allergic to yourself." The immune system usually protects our bodies against bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances. In an autoimmune disease like LUPUS, the immune system can lose its ability to distinguish between foreign substances and its own cells and tissue. For most people, SLE can be a temporary mild disease affecting only a few organs and tissues. For others, it may cause serious life threatening problems that lead to death. LUPUS is not contagious and unfortunately at this time there is no known cure.
With regular visits to the doctor (Rheumatologist, arthritis specialist), the proper medications to reduce inflammation or the activity of the immune system, pain management, exercise, diet and adequate rest a person may be able to lead a normal life. There are times when no symptoms are present and a person can go into what is called "remission".
LUPUS may be very hard to diagnose because it mimics other diseases. However, there are several types of blood tests and 11 symptom criteria (a doctor usually looks for 4 out of the 11 symptoms) that help doctors and healthcare professionals to give patients the proper diagnoses to begin proper management of their health. LUPUS is sometimes called a "silent disease" because it is not a "physical" disease. Living with LUPUS can be very unpredictable and debilitating and can cause a lot of stress in a person's life, family or caregiver's life.
mahalalove.com was created to bring more awareness, not sorrow to this chronic inflammatory, sometimes life threatening disease. The following pages contain "My Life, My Story".
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