Very confused Please read SLE lupus or Psoriasis

so back in September of 06 I began getting hives every night around 7pm. It was unbearable because this was happening every night and would go away in the am. So i decided to go to a dermatologist. I had a biopsy and i was told that my condition was chronic urticaria. Nothing happened after my diagnosis, I occasionally had got the hives but it stopped. In November of 07 I started feeling sick, but this time it wasn't hives it was physical pain; it was hard for me to wake up I had constant headaches every night, my spine was hurting, I couldn't lean on anything because it would feel like a giant back and blue all over my spine. I was constantly having throat infections, had some fevers and a lot of fatigue. I had no idea what to do. During that same time I noticed a small cigarette burn like lesion on my left forearm and was noticing that I would scratch my scalp and would bleed and had increasing flakes. At this point I couldn't do much because I was in away in college and had no other place to go to but the health center. They wanted for me to get some blood work done, which i did but they never told me much. I continued to feel sick but disregard it because it wasn't so severe. So Once I finished school that year, I immediately decided to go see a dermatologist. My dermatologist told me that it wasn't psoriasis and that it was Dermatitis. I tried certain psoriasis shampoos and topical lotions and it worked for a lil bit but they returned. They also ran blood work and he suggested I see my primary care physician or rheumatologist because my blood work was abnormal. So i did and the rheumatologist i saw ran some more tests and told me the test and the story i told her coincided with sle lupus diagnosis. So for the past two years I've been being treated for lupus. In November of 2009 I stopped taking my plaquenil; while on it i was feeling great but still had the lesions of the "psoriasis". In april of 2010 i was becoming greater ill from not taking medication in my opinion because i felt fine and didn't believe i had lupus. At that point my psoriasis lesions on my scalp was taking over my scalp and my hair began to fall out. At that point i was terrified and couldn't continue not knowing. So I started visiting my rheumatologist again I started my plaquenil again, and was indicated to see a dermatologist. In June saw a dermatologist and was given 2% salicylic acid in olive oil for my scalp and the same treatment for my elbows and knees in ointment everyday at night before bed and Ketoconazole shampoo in the morning followed by clobetasol propionate topical solution for my scalp, and the same ointment for my elbows/forearms. It drastically helped the psoriasis but I was still suffering from joint pains due to my "lupus". So after my follow up i was told that i could stop using the treatment since it completely disappeared. A week after i stopped it was starting to return so i did the treatment again. I attend my regular rheumatologist appointment and my inflammation was not disappearing so i was given mtx 7.5mg a week. I recently had blood work it looks great inflammation is up as it would in lupus patients. so today i went to see a specialist dermatologist in lupus and he thinks its all due to the psoriasis, i might not even have lupus. So my question to anyone would be were any of these your symptoms or had the same experience. Please help i'm very anxious to get feedback.....

Has anyone had anything like this happen or heard of anything like this? Please briefly reply :-/ I know its a lot to read but its the only way to explain

In this situation I have realized the psoriasis symptoms and sle lupus are very similar... which has become frustrating and stressful and being stressed can only make things worst. Well I just visited a very prominent Dermatologist that specializes in lupus and he feels like everything that has been happening because of the psoriasis. My scales are not major just in my scalp but its gotten so much better, its never covered a large part of it just different sections. I also have it very mildly on my elbows and like a dot in my left knee, he looks at my toe nails and he said I had the psoriasis signs in my toe nails like deteriorating on the nail but I think that's from having my nail polish on for too long. This inflammation in relation to the psoriasis is soooo new to me I had noooo I idea it could be so painful...

So are you saying psoriasis causes pain the same way in lupus?

SLE and Psoriasis are both autoimmune disorder, but the comparisons kind of stop there. You should be able to tell the difference between a psoriasis rash and discoid rash (lupus), Psoriasis is usually silver scaly patches which are usually flat, whereas lupus rashes are red, raised and usually in areas that are exposed to sunlight (face, neck, arms, scalp) The patchees are different for every person, some people find them itchy, some find them painful, it really depends on the location and sensitivity of your skin. You need to find a rheumatologist, who specializes in Lupus, or a dermatologist that specialized in Discoid Lupus. They need to take a biopsy of one of the leisons, as well was these blood tests: ANA, dsDNA, CBC, sed rate& c-reactive protein, liver panel, Rheumatoid factor, Anti-SSA and Anti-SSB, and porphyrin. Now, don't hesitate to force you doctor to get these labs DONE. Since lupus is such a complicated disease to diagnose, you wan tto make sure all your bases are covered.( especially if your not seeing a specialist in lupus) Also, plaquenil, tends to not show many side effects. So even if you don't feel it's making a difference it doesn't mean its not working. Also most medications take up to 3 months to kick in, especially plaquenil. For either disease, plaquenil will help prevent further damage, even if it doesnt fix anything right away, it's great for preventative care. Also avoid methotoxate for as long as you can, there are plenty of other options before you jump to hardcore immuno-suppressants. You might also find trying Prednisone, it is a steroid, which has its own set of side effects but it can cause temporary relief. Really try and find a doctor who knows their stuff, most doctors know the basics of lupus, and they'll just throw you aside and hope you get better cause they have no idea what going on. Do you own research. Check out Lupus.org, I think they have a list physicians. Both psoriasis and lupus are serious conditions, so don't let things get worse. Good Luck!

Unfortunately, I have both. I have lupus which would flare up my face get really red, sun is my enemy and fatigue. A couple organs has been attack one taken out. I'm already with my pacemaker. With my psoriatic my scalp white skin patches, joints on my fingers starting to curve and have been attacking my chest where my ribs causing me to have shortness of breath. Itching all over
Joints are so inflamed when these two goes tango it's world war three inside me causing me to go to the ER and hospital stays. Sometimes I just give up going the ER hoping for the best none of my organs has been inflamed. Sadly, there's always one but usually two or three.

Now sepsis with multiple organ dysfunction is added to my lupus dictionary.

Hope this helps that lupus and psoriatic arthritis does exist and I know which one would attack. Usually when my lupus flare up, it flares up the other. If psoriatic attack lupus would flare.

I can't win both.

qnbeez