Found out some interesting new things about Kristen.

[chanandalerbong1]

Hey everyone- so as some of you know, my wife has been away at womens help clinic for her mental anguish and her continued battle with addiction. she had blood drawn last Tuesday and they noticed  she had an elevated white blood cell count. she also suffers from chronic pain in her joints, headaches, severe anxiety, depression, she gets weird rashes that we always thought were hives from anxiety, she also gets a weird rush of warmth to some of her joints specifically her knees. well i never connected the dots. with the blood test coming back with concerning signs she was tested in the hospital for a few things and we found out Kristen has lupus. no im not happy about it at all i was really concerned until i sat down with her doctor and he told me about the succes theyve had with treatment for most people with the disease. he also said that her anxiety and depression may also become controlled after treating the disease which is awesome news. im still reading a lot on the disease because i want to be well educated. the one thing that concerns me is the fact that she will have pain killers readily prescribed to her for the pain related with the disease. should i be worried with her hitory? i mean sure i could hold on to them and give them to her as needed but i dont feel comfortable with that with MY history... anyone have lupus or live with/know someone with lupus? i could use all the info about it. thanks in advance.

-Mason.

[luppygirl]

Plaquinal is the main medication given for lupus. It does help with fatigue but it can take 3-6 months before enough builds up in you system to start feeling better. Some say prednisone works wonders ( it didn't for me i turned into a crazy person on that) but others say it helped with pain and fatigue. You can't expect any quick fixes with lupus you have to have patients.

[chanandalerbong1]

where as i appreciate your life experience we now know her iron levels are low because of the lupus.its a very common symptom with the disease... it will l be pretty easilt controlled. she has a really great diet because eating junk and a ton of sugar makes her anxiety way worse. but thanks for the thought...

-Mason.

[broknbck]

well i asked you about the iron because i had a friend who had this weird thing happen to her. it started with a stiff neck and moved to all her joints. pretty soon she could not even turn her head all the way and walking even got hard to do.
like severe arthritus. except she was only 31. so she was tested for everything and the only thing they could find was that she was severly enemic and very low blood-iron. so she started juicing vegtables high in iron and taking iron pills. and as her iron level got higher the symptoms went away.

she had been on like a diet of only chicken, fish, turkey. no fats at all. and cooked vegtables. turned out she needs to eat more meat all the time. red meat.

symptoms have not come back.
but she also had been anemic for years.
really bad periods.

[Ella789]

  It is plaquenil that is the anit-malaria drug.  It usualy needs to be taken for awhile before it takes effect.  It is suposed to help keep the  Lupus flares down and some say it helps with energy, it didn't for me tho.  Please have Kristen get the phemonia shot and the flu shot(each fall) they are so very important for us Luppies. The phemonia shot is good for several years.  I think if I had it ONE more time, it would kill me! wow
Keep posting

Ella

[jillian6]

My sister was just diagnosed with Lupus and she works.  She always has been the type of person who stayed very busy but now the docs are telling her she needs to slow down.  They put her on an anti malaria drug - one thing I have learned - being out in the sun for long periods of time can cause it to flare up - she leaned this  the hard way b/c she went to a tanning bed and got really sick.

I bet your wife does feel a little better knowing she finally has a diagnosis - as bad as it is, my sister felt the same way.  She does not take any narcotics at this point - but sh'e always been against them.  I'm the one who likes them.  Darn addiction. :) Donna

[Shelwoy]

I am glad you have a diagnosis for your wife, you guys have been through allot! Low iron can cause many issues,I have this problem and have to have iron given to me through an I.V. I will keep you both in my thoughts.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

You are learning, and rapidly. Have to give you a standing ovation today!!  Really glad to hear how things are working out for you. Many people dont get a second chance. You are quite luck to have one. Keep it up and stay strong. You arent being stupid at all - it sounds like you are doing a lot of things very smartly.......

