Expert Information About Lupus Treatment
A Drug That Helps Ease Lupus Symptoms in Women
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| Diane Kamen, M.D. |
I had to deal with issues regarding Lupus a few weeks ago, so that prompted me to learn more about it, which of course, I am sharing with you here. I do hope this information is helpful to someone else out there too. ~Carol
Nine out of 10 people with lupus are women, and it strikes most often when they're 15 to 44 years old. Rheumatologist Diane Kamen, M.D., describes symptoms, explains how to get an accurate diagnosis and tells us about good treatments, including a breakthrough drug now on the market…
All of us produce beneficial antibodies that fight against harmful viruses and bacteria. But that's not the case when a woman has lupus.
With lupus, her immune system goes haywire, producing antibodies that attack not invading germs but the body’s own healthy cells. In the process, it systematically damages many different tissues and organs, such as the skin, kidneys, lungs and heart.
“It’s a lifelong disease, but most women live fairly normal lives even when they have it,” says lupus expert Diane Kamen, M.D., a rheumatologist and associate professor at Medical University of South Carolina.
Although there is no cure for lupus, treatments have improved dramatically in the last decade. In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Dr. Kamen explains lupus symptoms in women, treatments and more.
What causes lupus?
It’s partly genetic. If a twin has lupus, her identical twin, with the same genes, has a 20%-30% chance of developing it too — far above average.
Family history increases your risk, but 80% of those who get it have no family members with lupus. So the environment matters too.
[For example,] If a woman is exposed to silica dust, [working with] pottery or farming sandy soil, that seems to increase her risk for lupus.
Smoking and getting either too little vitamin D or too much sun exposure also can trigger lupus.
And one form of lupus is induced by taking certain medications.
But we don’t really know what causes this switch in the immune system to turn on a woman’s healthy tissue.
Why is lupus more prevalent in women?
Female hormones may help explain the sex disparity. Boys are about as likely as girls to get lupus before puberty. So the shift happens when hormones kick in.
What are the most common lupus symptoms in women? Joint pain is what sends most women to the doctor. Fatigue is another huge problem — lots of women have had it for months, even years, and it feels like having the flu all the time.
Loss of appetite, weight loss, low-grade fever and swelling in the legs are other typical symptoms of lupus.
And there may be hair loss. I don’t mean just the thinning that can come with age but losing chunks of hair.
More than half of people with lupus have rashes that worsen with sun exposure. We call it the butterfly rash because it goes across one cheek, over the bridge of the nose and then across the other cheek.
Is it hard for doctors to get to a lupus diagnosis? It can be difficult for primary-care doctors to diagnose because you have to be able to see the pattern.
If you’re not thinking about lupus, you could easily conclude the woman just has the flu or arthritis. Sometimes it takes women years to get an accurate lupus diagnosis. And they may be prescribed medications, like antibiotics, which make lupus worse.
You also should get a complete blood count test because we’re usually going to see low white blood cells with lupus.
Doctors also should test to see if you have protein in the urine, since that’s an early tipoff that you might have lupus and that it’s starting to harm your kidneys.
Lupus creates a higher risk for cardiovascular problems, so some are treated by cardiologists and benefit from preventive medicines or standard treatments for heart problems.
Others might have kidney problems and see kidney specialists. They might need tissue biopsies or other kidney tests.
If there’s lung involvement, sometimes women need specialized biopsies.
And it’s not uncommon to get skin biopsies or treatment by a dermatologist for rashes.
Typically, there are flare-ups of symptoms of lupus from time to time.
How long do these flare-ups last, and how serious are they? That varies depending on the patient and how quickly steps are taken to get the flare under control. With treatment, minor flares can resolve quickly, within days.
But major flares involving organs, like the heart, lungs or kidneys, can take weeks to months to resolve, even with treatment.
Sometimes, women come to recognize what triggers the flare-ups and can avoid it. For example, sun exposure, viruses or stress are often triggers.
Are there lifestyle habits to help ease lupus symptoms in women? We recommend a balanced diet and avoiding highly processed foods. Women should exercise regularly to help keep their weight normal because being overweight can make joint problems worse.
Anything natural that eases stress can be helpful to women with lupus, and they should try to avoid what seems to trigger the flare-ups.
What is the prognosis for women with lupus? Although there isn’t a cure, the chances of living a pretty normal life are good — certainly better than ever. Any woman with lupus needs to take good care of her heart and kidneys, going for regular medical checkups, since lupus can have harmful effects on these organs if a woman isn’t carefully monitored.
Is it safe to get pregnant with lupus, and will you have a healthy baby?
Lupus symptoms in women usually worsen during pregnancy. Also, women with lupus are more prone to miscarriages and stillbirths.
But if they plan ahead, most women can have healthy pregnancies and babies.
They shouldn’t try to get pregnant during a flare-up, though, and it’s important to have the kidneys working OK before pregnancy.
We often have to use steroids during pregnancy to keep the lupus quiet, and generally they are safe, though women have to be monitored closely.
For the best care, women should have a high-risk OB managing the pregnancy in close partnership with their doctor who treats the lupus.
How Much Do You Know About Lupus?
Roughly 1.5 million Americans are afflicted with lupus. A diagnosis can be difficult, because the symptoms are sometimes intermittent and changing. But recent improvements in lupus treatment have made the condition somewhat easier to control.
CLICK HERE to read this entire article.
I usually give you the overall idea of any given post I find, because I base it on my own understanding. Plus I want to give credit where credit is due by sending you to the original authors posting for any extra info. It's only fair.
