(No Subject)

Welcome to HW.
You're a good sister to want to help out. The thing about lupus is it's hard to diagnose. You need to be there for your sister and help calm her. Don't worry if it's lupus until the doctor says it's lupus.
Once the decision is made then start looking up the information.
The information out there is scary, but the disease can be managed.
I hope your niece doesn't have it and she can be cured quickly.
Tell your sister to come visit us for support.

Lupus is when the body turned on itself. The germ identifying cells will mistake the healthy cells in your body and attack them. This causes swelling and inflamation in the area. If the attack is severe enough the area will be damaged.

There is no cure for Lupus. It is managed by medications that suppress the immune system down to "normal" levels to prevent the attacks.

It's like the opposite of AIDS. With AIDS you have no immune system, with Lupus you have too much immunity. But you can't catch Lupus, it just turns on.

Entero, After a lupus diagnosis, before I would forgo traditional medicine for solely alternative treatments, I would do my homework and get a couple of opinions. Lupus is not a curable disease. My lupus went from being very active to the point that I spent three years incapacitated to being 'quiet', but not before I spent several years taking immunosuppressants. One of our forum members who had kidney disease caused by lupus was on dialysis for a few years and just had a successful kidney transplant. People can die from lupus.

Keoni,

One of the best ways to learn about Lupus is to read on the website www.lupus.org. There you will see the 11 main symptoms that generally indicate Lupus.

One of the main things to know is that GP's/PCP's generally run an ANA test before deciding if something is indicative of Lupus or not. Then, and only then, they will refer to a rheumotologist - the rheumotologist is the Dr fully trained and experienced with Lupus and many other auto-immune diseases. The "hidden trap" in this is that ANA is NOT a firm indicator of yes/no for Lupus. If your niece is showing 4 or more of the listed symptoms, your sister will want to take her to a rheumotologist regardless of what the GP/PCP is advising (and regardless of the ANA results).

A good way to find a rheumy who is "good at" Lupus is to visit the Lupus website above, find your local chapter, then ask what Drs are active on their advisory board -- these are the Drs most interesting in helping Lupus (and other auto-immune) patients.

Let us know how it goes.

PS. This website is neither pro or con on various treatments -- treatment advice is solely that of the individual.