[chanandalerbong1]

her iron levels are way down, but th doctor said this is normal with someone who is suffering from lupus... but she has also been animac(sp?) for as long as i can remeber...

[chanandalerbong1]

oh and melody-

there are good guys out there... i dont consider myself one because i have done a lot of bad things but you know what they say behind every good man there is a good woman.... but dont lose faith. im sure in due time you will find a good catch... and dont ever settle for less... do what you love and from there let love find you. it will sneak up on you when you least expect it at a time when youre not even looking.kristen and i are high school sweethearts. i got hurt during a football game and she stayed after the game to make sure i was ok and it all just started there. no one back home would have ever thought we would end up with the problems we have now- but through it all we will ALWAYS love eachother and be right there to pick the other one up no matter how bad it gets... i REALLY meant for better or worse. and i always will. but melody i believe everyone has someone that they will find at some point... we just have to let it happen. thanks for your response.

-Mason.  

[chanandalerbong1]

hey i have been clean from opiates for two years- well except for the script the doc gave me after kristens brother and his friends beat the sh*t outa me. i only took one and flushed the rest.... but i did relapse on crystal meth while she was in the hospital. not my d.o.c. but still ashamed of it.. im on a suboxone program. i chose the sub route because of how close i was to dying from my heroin addiction and it saved me. kristen has been clean the same amount of time we chose our wedding anniversary as our stop date and didnt look back. her addiction was a little less than mine and she stuck to pills where as i prefered the big H and a rig. shooting up was a whole other addiction... i still feel like something is crawling under my skin just thinking about the syringe.... anyway. i talked to the doctor and the pharmacist and we are going to work something out so im pretty confident i can handle this... i feel so selfish for even thinking i could have a problem if my wife need the pain meds... especially with how much she has suffered. i feel like a BIG D-Bag...i dont think i would ever take them but i mean we have all had our bad days you know?

-Mason.

[nick30]

you are making perfect sense. you are learning fast dude.

[Melody_Cracker]

I know nothing about lupus but I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry to hear your wife is in pain and suffering through depression among other things. Also, I think you are amazing that you care so much, I know shes your wife, but I've never had a guy that cared that much about me, so im just happy to see that there are great guys like you out there...I will pray for her and you as well...I hope everything gets better for the both of you  :)
ps. How long have you and her been off the drugs, if you don't mind my asking, just wondering so maybe I can give you my opinion about your question/concern of both of you having a history and her getting them pills.  I hope to hear back from you...Melody

[broknbck]

how is her iron level?
it should be in her blood work.

[Allicat0117]

No you are not being stupid at all.  I totally agree with you about her addiction/recovery and how that will factor in with beating the lupus.

[chanandalerbong1]

oh yea and i know there are probably other forums i could check out about the lupus but i feel like Kristens addiction and her recovery play a big factor in how we tackle the lupus. does that make sense or am i being stupid?

[chanandalerbong1]

sorry it has taken me a while- i had a doctors appt that lasted far longer than i expected... i had to go get a new cast because i accidently soaked it. haha i have had the cast for what 5 days? and i already ruined it lol... that is typical of me. oh yea and i have gone this entire time with extensive injuries ad ive only taken one oxy and didnt even want anymore! it relieved my pain and i went to sleep and i woke up feeling much better... so i flushed all but two just in case even though i dont think ill need it... anyway enough about me...thank you for your very helpful insight into lupus.... im a bit confused because i met with her doctor today and it kind of confused me more and i didnt want to sound stupid so i didnt ask for clarity. i know, i should have. i grew up with some learning set backs so i have a complex when it comes to seeming dumb or slow.... i think i feel really comfortably talking to you guys cuz you dont judge me.... so thats why i really really appreciate any info you have... im especially confused about treatment... what exactly IS the normal treatment process for a person with lupus?... Kristen has already had pnuemonia several times...is that a big risk factor? also, for the constant fatigue-will they presribe her something for that... its unrealistic for her to spend her whole day on the couch now that her anxiety is under control she is ready to re-experience anything and everything in and around the city... she wants to go back to work... with the fatigue issue is that something she can handle? she seems okay with the diagnosis, in fact relieved because now she feels like people will believe her when she tells them how terrible she feels. sometimes she cant even get out of bed because her hip, knees, and feet hurt her so intensly... and i dont mean to sound like a "typical man" but we havent had sex in like 8 months... i know she feels bad but i feel bad for even wanting it when she is in such bad condition ALL the time.... thanks again for the info. you have no idea how much i appreciate it.

