Hi I am Jennifer. I am 28 and was diagnosed with Lupus, R.A. and Fibro last year. The condition kicks my butt but in turn I kick my butt harder in the gym.

My name is Natalie, I was diagnosed with Lupus 9 years ago. My prenancy triggered the Lupus and that was the first time I had ever heard about Lupus. I was literally dying in the hospital, so they had to deliver my daughter at 27 weeks. She was only 1 lb. 11 ounces. She was my miracle baby. She is 9 now and she is very healthy and active, thank God. My husband has always been there for me and has supported me through the ups and downs of my health. I deal with several symptoms of Lupus, but my main issue is that I constantly have low blood platlets (ITP). So I have been on prednisone (aside from many other medications) for 9 years and they are constantly trying new treatments, with no success so far. But aside from dealing with the daily affects Lupus, I am blessed to be very active. I am a high school teacher and I am also a Zumba instructor. I don't let Lupus hold me back in any way. I am in and out of the hospital here and there, but I just pray and continue to trust that God will get me through each day, and He alwasy does.

Hello, my name is Louise. I am 46 years old and I was diagnosed last May (2011) with SLE and Fibromyalgia. I've had a slew of "problems" over the years and the puzzle pieces finally fell into place with my diagnosis. I started Benlysta last week and after the treatment I felt human again. I get my next "loading up" dose next week and then I will get the infusions once a month.

We all know that Lupus stinks, but the worst part of this is the look on my daughters' faces when they see me in a flare. It scares the heck out of them. I met a wonderful man on October 10, 2011 and we are getting married on July 14, 2012. He has been reading up about Lupus and he has been a trouper when it comes to taking care of me during a flare. The Lupus has been a concern of mine in regard to getting married. I don't ever want to become a burden. My fiance` tells me that he loves me Lupus and all.

I take Prednisone, Meloxicam, Plaquenil, Lyrica, Corvite, TherOmega and now infusions of Benlysta. I'm now wearing hats and using sunscreen on a daily basis. Fluorescent lighting kills me so half the lights in my office at work are turned off. The sunlight also hurts my eyes terribly.

I joined MFP today to lose weight and get my life back. Good Luck Everyone!

Hi my name is Amanda and I am 27 years old. I was diagnosed with SLE in 2010 and also suffer from fibromyalgia and PCOS. I am currently on Plaquenil and prednisone mostly because I so far have refused to go on anything stronger ( my doctor wants me on methotrexate) I was 258 pounds at my highest weight due in part to my medications ( birth control, antidepressants, prednisone). A lot of the rest was due to a lack of excercise. I joined mfp to regain control of my life and health. I wish you all the best!

Hello everyone! I just joined the group and figured it would be great to have some supporters in weight loss that are facing almost the same challenges that I am. I am 26 years old and married 5 years now to my high school sweetheart. We have two amazing and energetic little boys who are 4 and 1 years old. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 19 years after a series of hospital stays and flare ups. I am on plaquenil and the dreaded prednisone. I've been doing so great lately with my weightloss and exercising. I really enjoy running and exercising. Unfortunately, I have been having flareups for the past week and have gained 3 pounds back due to my joints being swollen and locking up. No exercise for me for a few days. I hope today I can get back to running after work. I just hate that I do so well because I have about 66 lbs to lose and then my Lupus creeps up and disables me for a short time. I hope I can learn a few things from this group on basically coping with Lupus and the nasty flareups because most people I know never have even heard of it.

Hello all!
My name is Shelbey and I am 20 years old (21 in less than a month) . I was diagnosed with SLE and RA when I was 17. I also won the genetic lottery with something called Hereditary Neuropathy with Pressure Palsey, which I've had my entire life.

My symptoms include/are not limited to : nerve damage, locked and postured joints, brittle bones, organ damage, ovarian cysts, light sensitivity, floresant adverse reaction, "attacks" which cause inability to communicate, loss of vision, and so on. Feels like im complaining so ill stop for now lol. Basically My life is super-duper interesting

I am currently medication free, besides my daily supplements. My body metabolizes and adapts to medications too quickly to actually maintain a steady medication list. I prefer to maintain my health strictly with happy thoughts and healthy food. I'm sure everyone here struggles with maintaining their sanity, as such diseases are quite good at sending us into mental conflict with ourselves and our loved ones. I am very proud of everyone who has joined this group, because as I've learned with our disease, it can be very difficult to tell others of our ailments.

People always say to me that they are so surprised to learn I live with the conditions I do, because I seem so positive and happy with my life. Normally i respond saying, im very happy with my life, when you're sick you appreciate things others never have the chance too. If you choose to view the glass as half full, we have the opportunity to look at our good days as such, and write the bad days off to our bodies being overachievers. If you EVER choose to look at the glass half empty, then go fill it up.

