Lupus Care Bear

Wouldn’t 

it 

be cool 

to have 

one of these?

Teaser! Toni Braxton's Lifetime Movie 'Unbreak My

Lifetime has released its very first trailer for Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart” movie. Toni’s story, including her battle with lupus, is the focus of the new Lifetime movie premiering January 2016.

What You Need to Know About Leg Pain

The 

Pain in the legs can suck the joy out of life. It can affect mobility, forcing one to give up their favorite activities, and limit what they can do. There are so many different kinds and causes beyond a simple leg cramp. Usually chronic leg pain has to do with a condition in one or more tissues. Blood vessels, nerve damage, muscle, ligament, or tendon injuries and more can cause leg pain. Usually, pain in this area is the result of a disease or inflammation. Pain in one part of the body such as the lower back can also radiate down into the legs. Other symptoms need to be taken in consideration when diagnosing leg pain.

These include numbness, weakness, or any tingling sensations. Those with diabetes often experience peripheral neuropathy. That is when elevated blood sugar is left unmitigated for an extended period of time, allowing it to damage bodily tissues, many times the nerves. This nerve damage usually occurs in the legs and feet. Tingling in the legs or numbness can accompany or precede this condition.

Deep vein thrombosis is a cardiovascular condition that can cause pain in the thigh. Here a blood clot gets lodged into a vein in the upper leg. This can be very dangerous as a portion of it can break off and get stuck in a cardiac or the carotid artery, causing a heart attack or stroke. For those with arthritis, knee and ankle pain are common. The first thing a physician should do besides take one’s vitals and a medical history, is to find exactly what kind of pain sensation the person is experiencing and where it is located.

To help you or your doctor get to the bottom of it, recognize the severity of the pain. Where does it stem from? What kind of sensation is it (burning, aching, stabbing) and when does it occur? Be sure to address chronic leg pain with a physician. Pain in the legs can be a symptom of a much larger problem so it is important to have it checked out.

Benefits of coconut oil

Right off the top of the dome I can think of at least 5 things I do daily with coconut oil. It’s like if I run out, I’m SOL. It has been a major factor in this 5 year long health journey. It seems like everyday I can find a new use for it which allows me to take off another commercial item that I rely on daily. From cooking to bathing, coconut oil is of much importance to me.

Not only is coconut oil durable but very nutrient dense. It is rich in antioxidants and helps to remove any toxins that could cause colds or any other illnesses. It is also rich in good fats that supports the organs and cells of the body.

I found it to be very useful during my early years of my natural/plant-based journey. Early on, I always had issues with my hair thinning. Literally, there would be patches of hair falling out, leaving me with very thin brittle hair. I started using coconut oil mixed with caster oil and my hair grew back stronger and faster than ever before. The coconut oil kept it moisturized and gave it strength while the caster oil thickened it up and added in the growing process.

Another very useful benefit with coconut oil is that is removed scarring and dark marks. While battling lupus I frequently suffered from rashes and inflammation of my skin. My face and neck seems to give me the most trouble. Doctors gave me all kinds of creams and steroids but none of them worked for me. So I started mixed coconut oil with Shea butter and saw change instantly. Marks that I had for years were dissolving. I suffered from terrible pimples and that even got better the more I used it. My skin felt hydrated and so much softer. The antioxidants in coconut oil reverses signs of aging and is a natural sun block (something I don’t need since I’m already chocolate lol).

Daily I use coconut oil to brush my teeth and oil pulling(a fancy way to say gargle). For years I suffered staining on my teeth from medications, after a few months of brushing with coconut oil I saw the difference in my teeth as well as the sensitivity went away. Mixed with baking soda, coconut oil removed more plaque and residue from my teeth than any toothpaste I’ve ever use. Plus i don’t suffer from BGs in the morning after brushing my teeth.

To make a long post short, I LOVE coconut oil. I use it for literally everything and I stand by its benefits.

SN: make sure to buy unrefined, organic, cold pressed coconut oil. That insures no excess toxins are getting into your system.