-Mason.    

[luppygirl]

Oh ya and if the dr puts her on plaquinal after being on it a few months it does help with pain in some people.

[luppygirl]

I also have lupus plus a few other autoimmune diseases. I can answer alot of questions for you. The pain medication is something I tried to live without for the first 2 years of my illness but it just got to be to much. It was affecting the quality of my life and also causing depression.  So I finally gave in an started them. It did help me alot.  I was able to do so much more.  But i still had to be careful because people with lupus get really fatigued if they try to do to much. The methods I tried for pain before i tried the pain meds were. Tiger Balm ( just don't put  to much or it feels like heat stroke and yes i am talking from experience lol) Ibprophen, tylenol for arthritis, If there was a rub that helped joint pain at the natural food place or GNC i tried it. Just please don't take anything that says on it that is boost your immune system that is the last thing you want because your immune system is out of whack. If it does come down to taking pain meds there are ways that they can be dispensed so she doesn't have alot on hand.  Example would be she can get 3 days worth at a time that way she can't go over board and she could also keep them in a lock box so you don't have access to them. There are also a few anti depressants that they use for pain management like amatripaline and also cymbalta , i myself am trying the cymbalta now. I just started a couple of days ago. If you have any more questions please ask i have been through alot with this disease so I should be able to help. Take care.

[Ella789]

What do you need to know?  I was DX'd with SLE in 2003.  I too had many problems in the years previous to the diagnosis.  It also led to my use of Lortab, and over use!  It most certainly has been an adventure that I wish I didn't have to take.  I have had serious lung and heart problems that are under control at this time.  Kristen should have a pheumonia (sp?)  vaccination as well as a yearly flu shot.  NO Kidding.
Give her a hug for me.

Ella

[nick30]

there are a few lupus sufferers on the pain management forum, you could talk to them about it (is there a lupus forum?).
probably best for Kristen to stay away from the heavy narcotics until all other avenues are exhausted.
at least she may now have a better idea of why she is in pain.
better treatment options open up once you have a diagnosis.
i just sent a msg to someone i know with lupus to see if they'll help you better get to grips with it.
good luck man.

[chanandalerbong1]

it seems as though lupus is a bit of a mysterious  disease and effect each and every person differently. im worried for her liver because of the damage she had done to herself with years of opiate abuse and being that lupus can attack the kidneys and liver. i know the doc will be able to explain this more to me and test her regularly, but im still concerned especially because of how severe the disease can get and most of the time happpens without much rhyme or reason. she may end up not needing pain meds except when she has a "lupus flare up" which may happens once a month, once a year, or may be very well contained. i just hope kristen is up to the battle... i will absolutely do everything i can to help her get through it but as ive found out from past events its not always within my control. OH and i found her a GREAT grief counseler for the miscarriages she has suffered through. the doctor came highly recommended specializing with women and miscarrying. but yea any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated im a bit in the dark with this lupus thing...i know its serious which is why i would love to hear from anyone who has ever dealt with it or has legit info on it. thanks so much guys!

-Mason.

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

Dont know a gob about lupus, Mason .... but I wanted to say that it sounds like you are getting good news.... should pain pills be needed - a Doc can write them up in any manner that they desire - - fill a script weekly or even daily .... lots of ways to deal with it... hang in there and keep learning as much as you can about everything... thats the best defense.