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Does any one here have a Skin rash from sun without the butterfly look
on face.
Do these symptoms sound like lupus ...

Photosensitivity - Mainly on arms and face but not a distinct
butterfly look on face.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Endometriosos type symptoms - Heavy period pains - could be unrelated.
Chronic Fatigue
Depression
Waking up feeling sleepy
Not Serious headaches
Muscle aches

no bone pains - no arthritis or anything simular
no known fever problems
no other problems related to lupus

j

yes (not me, but many others here)


yes (not me, but many others here)

probably unrelated, except that the heavy periods could be contributing to
the fatique.
Hopefully her bloodwork is being checked for various types of anemias?


She could consult a rheumatologist and find out what is or isn't known.
(get bloodwork etc done).
Do know that getting a diagnosis of Lupus can be a problem "pre-existing
condition" for insurance, so if the chances are good, step up the
insurance now, before potentially getting a diagnosis. And please go with
her. Some rheumy's aren't very good and/or don't want to diagnose it for
fear of depression setting in..or "blow some patients off"..if there's no
kidney involvement.

on the other hand, there may be medications that she's taking (for
something else) that might be making her more sun-sensitive and the rest
is all a collection of various side ailments that have nothing to do with
Lupus at all.
So do check her medications at http://www.rxlist.com

Remember, there's 1,000 faces to Lupus (meaning it can present in 1,000's
of different ways).

We can be here for you and/or her while you work on sorting things out.

J - not an expert

kcat

On 6 Jan 2004 05:47:20 -0800, google.account@adaptaust.com (Colin

absolutely. The butterfly rash is only present in about 30% of lupus
patients. Others of us have a rash response to the sun (or alcohol,
fluorescent lighting, stress) that can be located just about anywhere
and in any pattern (go for it Andy!)

They do sound autoimmune.


my arms were one of the first indicators of my photosensitivity
increasing. they itched like made, the rash was actually hard to see
but could be felt and had a patchy look too it. it would go away
after about 12 hours or so usually.


often related to autoimmune disease but how is still unknown. There
is also a condition that is similar but hard to diagnose - GI
Vasculitis. this is seen in lupus and other autoimmune disease. the
symptoms are similar to IBS but not the same and most of us with GIV
can not tolerate grains/fibre - the most common "treatment" for IBS.


well - J said probably not related but I have to disagree. firstly -
Endometriosis is beginning to look like an autoimmune disease in
itself. I have 4 family members with this disease - all on the
maternal side - 3 have other autoimmune conditions. (lupus,
Sjogren's.) I do not have endo but have had very endo-like symptoms
for years - hormones have brought that greatly under control. But I
too have an autoimmune disease. I suspect it will be found that the
genes that predispose people to lupus are on the same chromosome as
those that predispose women to endometriosis. But I'm guessing based
on reading and experiencing, I'm not a doctor.


yup - probably the most common symptom of all. I'd go so far as to
say that at one time or another 100% of lupus patients experience debilitating fatigue.


yup - can be a direct result of the disease altering brain chemistry
and of course a result of the limitations or discomfort the disease can cause.


could be anything - I'm the groggiest person I know other than my
daughter. But daughter has autoimmune hypothyroidism.


and serious ones. Before treatment with plaquenil I had daily
headaches. most of the time just irritants that made concentrating
and getting my work done difficult but not impossible. I ate aspirin
almost daily for several years before going on plaquenil.


without a doubt - another of those symptoms that is exists in most autoimmune diseases.

good - not a differential diagnosis issue - but a good thing you don't have this.


again - good. Fever is common

I do agree with Maggie that you need to determine if the medication
you are on could be the problem. This is not unusual at all and
usually (note that word) the problem is resolved after removal of the
offending drug. Though it may take a few weeks. The condition is
caused Drug-Induced Lupus Erythematosus and there are many medications
that are thought to cause it.

Past that - it sounds like, if you do have an AI disease, it is quite
mild and there are promising statistics for mild AI disease.
According to Dr. Wallace (US doc considered "the" authority on Lupus)
about 20% of mild lupus cases are self-remitting (require no
medication, seemingly go away on their own.) Many can be controlled
indefinitely by mild medication and fairly "minor" life-style changes.
Dr. W. believes based on the thousands of patients he has seen that
plaquenil can do great things for mild lupus, including possibly
preventing progression of the disease past it's current state. I have
found this to be the case for me. I still have flares but the problems
I deal with now are for the most part the problems I dealth with 7
years ago. What new ones have been added - are not life-threatening.

Re: lifestyle changes - if you are showing this photosensitivity -
regardless of the cause (med or disease) *AVOID EXPOSURE* yes, I'm
yelling because so many patients think this means "don't sunbathe."
No, it means avoid UV light to whatever degree you can. If you are an
outsdoorsy type, get high quality sunblock that blocks UVA and UVB
(there are several, some of which can be tinted like make-up
foundation if that's important to you.) Wear protective clothing.
sure, it might *feel* better to have a tank top on when its "hunnert
and hunnert" (100 deg. 100% relative humidity) but the truth is,
keeping the rays off of your skin can keep you cool and protect you
from flaring. Invest in a good long-sleeved sun protective shirt or
have some articles of clothing treated with RIT's solar screening
"dye" (sorry, I don't know the name of it but there's a reference to
it in the FAQ) Wear a hat. worry about hat hair later. Remember
there are many sources of UV light that can be damaging - not just the
sun but also uncovered fluorescent lighting, tanning beds (very
dangerous for autoimmune patients or any photosensitive person), old
PC monitors. Newer ones emit very little radiation. I used to get a
rash after a days work in front of my old monitor.

I have a small covered fluorescent light on my desk but UV still leaks
from these so I still have to limit my use somewhat. at least take
breaks.

now, hopefully, this will all be just the medication and you won't
have to make these changes - but if you do make them they are not just
awful changes - you can still do the things you want to do in life you
just have to be more judicious about exposure times.

as far as living with it - heck yeah! last I read (and that was some
time ago) 90% of all lupus patients will live a normal or near-normal
life span. Most lupus patients have mild disease - often not
requiring any major treatment at all. Learn your limits, rest when
your body tells you to, and avoid the sun. Even a completely healthy
person could stand to live by those rules.

andy

You look perfectly normal in a jpg - was it Photoshop 5 or 7 you bought?
--
Andy [Chair, N E Lupus Group]
See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more!

charlotte

Wow, I've never heard anyone else mention the alcohol. I can drink
one glass of wine, or anything alcohol, and my face turns flame red
across nose and cheeks. This has only been happening the past year.

j

Thanks, I forgot or too tired to check
J

jdwat

Here's a link about endometriosis & autoimmune diseases:

http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/endometriosis/endo_news-endo-linked-to-autoimmune-sep-2002.htm


Maggie

andy

So does my wife's (*) but she thinks this is caused by one of her
medications, not by lupus.

(*) she has the lupus, I'm just married to it
--
Andy [Chair, N E Lupus Group]
See http://www.northeastlupus.org.uk for more!

rep

Actually, this is a pretty common reaction in everyone, even those who
aren't ill. I forget what causes it - something with the capillaries
dilating - but it's normal.

Niacin will cause a hot-flash-like flushing as well.

--
"Did Father shoot him? I will eat Grandfather for dinner."
- Helen Keller, on learning of the death of her grandfather

kcat

meds can certainly do this - but my response to alcohol started before
I had any meds other than aspirin and hormones. Some one told me I
had an allergy to alcohol and that's why this happened. I'm very
skeptical about that.

some of the meds I'm on now do exacerbate this response though.