I have had Lupus for 4 years now, and I don't for the most part match any regular symptoms, but who does? It has a million faces. I refuse to go on medication because of it's horrid future effects on the human body, on the otherhand I always try new things because there could ALSO be horrid future effects if left untreated. Recently I have really focused on a non gluten, wheat free diet. Also known as an anti inflammatory diet. A very strange occurence as happened with this little adventure. The swelling has reduced a little bit, HOWEVER, the pain is still there! Why is the pain there without swelling?? I'm sure there is an answer in the medical world for this, however I do tend to lean toward a somatoform disorder where the physical ailments are from something else (my trauma suffered four years ago) Time for psychoanalysis maybe??
Hi, Psada. I'm "straight medical", because I personally doubt that diet alone can control inflammation in lupus. I've been helped a lot by Plaquenil. FYI, it's NOT a drug known for serious side effects, unlike, say, steroids, immunosuppressants, and earlier generations of antimalarials. I consider myself very lucky indeed to have only required, to date, Plaquenil, OTC's like Advil, and Fosamax.
Have you been offered Plaquenil? Looked into its side effects, as compared to the bigger drugs; and as compared to the older antimalarials, which indeed WERE known to cause things like retinal damage? In the U.S., one hardcover author who covers this is Dr. Daniel Wallace, and another is Dr. Robert Lahita. In the U.K. & probably elsewhere, Dr. Graham Hughes is yet another. All cover Plaquenil & other lupus drugs, and ALL facets of lupus.
By the time I was Dx'ed, I already had osteoporosis, which wasn't surprising given the decades I'd had inflammatory pain. And I *think* other things (gallbladder, etc.) have been correlated with inflammation, so I wonder if uncontrolled inflammation can EVER go unnoticed by the human body?
Obviously, I'm only a patient; plus we all view these things differently. But I think in your shoes, I'd want to ask, What are the *downsides* of NOT controlling lupus, including the inflammation it causes? Please know I'm not trying to proselytize, just hoping that you're considering all angles; so please take everything I just wrote in that context. Above all, I hope you keep posting here & that you find ways that work to control the pain you live with! Bye, with best wishes, Vee (Dx'ed in 2000, with a new start on life handed to me at---aaaargh!---age 47. What an odyssey!)
I was actually mis-diagnosed with Celiac Disease three years ago and was on a gluten-free diet. A year before that diagnosis I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Last summer I was diagnosed with Lupus. Last month I re-introduced gluten into my diet. From my own experiences I can say that a gluten-free diet has had not affect on my level of pain. My pain has increased due to the Lupus and consuming wheat and gluten has not made a difference.
I agree with Vee about the Plaquenil. I was placed on Plaquenil and improved dramatically after 4 months. Unfortunately, over the past week and a half, I've been in the midst of a flare and have been in a great deal of pain. The flare came on from stress and extremely cold weather. Now I am taking Naprosyn and am hoping the flare will end soon. I don't like taking any more medications than I have to, but like a diabetic, I need these medications to function.
I hope you can get the help you need and feel better soon!
Swelling vs Pain 
