World Lupus Day

My Lupus flare is a monstrous burden on me. Since September 2016 up to now it penetrated my everyday life starting from the basic up to the mental and emotional states of it. Waking up in the morning thinking it is another Lupus day is basically giving me the "stress" all at once, and how ironic because stress is the most important thing that a Lupus patient must avoid.  

But anyway, enough of my drama! Since it's World Lupus Day, I figured I should be happy. Not because I get to celebrate WLD because of my Lupus, but because I now know that people are getting more aware of this illness, they're being active of extending the awareness, and most importantly, they're giving support and spreading love. What a happy day it really is! :)

I joined the HFL Warriors Group in hopes that I would find people whom I can talk and relate to when it comes to my illness, and it was indeed one of the best decisions I've made. Being a timid type of person, opening up myself to people I barely even know was a big big big step for me. 

Kidneys, eyes, and Lupus

Hi!

I just got back home from my Rheumatologist this morning.

Good news is, my SGPT/ALT and SGOT/AST went Normal now.

Bad news is, my kidneys are swollen, or as what my doctor termed as "nephritis." 

And this is making me a little bit upset.

But with the goodness and grace of God, Jesus, and Mary, my Doctor told me that it was, again, an early detection so the disease won't, at least, aggravate because it's still manageable. Having said that, my Doctor escalated my meds for now, dose up of additional 5mg for the Prednisone (total of 30mg/day) and Plaquenil (HCQ) 200mg BID (or twice a day). But I still have another concern as I have been very very observant with my body since my remission, I noticed that when I started on HCQs again (November 2016) my vision changed a lot, and I mean a LOT! Aside from an existing astigmatism, I think the blurriness is now becoming worse. My doctor said that, statistically, only 5% of the patients taking HCQs are affected by the said side effect, so unfortunately, I was among those 5% people. She advised me to take only 1tab of HCQ instead of my 2tabs routine for the past months to protect my eyes. And also, she added that these side effects regarding the changes in vision is still reversible and it will get better in time so now I'm giving a double cross-finger for that and hoping it's accurate! 

Came to the beanie part again, my doctor gave me Azathioprine for medication. 

Tomorrow I will be starting taking it at 50mg, twice a day.

Here's to hoping that I will get better!!! 

PS.

I will update this story after my 30-day medication of Azathioprine regarding the effects and or side effects on me, and everything that came along with it. 

My Hair Loss and Lupus

"The immune system normally fights off dangerous infections and bacteria to keep the body healthy. An autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system attacks the body because it confuses it for something foreign. There are many autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).'"

I was first diagnosed with Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) when I was 13 years old. Luckily, it was an early detection so I was treated before it even developed, it was a fast phased treatment and no problems nor complications got on my way. To cut the story short, my Lupus slept for a very very very long time after it's detection and treatment. Until... 16 years later, the present time, it woke up again. Symptoms started to fill me up like muscle pains, fatigue, occasional joint pains, hair fall, butterfly rashes, etc.

I never would have thought that a Lupus remission would be possible because my life was all perfectly doing well, even my Doctor believed that not having any maintenance medicine for long years without a flare is a miracle and like the Lupus was completely gone, but I guess life is a box full of surprises!

My major dilemma from my flare is my hair, yes, my hair! And I think I'm losing it. Shocks! Am I gonna be bald? Haha! I'm serious though. So here's the odd-juicy story, I started to notice hair falls on November 2016 (I was diagnosed with Lupus flare at October 2016), I thought it will just pass and changing my shampoo will solve the problem, but it didn't. 

I've tried using Kerasys Shampoo (the pink and white one) because it says it can make your hair stronger -- of course it's just advertising, it didn't made my hair stronger. 

I've tried using Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo (the bright pink one) because it says it's a mild shampoo plus it has Argan oil (FYI, Lupies must use mild shampoos and soaps because they tend to have more sensitive skin during flare ups) -- and Nuuuuh! Baby shampoo didn't do the job too.

Tried the Suave Naturals Daily Clarifying Shampoo too because it's Hypoallergenic and I have a feeling that it's super mild -- I guess not.