First Post on Lupus

I was diagnosed with lupus in 1988. After years of searching for an answer to my unexplained joint pain and fatigue, one doctor finally made the diagnosis. It has been a long, tedious path from diagnosis to current remission, and I am grateful for that today.
Lupus also brought with it diabetes and fibromyalgia, but, as with managing the lupus symptoms, these are treatable.
One of the thoughts for this day on this blog reflects the title of the blog: Is it Life, or is it Lupus?
I get a cough, and wonder almost reflexively, is this another lupus attack? My joints ache before a rainstorm, and I wonder, is this a sign of recurring lupus? A headache? Hmmm. Wonder if it's central nervous system lupus?
Then I have to laugh at myself. I'm a person who has lupus, but I can also get a garden-variety chest cold; my joints might ache just because of my advancing age; and a headache may be caused by too much time spent at the computer.
So most of the time, it's just plain Life that just keeps happening. Just like anybody else.
Now a word to the person out there who has been from doctor to doctor, piling symptom upon symptom with no diagnosis, keep going. I have found through my personal experience, that lupus is at its very worst in the beginning, before diagnosis and treatment. It will get better.

If you or somebody you know has lupus, you might be interested in my book, Diagnosis: Lupus: The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient which describes my search for a diagnosis and treatment of this baffling disease. Available on Amazon.com
Diagnosis: Lupus : The Intimate Journal of a Lupus Patient by Marilyn Celeste Morris (Paperback - Oct 10, 2005)