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Posted 4/3/2007 10:07 PM (GMT 0)
I have been diagnosed with crohns disease which I know is a autoimmune disease that attacks your intestines and colin.Which Has not been any fun at all.  I was diagnosed back in January and still not in remmission,   I have often wondered if I have Lupus.  What are some of the symptoms. 

Thanks for your help.

Hydrangea

Posted 4/3/2007 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
Check the 3 links (DIAGNOSING LUPUS (4 of 11), LUPUS INFORMATION, LUPUS RESOURCES) at the bottom of my signiture and you'll get most of the basic information covered. If you come up with more specific questions, feel free to post back here...we're generally a friendly group. Take care,
Posted 4/4/2007 1:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Hydrangea, welcome. Sorry to hear you have Crohn's, I know that is not fun! There are so many symptoms of lupus, too many to list it's a disease of 1000 faces. The links Lynn spoke of are very informative and here are a few common symptoms of lupus: fatigue, joint pain, skin issues, headaches, photosensitivity, mouth sores, cold hands and feet (Raynaud's), etc. Lupus can effect your skin, joints and organs (which includes your digestive tract, this is how lupus mostly effects me). It is hard to dx as it can mimic other illness' and can take years and multiple doctors to figure it all out.

I hope your Crohn's is under control soon. Feel free to ask more questions. Take care
Posted 4/5/2007 10:15 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Hydrangea

According to Daniel Wallace (Lupus expert in USA) it is extremely rare for a person to have both Crohn's and Lupus. So rare that there are only a few mentions of the conditions coexisting in the same person in all the world's medical literature.

Hope that helps
Posted 4/9/2007 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
It's not as rare as it used to be to have Crohn's disease and Lupus. I have both as well as a slew of other things. I have more "ologists" in my cellphone that any person should ever have. For a year I thought I was going crazy and I would never find any relief. It wasn't until I ended up in the emergency room (while in Cleveland) with severe abdominal pain and ended up having surgery was I diagnosed with Crohn's. My PCP at the time just brushed my pains off as being related to my Lupus. I was in her office more than 10 times in a year complaining of abdominal pain & daily diahrea (sp). My Crohn's was so severe at that point I had to have a portion of my colon removed. While in the hospital the doctors checked, re-checked and triple checked me for Lupus.

The lesson I learned from that experience is never second guess yourself. I knew there was something wrong with me but I kept telling myself she was the doctor. If I had listened to my gut I probably wouldn't have lost part of my colon.

Good Luck!
Posted 4/9/2007 2:05 AM (GMT 0)
Lupus can also effect the Digestive tract as well as the other organs you mentioned. I know it's not mentioned in a lot of medical books but it does happen, I am living proof. I continued to have GI problems after finding out I had Celiac and started a gluten free diet, I couldn't figure it out. But like you I knew something was wrong and I kept searching for answers and did not accept the IBS dx doctors were trying to give me. I had already been checked for Crohn's and other things and I didn't want to go through that again. I was also told I didn't go to the bathroom enough (BM) mad . Anyway to make a very long story short once I was dx with lupus and informed my rheumy of my continued GI probs she started me on Imuran and the VERY next day I had a normal BM!!!! It was worked very well for me. Mouth sores are also another symptom of lupus too.

I am sure people can have both Lupus and Crohn's but some people may just have lupus and that is what is attacking their GI tract. Either way it's not fun! nono
Posted 4/9/2007 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
I got my information about Lupus & Crohn's from "The Lupus Book" (2005) written by Daniel Wallace. There is a chapter in there about Lupus and the GI tract too. He also does the Dubois text on Lupus which is, I think, "the" authoritative text on Lupus - just a little better thought of than the Lahita text - and the text used to teach Rheumatologists practicing all across the country.

http://www.danieljwallace.com

Cheers

Edited per Rule 3. No posts that attack, insult, "flame", or abuse members or guests. Respect other members of the community and don’t belittle, make fun off, or insult another member.

Post Edited By Moderator (Lynnwood) : 4/9/2007 7:30:33 AM (GMT-6)

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