Most popular quantity. 
CONNIE’S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF LUPUS
Connie's first clue to something amiss came in her late teens, with the onset of joint discomfort in her hands that wasn't disabling or even particularly painful but was persistent enough to send her to her family doctor in the small Pennsylvania town where she grew up. It was rheumatoid arthritis, she was told.
The aches returned from time to time, never severely enough to be truly worrisome.
Then, a decade later, in 1978—now married and living in a Boston suburb—Connie became pregnant, and there were "a lot of complications: I had thrombophlebitis, and pulmonary emboli, and my obstetrician said, T think you have a collagen disease.' I told my internist about that comment, but he dismissed the idea. And then, after my daughter was born, I had phlebitis in my legs. And oh, yes, a few years before, when I'd taken birth control pills, I had a strange negative reaction, with these huge lumps on my legs. I mentioned that to my internist, too, but—"
Connie's obstetrician warned her about possibly dire results should she attempt another pregnancy. She sought second and third opinions; all were in agreement, and she has followed their advice. There were no further episodes of circulatory problems. But a few years later, stretches of unexplained fatigue—and what she describes as "these weird blisters on the roof of my mouth"—posed new worries. She was still seeing the same obstetrician-gynecologist, who again had a helpful piece of advice: "He said, 'Why don't you see a rheumatologist?' So I finally did just that."
The "lumps" on Connie's legs may well have been symptoms of a condition called erythema nodosum, a form of vasculitis— blood-vessel inflammation—giving rise to painful reddish nodules, typically on the legs but occasionally on the arms or elsewhere. Although erythema nodosum is not peculiar to lupus patients, it does tend to strike people with lupus a little more often than people who do not have the disease. It may accompany a variety of infections, ranging from "strep" to tuberculosis to colitis, and may also occur in reaction to a number of drugs, notably sulfas and oral contraceptives.
To explain a term Connie mentioned: Her obstetrician suggested she might have a collagen disease. Collagen is a protein substance that forms an important part of connective tissue, both in the joints and throughout other parts of the body. "Collagen disease" was a term used to refer to those rheumatic disorders known to be systemic, affecting many tissues in the body—including lupus, progressive systemic sclerosis, dermatomyositis, and others—as distinguished from those, such as rheumatoid arthritis, impacting predominantly on the joints. The term has now largely fallen into disuse, and the conditions are now known collectively as connective-tissue diseases.
Connie also referred to phlebitis (venous inflammation) and thrombophlebitis (phlebitis with clot formation), as well as pulmonary emboli (fragments of such clots lodging in the lungs); see chapter 9 for more about lupus and pregnancy and the impact of each on the other.
*9\224\8*
General health
Additional Information
- Information on d-store.net are general information only and not intended as a replacement for advise and recommendations made by your medical practitioner.
- The expiry date is printed on each blister. Do not share this medicine with others for whom it was not prescribed. Do not use this pills for other health conditions. Keep it out of the reach of children and pets.
| 