Exercises to Help Manage Back Pain

 Source: Exercises to Help Manage Back Pain

When we suffer from back pain all we want to do is sit still in a position that doesn’t cause pain. But in fact, this is liable to worsen it. Strengthening the muscles in other areas helps support the body and takes weight off the spine, leading to better posture and less pain. SomTetimes when we begin exercising and we have back pain, we can feel a pinching or another slight pain. But as your muscles grow in strength back pain and pain while exercising should decrease. If you feel a significant pain lasting for longer than 15 minutes during the routine call your physician.
Be sure to stretch and warm up a little first. Avoid toe touches however. This exercise stresses the ligaments and disks in the spine and could make your pain worse. If you have lower back pain, partial crunches are good. They will strengthen the muscles in the back and stomach. Here you lie on the floor crossing your arms in front of you. You tighten your abdominal muscles and lift yourself up. Take a breath every time you rise and breathe out as you descend. Don’t use your elbows or arms to lift up. Make sure your feet are flat and that your tailbone never leaves the mat. Do eight to 12 of these and slowly increase as you get used to doing them.
Sit-ups are actually not so good. They put pressure on the spine and only really exercise the hips. Hamstring stretches are good for the back. Lie down and take a towel about the size of a hand towel with you. Put it on the middle of the bottom of your foot. Extend your leg out slowly and hold on to each end of the towel, guiding the leg up. Hold for 30 seconds then bring it down again. Do each leg two to four times. Practice these and you’re bound to notice the difference.
Talk to your doctor before taking on a new regimen of exercises for your condition, and see which ones are right for you. For serious conditions a physical therapist may be necessary. For others, a personal trainer who knows how to accommodate back conditions also proves helpful. Exercises that are not recommended for your condition could actually make it worse, so make sure to discuss the issue at length with a professional.

Protect Yourself this Cold & Flu Season

Temperatures are dropping and the holiday season is upon us! 

Although we’re immersed in quite a magical time of year, it’s also the beginning of cold and flu season. Not so magical after all!

When you have lupus, you have to take extra precautions to protect yourself from viruses. Not only will you feel horrible from the illness itself, but the virus could potentially provoke a flare! A double whammy during such a busy time of year! Not to mention, the use of strong immune suppressants may put some of you at a higher risk for contracting a virus. This is because the goal of lupus treatment is to suppress an overactive immune system so that it does not produce auto (self) antibodies that cause lupus symptoms. When your immune system is suppressed, you have the potential for increased chances of catching viruses and infections.

With that being said, what are the best ways to avoid catching a cold or the flu? A good starting point is to discuss the annual flu vaccine with your doctor.

While nothing is 100% fool proof, some simple steps you may want to keep in mind to help lessen the possibility of getting a cold, the flu or other viruses include:

• Avoid anyone- including family members- with symptoms of fever (over 100° F), nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Specifically you should avoid close, personal contact such as hugging, kissing, and shaking hands.
• Wash your hands (tops, palms and fingers) frequently with hot, soapy water for at least 15 seconds.
• Remember that surfaces- especially in bathrooms, on shared office equipment, on store countertops, gas pump handles, any surface of the car, and in restaurants- can expose you to germs. Keep alcohol-based gel or wipes handy, both out in public and at home.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way
• Shield coughs or sneezes with the crook of your arm. Do not use your hands or handkerchiefs as they carry moisture and spread viruses.
• Stay home from work or school if you are sick.
• Please remember that you should never discontinue medications used to treat your lupus without first consulting your doctor!

Soup from Scratch is Easy

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Andrea Lewis

Vegetable and Chipotle Beef Soup

We make soup stock all winter long by saving chicken bones and pieces of vegetables in a bag in the freezer. You know those ends of carrots, green peppers and other veggie bits you don’t eat? Well, don’t toss them. Save them up and then once you get enough, put them in a pan and cover with filtered water and simmer for a few hours on the stove or in a slow cooker. Then strain it and you’ve got the basics to make a great soup. Keep in mind, for best flavor you probably want to keep cruciferous vegetables to a minimum when making stock since they tend to give up off odors when boiled for a long time.

Soup stock made this way contains minerals like magnesium and potassium that are very easy for your body to absorb. Since many of us are deficient in magnesium this is a good thing. And you also have control over what goes into it. You add the salt, avoid MSG (aka yeast extract and many other names) and make it with organic ingredients. Plus it does not cost anything but the power to cook it!