I've seen most of you posting that exersize helps a lot, same goes for me. I really love cardio an have been doing insanity for nearly two months now. Every forum I read from the insanity support groups, people are complaining of their sore muscles. I enjoy my site muscules, since I was actually the one to create them, not my white cells lol.

Sorry for the book, just felt like being an open one tonight. I don't know who is religious and who isn't, but ill pray for every one of you tonight in hopes you have a pain free day tomorrow. Best wishes to everyone

Attitude is everything

You can win your battle by never giving up hope that you can inspire another with your suffering.

Hello,

I just joined fitnesspal yesterday and was looking for some friends for support to add and found this group. So heres my story I was pregnant in 2001 which was a bad pregnancy and caused placental abrubtion at 8 months and sadly my son did not make it and I died in the hospital but luckily they revived me after all that I was not the same and kept getting sicker and sicker for years so finally in 2006 the doctors found out I have SLE and it caused me great joint pain and fatigue which had me sitting and sitting and not to mention the meds that made me gain weight but now Ive been on my meds for a while and I finally feel that I can move some again and actually moving helps my joints == I ve only lost 31lbs in the last year so I was looking for something else to help guide me and thats when my doctor told me about myfitness pal so here it goes. Good Luck to Me

Hi Everyone! My name is Zudith, I'm 27 and I was diagnosed at 15. I happy to see that there's a support group on MFP. Sometimes I find it very hard to go to the gym because of my lupus. It's been stable the last couple of years because of plaquinil but I still get the regular symptoms....tiredness, joint pain, etc.
It's nice to see a group of people who are taking care of themselves, despite the problem we have.

Hi Everyone,
I am finding solace in these posts today. It is nice to see a group of people who have similar struggles as myself taking care of themselves and their health regardless of a diagnosis. I am currently waiting for an official diagnosis from my Rheumatologist. I have had stiffness in my joints since I was 8 years old. I was diagnosed with nonspecific osteoarthritis, had a positive ANA, and was diagnosed with a gene marker for autoimmune disease in my early 20's. Up until now the only symptoms I have had are knee pain and problems with my knees swelling. Since then, I have been slowly adding symptoms one by one to the autoimmune disease diagnostic check box, but until recently none of the symptom's coincided with each other. I recently and currently am having what I am calling an episode. Many of my symptoms have flared at once and are presenting worse than they have ever been. I can add an enlarged thyroid to this list after seeing my doctor yesterday. I believe that a diagnosis is coming but I'm not sure exactly what autoimmune disease(s) it will be, we are waiting for the lab results. I am trying to not self diagnose or to jump the gun here. I am here at the lupus group because I most relate to the symptoms you are describing as a group and it feels good to have support and to see others trials and triumphs that are similar to mine. It has been an emotional month for me because the realization that this has advanced quickly and dramatically is scary. Whatever diagnosis comes I know that I will continue trying my best and taking care of my health. I am looking for friends who are also trying their best and who occasionally fall into the pity pot but then pull themselves out. Thank you everyone who has/ will shared your story here it has been a great comfort to me.

Hi, just joining up tonight. My daughter and I are going to work on this together. She's used this website prior to a pregnancy, and now we're getting back to it.
I was diagnosed with lupus and Sjogren's in 2007. With health issues including kidney disease and heart failure now, I really need to do whatever it takes to get this extra weight off, and I have a LOT of weight to get off. Things are serious enough without me carrying all this around with me. I really need support as I have struggled with my weight throughout my entire life. I am 54 years old and really enjoy my family; children, grandchildren, etc. I really don't want to leave them anytime soon, so I would like to get healthier so I can enjoy them longer and vice versa.
I've recently gotten a new rheumatologist whom I am very happy with. He has told me that he believes lupus was misdiagnosed in me and that Sjogren's is my issue. There's no question the Sjogren's has always caused me severe issues, but since lupus and Sjogren's share so many of the same symptoms and complications, my first rheumatologist told me I had them both. In looking for support on this website for folks with Sjogren's, I found that there was no one. I hope that you all will not mind if I come into this group and I feel our needs and health issues are very similar. My medication requirements never changed when they took away the diagnosis of lupus, and so I feel that we could have enough things in common that I can benefit from being here. Is this okay??
Looking forward to a successful year in 2013!

Hello. I'm Nicole. I am 29 years of age, the mother of one and the eldest of 4. I received the diagnoses of SLE in Fall 2011. I also struggle with Sjogren's Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Raynaud's Disease. Currently I am taking B12, Plaquenil and methotrexate to control my flares. I have been watching my diet and working out at planet fitness for the last 5 & 1/2 months. I started out at 235lbs. currently I weigh 218.6 lbs. My family say they can tell I have lost weight however, I can not see the change. Now that I have hit the 220 range I have found it difficult to loose much of anything....Im hoping this will change before I turn 30 in April.