| Re: please help me - i'm freaking out.
Hi. Hang in there! If you read the "sticky post" at the front of the Board with the ACR criteria for Dx'ing systemic lupus, you'll see that you must meet 4 of the 11 criteria over time (meaning not necessarily all at once).
What's not real clear about the ACR criteria is that they apply only to *systemic* lupus (SLE). There are lesser "subsets": the intermediate one is called SCLE (subacute cutaneous LE) and the least one is called DLE (discoid lupus).
I can see from your list that you feel pretty punk right now. But---it may not be lupus. I hope you post back when your bloodwork & urine tests, etc. are back. Main thing is to hang in there, and also to know that even people who do have lupus can go through many rounds of tests before answers crystallize. Some people have such clear (& awful) symptoms & test results that they are Dx'ed immediately, but for many, no...
About one-sided facial rashes: from all that I've read, I tend to agree that the classic "malar" (butterfly) rash seen in systemic lupus tends to be symmetrical & across the bridge of the nose. Not to scare you, but there are other rashes seen in lupus: SCLE annular, SCLE-psoriaform, discoid, etc. But if you've only had one spot so far, maybe it makes more sense not to overworry just yet?
Hang in there, OK?! Rooting for you! Sincerely, Vee
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