The soup pictured  has a stock made from chicken bones, celery bits, carrot ends, red pepper tops, bay leaves, fresh rosemary from my garden and a few other vegetable bits. Once I strained the stock (and tossed the solids) I added celery, zucchini, tomatoes, chard, garlic, salt and other seasonings. You can also add meat. In this case I had some beef sausage from the farmers market that I cooked in a pan.

If you start making soup from your own soup stock, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how good it can be.

4 Steps to Manage Your Lupus for Life

1. Learn About Lupus - Learn as much as you can about lupus and the effects it can have on your body. Don't be overwhelmed or angry as you learn. Since lupus is a disease of varying issues it's important to know that every lupus journey is different.

2. Know Your Lupus ABCs - A - Know ALL of your tests and levels. Work with your doctor to find out what tests they are taking and why. Keep on track of your levels as they show inflammation and other things that happen in your body. B- BLOOD PRESSURE If your blood pressure gets too high, it makes your heart work too hard. It can cause a heart attack, stroke, and damage your kidneys and eyes. C - CARING for your self. Find out how you can properly care for yourself while battling lupus on a daily basis.

3. Learn How to Live with Lupus -It is common to feel overwhelmed, sad, or angry when you are living with lupus. Learn to cope with lupus through limiting your stress, eating healthy, being active and sticking to the plan of treatment every day.

4. Get Routine Care to Stay Healthy - See your health care team to find and treat any problems early. You will see many doctors, so make sure you are communicating well with every doctor and keeping them in your lupus loop together. Don't feel intimidated to be your best healthcare advocate.

#LupusInColor

Lupus Transformation

This lupus transformation through cocoons of pain is hard. You can’t deny it and you can’t ignore it. You can only understand that this difficult but beautiful metamorphosis will create a strong butterfly of change, power, bravery and strength in you.

Originally posted on Lupus In Color:

#LupusInColor

Wellness

Just because lupus makes you sick doesn't mean you aren't well. Wellness is a state of mind that can help you beat lupus. Get to a wellness of mind and spirit,  it is essential to get the upper hand over lupus. #LupusInColor

At the gym, let go of the handrails on the treadmill!

Because when we grab onto the handrails, we have a tendency to lean back. And people who do that burn significantly fewer calories. That’s because, when we walk up a real hill, we lean forward – which works our calf muscles, glutes and hamstrings. It also increases our calorie burn. If you grab on for dear life and lean back, you don’t get any of that. So, if you can’t let go, you either need to slow down or decrease the incline.

My Lupus Story with Lupus Connection

My full story will be up on LUPUS CONNECTION (which I keep saying Lupus Connect in the video). If you're interested in them, please visit http://lupusconnection.net/

Sometimes combining certain foods can improve their health benefits.

Like: Avocado and Tomato. Tomatoes are loaded with the antioxidant lycopene. But when you combine tomatoes with avocado, the unsaturated fat in the avocado helps the body absorb SEVEN TIMES the normal amount of lycopene! And lycopene inhibits the production of cancer cells.

Another good combo: Grilled steak and Brussels sprouts. There are compounds in Brussels sprouts which help the body flush out carcinogens. Including the carcinogens which form on charred meat during grilling.

Finally: Here’s a BAD food combo… Alcohol and energy drinks. Caffeine is a stimulant, while alcohol is a depressant. And when you overload your body with both at the same time, it puts tremendous stress on your heart… So don’t even think about ordering a Red Bull and Vodka.

CHANGE YOUR FOCUS

Don’t always focus on what lupus pain was in your body or the pain that has yet to come. Take time to create conscious thoughts on the wellness within you and invite your focus to be in ‘I am well ‘ mode. It’s going to be hard to do, but your body, mind and soul will thank you and be in a position to return the favor by feeling a bit better. When we control our  thoughts our body can follow. It won’t totally remove lupus from your person, but it will give you a little reprieve. Change your focus, change your struggle and increase power into your battle over lupus

While battling Lupus you need

While battling Lupus you need Hope, Courage, A Sense of Humor and a Positive Attitude. Whatever it takes, do what you have to do to bring those things with you as you fight. It makes a world of difference in beating Lupus each day.

