Venus Williams announces AI Disease

wow,it sounds to me as though you are almost mad at her for her decision to quit tennis?
The whole concept of exercise is a good one and we all should probably do more but her situation is different. Tennis is her career, she is on the court hours a day, sometimes many days at a time with out much resting time in between. That is a whole lot different story than the recreational exercise we get when we play, don't you think? And, she has also put a whole lot more stress on her joints being in that sport than the common person does. Sometimes those circuits are long and tedious and there is no rest, no pampering, no mental breaks. Most of us cannot hold a regular job let alone one so physical. I am sure she is doing whats best for her with her doctors and families blessings. And I am sure it wasnt an easy decision.

Thats my two cents.

I agree with you Denita. I have to stay away from the sun or it's instant flare up for me. Every individual is different.

The sun aggravates the inflammation process of lupus. Actually, the heat alone, with no son, can aggravate mine pretty darn well!

The severity of a flare can vary person to person -- for a while 10 minutes in the sun would wipe me of energy for a couple of days. Since then my lupus has "quieted" and while I have no plans of long physical activity in the direct sun, I am able to go on a partially shaded canoe paddle for an hour or more.

It's one of those diseases where "your mileage may vary" -- and boy does it vary! From person to person, from day to day, from meal to meal...in more sensitive phases, someone (any random stranger!) looking at me funny would devastate me physically and mentally for a day or more. Other times, fairly close to standard reactions...it's always a "learning experience"!

Does sun and heat affect systemic Lupus the same way it does discoid? I had a long discusion with my gyn today about my condition. She said that Lupus appearing after age 65 is normally not as severe as it is in younger people. The flares and crashesI have seem pretty severe to me. I told my gyn that I hoped to "pass" my PAP test, as I've been "failing" all my other lab tests!

So...basically the symptoms, other than the butterly rash, are one of the same?

packed today for a long trip....kicked off a major flare....overwhelming fatigue, Raynauds, light flashes, bone pain. For me, sun exposure flares are minor compared to overdoing it with physical work. SLE takes on many faces, it seems.