Hope this is a good day. You had wandered by my site and asked when I was diagnosed. It was '97, I had been to doctors telling them something was wrong off and on since high school. Finally when I fell asleep at the wheel sitting at a stoplight and woke to honking I guess I wasn't going to let the doc dismiss me again.  He did some tests and found the + ANA and sent me to a rheumatologist.

 I have four children -two boys, two girls. My oldest is 23. She is a teacher. My oldest son is 22 and is a plumber and engaged. Next is a  16 yr old daughter, a Jr. in high school.. (I worked off and on till she was 4.) The youngest will be 6 in Dec. I did fairly well with my pregnancies. I always seemed more tired than most people were. I had pre-eclampsia with my first child. My second  baby was stressed, he had aspirated the meconium fluid so had some lung issues. My third was when I was telling my doctor I was way exhausted and he told me that I was older now, I was only 28!  She was the most healthy of my babies.  I don't know if you can pin any of the pregnancy problems on the Lupus or not??  I had gestational diabetes, serious weight loss, and gall bladder problems with my youngest.  I had amniocentesis testing and we discovered that he had Down syndrome. The doc gave me the option of terminating the pregnancy but I couldn't do it.  Anyway DJ was premature, my labor was brought on by a gall bladder attack and pancreatitis.  He weighed 4#11oz and had a hard time breathing for the first day only. We had to add a supplement to my breast milk for him to gain weight and check his blood sugar. At 9 mos old he had open heart surgery for an ASD. He has to take meds for his thyroid but now he seems pretty healthy. He is actually the joy of my life. OBTW I had my gallbladder out a hernia repaired and decided to have my tubes tied. My tubal decision was partly based on the fact that 4 kids were plenty and I had so many problems with that pregnancy.

Boy this really got long---not much like a comment --more like a book, ha.  Will cut it off now.

hello  again! i was diagnosed 4 years ago and i have been on steroids for the last year now ! my hair is thining and yes i do have a moon face! i have gained about 20 pounds and i hate it ! but i guess thats life! where are you from?  oh and yes i do want to get married i just go threw  my days of being angry and irritable from being in pain!! my boyfriend really loves me and i dont know how he deals with me half of the time!! well i wish you well ! talk to ya  later!! oh and my friends call me ce-ce

May:  You had asked earlier if I take predisone.  I have not been on steroids since my Lupus diagnosis.  I was given steroids last summer for a persistant rash on both my ankles, that would not go away for 3 or more months, until they put me on a short steroid regimen.  The steroids worked and cleared up the rash, when nothing else could.  Later after my diagnosis of Lupus, my physician said this had been a Lupus rash.  I am trying my darndest to stay off of the steroids until I absolutely can no longer tolerate my Lupus symptoms, and other Lupus related health issues.  I am sorry that you are having to go through so much at such a young age.  Hang in there.

hey may! things seem to be going well. i'm happy for you! take care!

I am not on steriods, I refuse to take anything. I am doing my Lupus herbal/vitamins and homopathy way. I have to watch what meds I take because I have an auto- immune disorder on top of Lupus.

Hi May!

Good luck to you.  I hate Lupus and Scleroderma really bad.  If I can be of any help to you just ask

Denise

hey!  i guess you could say i'm in remission right now!  i've had a rough time the last couple of years so i'm glad to be better now :) yup i still take steroids, supposedly 10mg/7.5mg alternate days but sometimes i cheat and take 10mg daily because my joints start hurting when i take 7.5mg