Avocado Spinach “Pasta” Sauce – AIP/Paleo/Gluten Free/Vegan IN SEARCHOF SIMPLICITY: by MY JOURNEY WITH LUPUS

Originally posted on The Bumpy Road To A Simple Life:

Avocado’s are delicious but they have a very short shelf life. When they are ripe you need to eat them right away as they go bad really quickly. The other night I had an avocado that needed to be eaten before it went to waste. It was already too soft to put on a salad so what should I did with it?

I’ve used avocado in many different things – icing, smoothies, mayo, muffins, but never in a sauce but I new it’s creamy texture would be perfect. I searched the web and found a few interesting recipes but they either all had a lot of fresh basil or ingredients I am not currently allowed to eat. So I decided to make my own.

This was so yummy even my son ate it and he does not like avocado. It will become a staple in our house moving forward.

So here is the recipe:

Avocado Spinach “Pasta” Sauce

1 ripe avocado

a big handful of spinach (around 1 – 2 cups)

3 cloves of garlic

juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp basil

1. Start by cooking your spaghetti squash.I do this by cutting it in half, scooping the seeds, and placing them inside down in a pan with a bit of water. Then I cook at 375 F for about 30 – 40 minutes.
2. Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor, I use a vitamix. Blend until smooth.
3. Heat a pan on medium heat with a little oil – coconut, avocado, etc… Add the squash and saute slightly. Pour sauce over squash and heat through stirring often. This only takes about 5 minutes. This step means you’ll have a nice warm dish and prevents any leftovers from browning the next day.
4. Serve and enjoy.

Hope you enjoy!

Sabrina

The Spoon Theory

The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino 

My best friend and I were in the diner, talking. As usual, it was very late and we were eating French fries with gravy. Like normal girls our age, we spent a lot of time in the diner while in college, and most of the time we spent talking about boys, music or trivial things, that seemed very important at the time. We never got serious about anything in particular and spent most of our time laughing.
As I went to take some of my medicine with a snack as I usually did, she watched me with an awkward kind of stare, instead of continuing the conversation. She then asked me out of the blue what it felt like to have Lupus and be sick. I was shocked not only because she asked the random question, but also because I assumed she knew all there was to know about Lupus. She came to doctors with me, she saw me walk with a cane, and throw up in the bathroom. She had seen me cry in pain, what else was there to know?

I started to ramble on about pills, and aches and pains, but she kept pursuing, and didn’t seem satisfied with my answers. I was a little surprised as being my roommate in college and friend for years; I thought she already knew the medical definition of Lupus. Then she looked at me with a face every sick person knows well, the face of pure curiosity about something no one healthy can truly understand. She asked what it felt like, not physically, but what it felt like to be me, to be sick.

As I tried to gain my composure, I glanced around the table for help or guidance, or at least stall for time to think. I was trying to find the right words. How do I answer a question I never was able to answer for myself? How do I explain every detail of every day being effected, and give the emotions a sick person goes through with clarity. I could have given up, cracked a joke like I usually do, and changed the subject, but I remember thinking if I don’t try to explain this, how could I ever expect her to understand. If I can’t explain this to my best friend, how could I explain my world to anyone else? I had to at least try.

At that moment, the spoon theory was born. I quickly grabbed every spoon on the table; hell I grabbed spoons off of the other tables. I looked at her in the eyes and said “Here you go, you have Lupus”. She looked at me slightly confused, as anyone would when they are being handed a bouquet of spoons. The cold metal spoons clanked in my hands, as I grouped them together and shoved them into her hands. I explained that the difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices or to consciously think about things when the rest of the world doesn’t have to. The healthy have the luxury of a life without choices, a gift most people take for granted.

Most people start the day with unlimited amount of possibilities, and energy to do whatever they desire, especially young people. For the most part, they do not need to worry about the effects of their actions. So for my explanation, I used spoons to convey this point. I wanted something for her to actually hold, for me to then take away, since most people who get sick feel a “loss” of a life they once knew. If I was in control of taking away the spoons, then she would know what it feels like to have someone or something else, in this case Lupus, being in control.

