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my sister has lupus and she is real bad?
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Default my sister has lupus and she is real bad? - 10-05-2009, 06:08 AM

she don't know what day it is. face numb. arm numb. and the doctors are not sure if she is having strokes. she is always falling down all the time. im worried that she don't live have long to live. i dont know anything about lupus and fibromyalgia. can some one help me
   
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Default 10-10-2009, 06:08 AM

i would recommend seeing a doctor asap!


Hope that helped!
   
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Default 10-15-2009, 06:08 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_lupus_erythematosus

Systemic lupus anathematizes (SLE or lupus, pronounced stestem's?s ??r???im??to?s?s (help?info)) is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body?s cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage.[1]

SLE most often harms the heart, joints, skin, lungs, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, and nervous system. The course of the disease is unpredictable, with periods of illness (called flares) alternating with remissions. The disease occurs nine times more often in women than in men, especially between the ages of 15 and 50, and is more common in those of non-European descent.[2][3][4]

SLE is treatable through addressing its symptoms, mainly with corticosteroids and immunosuppressants; there is currently no cure. SLE can be fatal, although with recent medical advances, fatalities are becoming increasingly rare. Survival for people with SLE in the United States, Canada, and Europe is approximately 95% at five years, 90% at 10 years, and 78% at 20 years.[4]
   
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Default 10-16-2009, 06:08 AM

SLE (lupus) is an autoimmune disease. This means there is a problem with the body's normal immune system response. Normally, the immune system helps protect the body from harmful substances. But in patients with an autoimmune disease, the immune system can't tell the difference between harmful substances and healthy ones. The result is an overactive immune response that attacks otherwise healthy cells and tissue. This leads to chronic (long-term) inflammation.

The underlying cause of autoimmune diseases is not fully known. Some researchers think autoimmune diseases occur after infection with an organism that looks like certain proteins in the body. The proteins are later mistaken for the organism and wrongly targeted for attack by the body's immune system.

SLE may be mild or severe enough to cause death.

SLE affects nine times as many women as men. It may occur at any age, but appears most often in people between the ages of 10 and 50 years. African Americans and Asians are affected more often than people from other races.

SLE may also be caused by certain drugs. For information on this cause of SLE, see drug-induced lupus anathematizes.

Symptoms
Symptoms vary from person to person, and may come and go. The condition may affect one organ or body system at first. Others may become involved later. Almost all people with SLE have joint pain and most develop arthritis. Frequently affected joints are the fingers, hands, wrists, and knees.

Inflammation of various parts of the heart may occur as pericardium's, indicates, or myocardial. Chest pain and arrhythmia's may result from these conditions.

General symptoms include:

Arthritis
Fatigue
Fever
General discomfort, uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise)
Joint pain and swelling
Muscle aches
Nausea and vomiting
Pleural effusions
Pleurisy (causes chest pain)
Psychosis
Seizures
Sensitivity to sunlight
Skin rash -- a "butterfly" rash over the cheeks and bridge of the nose affects about half of those with SLE. The rash gets worse when in sunlight. The rash may also be widespread.
Swollen glands
Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Abdominal pain
Blood disorders, including blood clots
Blood in the urine
Coughing up blood
Fingers that change color upon pressure or in the cold
Hair loss
Mouth sores
Nosebleed
Numbness and tingling
Red spots on skin
Skin color is patchy
Swallowing difficulty
Visual disturbance


Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition causing pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints. Fibromyalgia is also characterized by restless sleep, awakening feeling tired, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and disturbances in bowel function. Fibromyalgia was formerly known as fibrositis.

While fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, its cause is currently unknown. The painful tissues involved are not accompanied by tissue inflammation. Therefore, despite potentially disabling body pain, patients with fibromyalgia do not develop body damage or deformity. Fibromyalgia also does not cause damage to internal body organs. In this sense, fibromyalgia is different from many other rheumatic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, and polymyositis). In those diseases, tissue inflammation is the major cause of pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the joints, tendons and muscles, and it can lead to joint deformity and damage to the internal organs or muscles.
   
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Default 10-18-2009, 06:08 AM

Lupus is an auto immune disease. Meaning, the body's own natural defense system (the immune system) attacks it's own tissues/organs instead of attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. It is a life-long disease and can become severe.

Though experts believe there is a genetic/hereditary component involved, the exact cause, as is true with other auto immune diseases, is unknown. Symptoms of the disease vary widely and they come and go. The disease can attack any organ of the body then subside and attack another, it's very complex. Though people don't die from Lupus itself, many can die from the complications caused by the disease such as pneumonia and other life threatening illnesses.

If you want more information to better understand what your sister is going through just Google Lupus/Systemic Lupus, there is alto of info out there.
   
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