My mother was diagnosed with lupus/rheumatoid arthritis
for over 10 years now, she has been in kind of a remission, she is on plaquenil, gets gold shots, and she
takes anti-inflammatory medicine. Recently she has been
getting symptoms of a flareup, achy all over, and a rash
developed on her forearm. So her rheumy took some bloodwork for the ana antibody and told her that everything is pretty "haywire" And he told her that he may have to change her meds. It sounds like a flareup to me?? ALso she has been really stressed out so I think this can also contribute to the flareup?
He also recommended that she go to a dermatologist to
get the rash checked out.
Anyone with any similar circumstances?/comments would be helpful.
Would a lupus doctor be more beneficial than a rheumy?

Hello!

A Lupus doctor is a Rheumatologist. Your mother is seeing the correct doctor for her needs. A high ANA can indicate that Lupus is very active, and immediate intervention may be needed to smooth everything out. Another test is an ESR (Sed rate) which can tell how much inflammation is going on in the body. This is a less specific test.

Stress can certainly send you into a flare! She does need to see a dermatologist, who can give her some cortisone based creams for her rashes to chill them out too. Prednisone (a steroid) is often used to stop a flare in its tracks too.

Just be as supportive as you can, and it sounds like you are! I am glad that you are asking lots of questions, it is so good to have information! Your mom should be proud of you for wanting to be a part of her care http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

~Angelic

Hello and thanks for your response,

I was wondering what do you mean when you say immediate intervention is necessary? He just said that everything is "haywire" so Im not sure if he might change her meds?

Hello again,

What I meant by immediate intervention is that lots of times people will be put on a higher dose of steroids (such as Prednisone). If your mom normally takes steroids, then sometimes the physician will up the dose to stop the flare in its tracks. Does that help a bit? http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif Hope so!!

~Angelic