She grabbed the spoons with excitement. She didn’t understand what I was doing, but she is always up for a good time, so I guess she thought I was cracking a joke of some kind like I usually do when talking about touchy topics. Little did she know how serious I would become?

I asked her to count her spoons. She asked why, and I explained that when you are healthy you expect to have a never-ending supply of “spoons”. But when you have to now plan your day, you need to know exactly how many “spoons” you are starting with. It doesn’t guarantee that you might not lose some along the way, but at least it helps to know where you are starting. She counted out 12 spoons. She laughed and said she wanted more. I said no, and I knew right away that this little game would work, when she looked disappointed, and we hadn’t even started yet. I’ve wanted more “spoons” for years and haven’t found a way yet to get more, why should she? I also told her to always be conscious of how many she had, and not to drop them because she can never forget she has Lupus.

I asked her to list off the tasks of her day, including the most simple. As, she rattled off daily chores, or just fun things to do; I explained how each one would cost her a spoon. When she jumped right into getting ready for work as her first task of the morning, I cut her off and took away a spoon. I practically jumped down her throat. I said ” No! You don’t just get up. You have to crack open your eyes, and then realize you are late. You didn’t sleep well the night before. You have to crawl out of bed, and then you have to make yourself something to eat before you can do anything else, because if you don’t, you can’t take your medicine, and if you don’t take your medicine you might as well give up all your spoons for today and tomorrow too.” I quickly took away a spoon and she realized she hasn’t even gotten dressed yet. Showering cost her spoon, just for washing her hair and shaving her legs. Reaching high and low that early in the morning could actually cost more than one spoon, but I figured I would give her a break; I didn’t want to scare her right away. Getting dressed was worth another spoon. I stopped her and broke down every task to show her how every little detail needs to be thought about. You cannot simply just throw clothes on when you are sick. I explained that I have to see what clothes I can physically put on, if my hands hurt that day buttons are out of the question. If I have bruises that day, I need to wear long sleeves, and if I have a fever I need a sweater to stay warm and so on. If my hair is falling out I need to spend more time to look presentable, and then you need to factor in another 5 minutes for feeling badly that it took you 2 hours to do all this.

I think she was starting to understand when she theoretically didn’t even get to work, and she was left with 6 spoons. I then explained to her that she needed to choose the rest of her day wisely, since when your “spoons” are gone, they are gone. Sometimes you can borrow against tomorrow’s “spoons”, but just think how hard tomorrow will be with less “spoons”. I also needed to explain that a person who is sick always lives with the looming thought that tomorrow may be the day that a cold comes, or an infection, or any number of things that could be very dangerous. So you do not want to run low on “spoons”, because you never know when you truly will need them. I didn’t want to depress her, but I needed to be realistic, and unfortunately being prepared for the worst is part of a real day for me.

We went through the rest of the day, and she slowly learned that skipping lunch would cost her a spoon, as well as standing on a train, or even typing at her computer too long. She was forced to make choices and think about things differently. Hypothetically, she had to choose not to run errands, so that she could eat dinner that night.

When we got to the end of her pretend day, she said she was hungry. I summarized that she had to eat dinner but she only had one spoon left. If she cooked, she wouldn’t have enough energy to clean the pots. If she went out for dinner, she might be too tired to drive home safely. Then I also explained, that I didn’t even bother to add into this game, that she was so nauseous, that cooking was probably out of the question anyway. So she decided to make soup, it was easy. I then said it is only 7pm, you have the rest of the night but maybe end up with one spoon, so you can do something fun, or clean your apartment, or do chores, but you can’t do it all.

I rarely see her emotional, so when I saw her upset I knew maybe I was getting through to her. I didn’t want my friend to be upset, but at the same time I was happy to think finally maybe someone understood me a little bit. She had tears in her eyes and asked quietly “Christine, How do you do it? Do you really do this every day?” I explained that some days were worse than others; some days I have more spoons than most. But I can never make it go away and I can’t forget about it, I always have to think about it. I handed her a spoon I had been holding in reserve. I said simply, “I have learned to live life with an extra spoon in my pocket, in reserve. You need to always be prepared.”