I hope this information has been of some help to you. As always, if you would like to add a thought, question, give suggestions for another topic, or make a general suggestion, please post a comment below. Also, please follow / subscribe to this blog. Thank you!
All of us produce beneficial antibodies that fight against harmful viruses and bacteria. But that's not the case when a woman has lupus.
With lupus, her immune system goes haywire, producing antibodies that attack not invading germs but the body’s own healthy cells. In the process, it systematically damages many different tissues and organs, such as the skin, kidneys, lungs and heart.
“It’s a lifelong disease, but most women live fairly normal lives even when they have it,” says lupus expert Diane Kamen, M.D., a rheumatologist and associate professor at Medical University of South Carolina.
Although there is no cure for lupus, treatments have improved dramatically in the last decade. In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Dr. Kamen explains lupus symptoms in women, treatments and more.
What causes lupus?
It’s partly genetic. If a twin has lupus, her identical twin, with the same genes, has a 20%-30% chance of developing it too — far above average.
Family history increases your risk, but 80% of those who get it have no family members with lupus. So the environment matters too.
[For example,] If a woman is exposed to silica dust, [working with] pottery or farming sandy soil, that seems to increase her risk for lupus.
Smoking and getting either too little vitamin D or too much sun exposure also can trigger lupus.
And one form of lupus is induced by taking certain medications.
But we don’t really know what causes this switch in the immune system to turn on a woman’s healthy tissue.
Why is lupus more prevalent in women?
Female hormones may help explain the sex disparity. Boys are about as likely as girls to get lupus before puberty. So the shift happens when hormones kick in.
What are the most common lupus symptoms in women? Joint pain is what sends most women to the doctor. Fatigue is another huge problem — lots of women have had it for months, even years, and it feels like having the flu all the time.
Loss of appetite, weight loss, low-grade fever and swelling in the legs are other typical symptoms of lupus.
And there may be hair loss. I don’t mean just the thinning that can come with age but losing chunks of hair.
More than half of people with lupus have rashes that worsen with sun exposure. We call it the butterfly rash because it goes across one cheek, over the bridge of the nose and then across the other cheek.
Is it hard for doctors to get to a lupus diagnosis? It can be difficult for primary-care doctors to diagnose because you have to be able to see the pattern.
If you’re not thinking about lupus, you could easily conclude the woman just has the flu or arthritis. Sometimes it takes women years to get an accurate lupus diagnosis. And they may be prescribed medications, like antibiotics, which make lupus worse.
You also should get a complete blood count test because we’re usually going to see low white blood cells with lupus.
Doctors also should test to see if you have protein in the urine, since that’s an early tipoff that you might have lupus and that it’s starting to harm your kidneys.
Lupus creates a higher risk for cardiovascular problems, so some are treated by cardiologists and benefit from preventive medicines or standard treatments for heart problems.
Others might have kidney problems and see kidney specialists. They might need tissue biopsies or other kidney tests.
If there’s lung involvement, sometimes women need specialized biopsies.
And it’s not uncommon to get skin biopsies or treatment by a dermatologist for rashes.
Typically, there are flare-ups of symptoms of lupus from time to time.
How long do these flare-ups last, and how serious are they? That varies depending on the patient and how quickly steps are taken to get the flare under control. With treatment, minor flares can resolve quickly, within days.
But major flares involving organs, like the heart, lungs or kidneys, can take weeks to months to resolve, even with treatment.
Sometimes, women come to recognize what triggers the flare-ups and can avoid it. For example, sun exposure, viruses or stress are often triggers.
Are there lifestyle habits to help ease lupus symptoms in women? We recommend a balanced diet and avoiding highly processed foods. Women should exercise regularly to help keep their weight normal because being overweight can make joint problems worse.
Anything natural that eases stress can be helpful to women with lupus, and they should try to avoid what seems to trigger the flare-ups.
What is the prognosis for women with lupus? Although there isn’t a cure, the chances of living a pretty normal life are good — certainly better than ever. Any woman with lupus needs to take good care of her heart and kidneys, going for regular medical checkups, since lupus can have harmful effects on these organs if a woman isn’t carefully monitored.
Is it safe to get pregnant with lupus, and will you have a healthy baby?
Lupus symptoms in women usually worsen during pregnancy. Also, women with lupus are more prone to miscarriages and stillbirths.
But if they plan ahead, most women can have healthy pregnancies and babies.
They shouldn’t try to get pregnant during a flare-up, though, and it’s important to have the kidneys working OK before pregnancy.
We often have to use steroids during pregnancy to keep the lupus quiet, and generally they are safe, though women have to be monitored closely.
For the best care, women should have a high-risk OB managing the pregnancy in close partnership with their doctor who treats the lupus.
How Much Do You Know About Lupus?
Roughly 1.5 million Americans are afflicted with lupus. A diagnosis can be difficult, because the symptoms are sometimes intermittent and changing. But recent improvements in lupus treatment have made the condition somewhat easier to control.
CLICK HERE to read this entire article.
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My personal suggestions and opinions are usually in this green italic type - so in this way you will know when it is me or the person from whom I am inquiring information. I usually give you the overall idea of any given post I find, because I base it on my own understanding. Plus I want to give credit where credit is due by sending you to the original authors posting for any extra info. It's only fair.
I hope this information has been of some help to you. As always, if you would like to add a thought, question, give suggestions for another topic, or make a general suggestion, please post a comment below. Also, please follow / subscribe to this blog. Thank you!
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