It’s hard, the hardest thing I ever had to learn is to slow down, and not do everything. I fight this to this day. I hate feeling left out, having to choose to stay home, or to not get things done that I want to. I wanted her to feel that frustration. I wanted her to understand, that everything everyone else does comes so easy, but for me it is one hundred little jobs in one. I need to think about the weather, my temperature that day, and the whole day’s plans before I can attack any one given thing. When other people can simply do things, I have to attack it and make a plan like I am strategizing a war. It is in that lifestyle, the difference between being sick and healthy. It is the beautiful ability to not think and just do. I miss that freedom. I miss never having to count “spoons”.

After we were emotional and talked about this for a little while longer, I sensed she was sad. Maybe she finally understood. Maybe she realized that she never could truly and honestly say she understands. But at least now she might not complain so much when I can’t go out for dinner some nights, or when I never seem to make it to her house and she always has to drive to mine. I gave her a hug when we walked out of the diner. I had the one spoon in my hand and I said “Don’t worry. I see this as a blessing. I have been forced to think about everything I do. Do you know how many spoons people waste every day? I don’t have room for wasted time, or wasted “spoons” and I chose to spend this time with you.”

Ever since this night, I have used the spoon theory to explain my life to many people. In fact, my family and friends refer to spoons all the time. It has been a code word for what I can and cannot do. Once people understand the spoon theory they seem to understand me better, but I also think they live their life a little differently too. I think it isn’t just good for understanding Lupus, but anyone dealing with any disability or illness. Hopefully, they don’t take so much for granted or their life in general. I give a piece of myself, in every sense of the word when I do anything. It has become an inside joke. I have become famous for saying to people jokingly that they should feel special when I spend time with them, because they have one of my “spoons”.

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Need an energy boost? Go for a walk!

Originally posted on ConnieSelleccaBlog:

you find yourself nodding off each day after lunch…Forget trying to get an energy boost from Starbucks or RedBull. Take a walk, instead!

Researchers at the University of Birmingham discovered that people who took a short, leisurely walk during their lunch hour got a significant mood boost, had longer attention spans, and were better able to fend off work-related stress than those who consumed caffeine – and the change lasted for several hours. That’s because walking increases oxygen flow to the brain, and boosts the production of energizing, feel-good brain chemicals.

Preventing a Lupus Flare

Preventing a Lupus Flare. Thank you to  everydayhealth.com By Chris Iliades, MD | Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD for this information.

Flares are an unfortunate part of living with lupus, but lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of flares. Eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, avoiding stress, and staying out of the sun will help.

  One of the hardest things about living with systemic lupus is coping with unpredictability; if you have lupus, you will go through periods when your disease seems to be quiet and periods when it’s active and your symptoms worsen. These periods of feeling worse are known as lupus flares. Although there is no way you or your doctor can completely predict or prevent a lupus flare, you can identify and try to avoid known triggers to reduce your risk for flares. Making appropriate lifestyle changes can also help reduce your risk for a lupus flare.

Some of the common triggers in systemic lupus are sunlight, infections, and stress,” says Amita Bishnoi, MD, a rheumatologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Other common triggers include being overtired, starting or stopping medications, becoming pregnant, or undergoing any physical stress, such as surgery or an injury.

Lupus Flares and Lifestyle Changes
The best thing you can do is live a healthy lifestyle,” says Ellen Ginzler, MD, a professor of medicine and chief of rheumatology at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, in New York City. “Stay active, eat a healthy diet, stay out of the sun, and  don’t smoke.”

Other things you can do include:

One of the hardest things about living with systemic lupus is coping with unpredictability; if you have lupus, you will go through periods when your disease seems to be quiet and periods when it’s active and your symptoms worsen. These periods of feeling worse are known as lupus flares. Although there is no way you or your doctor can completely predict or prevent a lupus flare, you can identify and try to avoid known triggers to reduce your risk for flares. Making appropriate lifestyle changes can also help reduce your risk for a lupus flare.

“Some of the common triggers in systemic lupus are sunlight, infections, and stress,” says Amita Bishnoi, MD, a rheumatologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Other common triggers include being overtired, starting or stopping medications, becoming pregnant, or undergoing any physical stress, such as surgery or an injury.

Lupus Flares and Lifestyle Changes

The best thing you can do is live a healthy lifestyle,” says Ellen Ginzler, MD, a professor of medicine and chief of rheumatology at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, in New York City. “Stay active, eat a healthy diet, stay out of the sun, and don’t smoke.”

Other things you can do include:

Visit your doctor regularly. To maintain your health, make sure you stick to scheduled doctor visits and let your doctor know if symptoms seem to be getting worse.

Get plenty of rest. Manage your schedule to avoid becoming overtired or overworked.

Watch out for stress. Some stress is unavoidable, and having a chronic disease is stressful by itself, but it’s important for people with lupus to avoid putting themselves in stressful situations when possible. Learn some techniques that help you manage your stress. Meditation is an excellent way to reduce stress and decrease your risk for a lupus flare.

Avoid physical stress. Regular exercise is a great way to stay strong and fit. If you need to undergo a procedure that will require recuperation time, schedule it when your lupus is not active. It’s best to wait to get pregnant until your doctor clears you for it, for the same reason.

Avoid sunlight whenever possible. If you have to be in the sun, use a sunscreen with a high sun protection factor (like SPF 70) and wear protective clothing. Make sure your sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Remember that halogen and fluorescent lights also give off ultraviolet light, so avoid prolonged exposure to them as well.

Take your medications as prescribed. Never start or stop a medication without checking with your doctor first. Many medications, including some over-the-counter drugs, can trigger lupus flares. Some antibiotics in the sulfa family, for instance, increase sun sensitivity and may increase your risk for a flare. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking any new medication, supplement, or herbal treatment.

Be careful with certain foods and supplements. Avoid alfalfa sprouts, which contain a substance that may increase inflammation and trigger a flare. Some people may have a similar reaction to garlic, which is sometimes used as a health supplement. Other supplements that have been linked to lupus flares include melatonin, often used as a sleep aid, and echinacea, used to fight colds.

What Should You Do If You Sense a Lupus Flare Coming On?

Many people with lupus eventually become attuned to their body’s rhythms enough to sense when a possible flare is coming. At these times you can rest and use stress management techniques, but once actual symptoms of a flare begin, you shouldn’t try to handle it on your own. Some common flare symptoms include:
Increased fatigue, New or worsening rash, Joint and muscle pain, Headache or dizziness, Sores or ulcers in the mouth, Swelling in the legs, Fever, Any new symptoms
When you think a flare is starting, it’s best to see your doctor as soon as possible.

The best way to manage lupus and avoid flares is to learn as much about your disease as you can and to follow these simple guidelines: Listen to your body, learn what your own triggers and early warning signs are, stick to your lupus treatment plan, and take good care of yourself.

Back to School With Lupus: For the Parent

Back to School With Lupus: For the Parent Posted on ctlupus by ctlupus

It can be hard enough as a parent finding the time and energy to send your child off to school every day. For lupus patients, this challenge is even greater. 

Last week on the blog we discussed helping your child with lupus transition back into the school year. However, what if it’s not the child who has lupus, but the parent? If you are a parent with lupus getting ready to send your kids back to school make sure you’re prepared. Here are some tips to help you lower stress and stay healthy this school year.

Make your health a priority

Listen to your body and do what’s best for you. Move at your own pace and be willing to say no. You may feel guilty putting your health first, but if you don’t you will end up wearing yourself out making you more susceptible to a lupus flare.

Tell your family how you’re feeling

Communication with your family is key with lupus, especially when one day can be great and the next not so great. Let everyone know exactly how you are feeling each day. A number scale is a good way to express the discomfort and pain you may be having. This can help your family understand better and adjust expectations accordingly.

Stay organized

Help prevent unwanted stress by staying organized! Check out some tips on the blog at https://ctlupus.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/time-to-get-organized/  and be sure to take a look at our “Organizational Tips” Pinterest board, https://www.pinterest.com/ctlfa/organizational-tips/

Ask for help

Don’t be afraid to seek out help when you need it! Get into a routine of having scheduled help come throughout the week. This will help lower your stress and give you some rest time if needed so that you stay healthy! Ask family members to watch the kids or hire a neighborhood teen to be a mother’s helper after school!

For more information on parenting with lupus visit http://www.lupus.org/resources/15-questions-dealing-with-stress-of-being-a-parent-with-lupus